Going Local Supporting Your Community

Tommy and the Birthday Cake Scenario and How it Relates to the Economy:

Tommy is at lunch with his class when he looks into his lunch bag and sees that all he has is an apple and a PB&J... he looks at his classmate's lunches and sees a kid with a fruit roll up and another with a cookie. Realizing his birthday is in two weeks Tommy comes up with a plan. He looks at the kid with the fruit roll up and tells him. "Hey my birthday is in two weeks and I'm going to have the best cake ever on my birthday and if you give me your roll up I'll make sure you can come over and have a piece!" The kid thinks about it and agrees. He then tells the kid with the cookie the same thing. So now Tommy has a PB&J apple a fruit roll up and a cookie. Tommy is happy. The next day the same thing happens but this time he has promised three classmates the same thing. Tommy's lunch grows like this till the end of the week and in that time he has now invited the entire class to his birthday party to have a piece of cake. Not only has Tommy gotten all their extra snacks but he starts to offer the kids more cake if the promise to give him their snacks in the future, more kids agree and now Tommy is rolling in lunch snacks, so much so that he can't even eat them all.

Well finally the day of his Birthday arrives and Tommy goes to his mother and tells her he needs a birthday cake that can feed up to thirty five people. His mother is shocked, she had not invited that many people and doesn't have the means to provide that kind of cake. So she calls the parents of the children to tell them that there won't be enough for them all. The parents feel bad and give Tommy's mom extra money to get the cake. Now Tommy's plan is running at a deficit. The parents have paid more out to keep the party going and Tommy's friends are out their snacks. The only person that has made out is Tommy.

How It Relates To The Economy:

Tommy and his promises are like the promises of the banks to the people. The capital is nothing more than a projected guess that the money is going to be there because other people are pumping money into their coffers. But the problem is the promise is based on a false sense of security. The money is fake like Tommy's cake and when they fail to deliver they come to the same people that kept their scam going to bail them out. If an individual did this it would be called theft and a scam. When banks do this it is business as usual.

These large banks and the cooperate businesses that they support in the financial world of Wall Street have all but robbed the pockets of the work force of the United States, the same work force that made them giants of finance. They promised us cake, they lulled us into a sense of freedom with our money and we being good little consumers went along with it, shame on us! We have let our greed feed their greed and in doing so brought ourselves to financial ruin. These banks have only their own self interest in mind, that is the hard world of business and it is run on the premise of greed.

Going Local and How it Helps:

When you spend your dollars at a local store, at the Farmer's Market, at a local grocery store, and bank at a local bank you keep your money local and that means it circulates within your community and doesn't go into the vaults of a large bank or up in smoke on the stock market. Some of your money will circulate out of your area in that some goods must be brought in, but the main part of your money stays in the community to help your local economy stay strong. Local commerce is good because it keeps people employed, keeps money local, and promotes competition on a local level that is good for the community at large.

When you shop at Walmart, Target, Costco or any of your larger chains your money is circulated into their accounts and is used for the purchase and manufacture of goods that are from out of your local area or produced over seas. The bulk market allows them to buy cheaper goods of less quality than those produced here at home. Now we know that most everything now has some link to a foreign entity and yes we love to pay less for the stuff we want... I'm not saying that you have to go all local - some items like clothing can cost far less at large outlet chains and being a poor family man myself, I shop at Walmart for my clothing and my children's clothes... I am saying that the more we spend locally the more the prices of merchandise at the local level will come down. It's the law of supply and demand. If you can sell more and you have to buy more to sell, then the more you buy the cheaper your price will be and it ends up cheaper for the consumer.

Buy 4H and Shop at the Farmers Market:

If you live in a rural area the chances are you have a 4H program in your area. Local markets purchase the animals raised by 4H and sell the meat as organic locally grown, this is a great way to keep money local and it helps the kids who raised the animal. From cows, chickens, and pigs, these kids raise and feed the animals from birth to sale. Farmers markets are locally or semi locally grown crops sold at outdoor markets a couple times a month and in some cases all year round. Support your local farms by buying their crop right from them. You are supporting an all American industry and helping them by supplementing their income and in some cases providing more for their families.

Community Economic Development:

Give your people a sense of local pride and help them raise themselves out of poverty and have pride in their community. Please help keep America the diverse and beautiful place we all know and love. Thanks.