Put your money where your community is

ISSUE: Frequent local businesses
OUR VIEW: It just makes sense

By the time you read this, you probably have had your fill of turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs and pumpkin pie. You obviously survived a food-induced coma from the Thanksgiving festivities and the annual Black Friday sales events.

Congratulations on your success in securing the discount you got and could previously only dream about. Yes, bright orange socks for $1.89 and a second pair free certainly would be worth the battle.

Some people will go virtual and shop online on Cyber Monday while others jump in the car for a trek to the big city and its big-city traffic. Instead, we would encourage you to approach your Christmas spending a by making a concerted effort to shop local during the 2012 holiday season

Let’s express thanks once more this week by counting the blessings of plentiful retail options right here in Hardin County. Take advantage of local options and enjoy the jobs provided for our family and friends.

Money that turns over in our community creates a better quality of life for us all. The end result of concentrated community-based spending becoming the habit is better jobs, lower unemployment and increased options for us all. It also drives the local tax base, which improves services, streets and schools.

A strong local economy can be sustained only with a commitment from the community to support local businesses. The choices we have in the future for restaurants, retail and services will be determined by our willingness to support our own.

Locally owned businesses usually make purchases from other local businesses. Buying local grows the local tax base and helps support local charities that impact the quality of life in Hardin County.

Michael H. Shuman, author of the book Going Local says, “Going local does not mean walling off the outside world. It means nurturing locally owned businesses which use local resources sustainably, employ local workers at decent wages and serve primarily local consumers. It means becoming more self-sufficient and less dependent on imports. Control moves from the boardrooms of distant corporations and back into the community where it belongs.”

It makes no sense to pile in the car and drive 100 miles round trip to save $8 on a product that you could have bought locally. That is of course unless you place no value on your time, your money or on supporting your community.

The businesses in the big city have convinced many of us that buying local means expensive. In reality, many local vendors meet or exceed their standards and prices. When you add in travel costs, food costs and time lost, shopping local makes far more sense and in most cases saves you money.

Many people fail to equate the impact their spending habits can have on a local business. It is, however, the single most significant influence on the local economy.

The responsibility for sustaining a healthy economy is share by all. Spend you money with a local business and more than 80 percent of that dollar stays in Hardin County.

So shop smart this holiday season and most importantly shop here.

This editorial represents a consensus of The News-Enterprise's editorial board.