The Lobby of 1st National Bank Menominee, 1930 Courtesy of The Menominee Historical Society |
Mr. Potter wanted to close
that "old run-down savings and loan." George Bailey, in a grey scene,
stood in the middle of an angry crowd. George chose to sacrifice his postmodern
dreams and stayed to protect what mattered more. In that all-is-lost
moment, when Bailey Bros. Savings & Loan customers were ready to sell-out,
George responded: "You're thinking about this place all wrong! Don't
you see? Your money is in Joes' house, that's right next to yours, and the
Kennedy house, and Mrs. Mackland's house, and a hundred others. You're lending
them the money to build, and they are going to pay it back to you best they
can. Now, what do you want me to do, foreclose on them?"
Like that depression era
story, we are experiencing an all-is-lost moment. To protect our local economy,
George would say: Don't you see? When you deposit your paycheck in the
local community bank and use it to buy groceries, gas, insurance, home repairs, and a
hundred other things locally, you're helping to pay your neighbors' salaries
because locally-owned businesses employ them. Those businesses buy from
other local businesses, it is those businesses that support local charities,
and that money recycles back to you, your family, friends, neighbors, and
non-profit groups.
When we prioritize our budget, We're doing our part. That means when we buy from local independent businesses first, we protect our future shopping options, preserve what is valuable and unique to where we live, and do our best for our family, friends, neighbors, and charities. Chain stores and mass merchants still have their part to play. They fill-in for our other needs and support local employees too. If buying local is not possible, as the last option, we can still turn to Amazon.
Here's what this looks like
in real life. Choose three locally owned businesses you don't want to lose.
Turn to those first, to buy as much as you can from them. At little to no
extra cost, buy what you usually do. $60 spent at each independent
business might not seem like enough, but together, our efforts multiply to keep
them in business.
We don't need anyone else's permission to make a difference. Our
community is experiencing unemployment, business closures, and stressed budgets
like the depression era. But just like then, we hold the key to helping
each other through this.