50 ideas for a new city: #4 | Swadeshi



"In some ways, it's almost like building a new city."

Swadeshi - the genius of the local - honors and celebrates the local economy, the genius of local knowledge and local skills.

 

PRESS - Coffee and Tea Shop | 315 S. Broadway | Rochester, MN

 

Why We Can't Shop Our Way to a Better Economy: Stacy Mitchell at TEDxDirigo

A remarkable TED talk, that starts with a what the Boston Tea Party was really about (a big corporate bail-out using a big corporate tax loophole granted the too-big-to-fail East India Company by the British crown) and then proceeds to patiently make the point that "...there is nothing inevitable about the current structure of our economy, it's the not the product of some kind of evolution. It is the logical outcome of a certain set of policies."

 

Concluding with an important reminder that it is not having choice that matters most, or making a choice that matters most, but that from which one has to choose. The former is all we can do as consumers, the later requires of us to act as citizens.

 

Stacy Mitchell is a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.

Top Ten reasons to Think Local - Buy Local - Be Local 

Buy Local -- Support yourself: Several studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned businesses, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms -- continuing to strengthen the economic base of the community.(Click here to see summaries of a variety of economic impact studies; these include case studies showing that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in enhanced economic impact to the community and our tax base.)

Support community groups: Non-profit organizations receive an average 250% more support from smaller business owners than they do from large businesses

Keep our community unique: Where we shop, where we eat and have fun -- all of it makes our community home. Our one-of-a-kind businesses are an integral part of the distinctive character of this place. Our tourism businesses also benefit. “When people go on vacation they generally seek out destinations that offer them the sense of being someplace, not just anyplace.” ~ Richard Moe, President, National Historic Preservation Trust

Reduce environmental impact: Locally owned businesses can make more local purchases requiring less transportation and generally set up shop in town or city centers as opposed to developing on the fringe. This generally means contributing less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution

Create more good jobs: Small local businesses are the largest employer nationally and in our community, provide the most jobs to residents.

Get better service: Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know customers.

Invest in community: Local businesses are owned by people who live in this community, are less likely to leave, and are more invested in the community’s future.

Put your taxes to good use: Local businesses in town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.

Buy what you want, not what someone wants you to buy: A marketplace of tens of thousands of small businesses is the best way to ensure innovation and low prices over the long-term. A multitude of small businesses, each selecting products based not on a national sales plan but on their own interests and the needs of their local customers, guarantees a much broader range of product choices.

Encourage local prosperity: A growing body of economic research shows that in an increasingly homogenized world, entrepreneurs and skilled workers are more likely to invest and settle in communities that preserve their one-of-a-kind businesses and distinctive character.

 from Sustainable Connections http://bit.ly/bEB7N

 

Toward a Localist Policy Agenda 



 



 

Toward a Localist Policy Agenda from Stacy Mitchell

This presentation was delivered on June 14, 2013, at the BALLE Conference in Buffalo, New York.  Download a PDF version of the text.