Our Small Town Economy

The Lobby of 1st National Bank Menominee, 1930
Courtesy of The Menominee Historical Society

Independent stores return more than three times as much money for you, your family, friends, neighbors, and non-profit groups, as your dollar spent at other retailer options. ( www.amiba.net )

In It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra's 1946 holiday classic, the story of Bailey Brothers Savings & Loan echo’s the timeless formula for our small-town economy.

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.