Apples to Apples: Buying Locally

BY GARY SCOTT BEATTY, PUBLISHER AND EDITOR, MUSKEGONONLINE.NET

Americans "vote" with their dollars with every purchase.

I'm at the grocery store buying apples. A quick look at the label shows apples imported from Chile in the bin next to apples grown in Michigan. They cost the same. Why should I buy the apples grown in Michigan? It benefits me, my family and my community.

While I have nothing against the fine people growing produce in Chile, I know my dollars, combined with the dollars of other Muskegon consumers, makes a difference in this county I call home.

Americans invest in businesses with their purchases every single day. We "vote" for products with our money every time we buy them, and we "vote" for the business selling the product. "Voting" as a group, our capitalism is every bit as powerful as voting for our politicians, perhaps even more powerful, because we don't wait four years to "vote" with our money -- we do it every time we make a purchase.

All it takes to invest in your county, your state and your country is reading labels and buying from local businesses.

The benefits to communities and residents are well-documented. Studies have shown that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, rather than a nationally owned business, significantly more of your money is used to make purchases from other local businesses, service providers and farms. This strengthens the community economic base. Economic impact studies repeatedly reveal that locally-owned businesses generate a premium in enhanced economic impact to the community and tax base.

Small businesses are the backbone of our national economy, creating and providing jobs. Local businesses often hire people with a better understanding of the products they are selling and take more time to get to know shoppers. If we're interested in customer service we should shop local businesses.

Our shopping habits also contribute to our range of choices. 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.

Owners who live in our community are more invested in the community's future. Non-profit organizations also benefit from local and regional shopping, making our own community a better place to live. Town centers require comparatively little infrastructure investment and make more efficient use of public services as compared to nationally owned stores entering the community.

Where we shop, eat and play keeps our community unique. One-of-a-kind businesses give our area a distinctive character and add to our sense of home. Tourism also benefits from this, as people on vacation seek out businesses that give them a sense of being somewhere, not just anywhere.

Local purchases requiring less transportation also reduce our environmental impact. Town centers contribute less to sprawl, congestion, habitat loss and pollution.

Buying locally spurs the regional economy, benefits non-profit organizations, helps keep our area unique, reduces environmental impact, increases customer service and contributes to our range of product choices. I encourage everyone here in Muskegon County to explore your regional buying options: county, state and nation.

You've already begun! Muskegon Online.NET is locally owned and produced, and our advertisers are local businesses. Just by coming here monthly to enjoy our free magazine, you are contributing to the quality of life in Muskegon County, Michigan, USA. Your friends and neighbors thank you!

Editor and Publisher Gary Scott Beatty has been working in printing and publishing for over 35 years, including editing Muskegon's On the Shore magazine and typesetting Muskegon Magazine. In 2008 he won a Xeric Foundation Grant to publish Jazz: Cool Birth, a murder mystery in a 1957 jazz club with illustrations inspired by '50s album cover design. This and his other Aazurn Publishing books can be purchased through Amazon.com. Worldwide, he edits and publishes Indie Comics Magazine, 64 pages of the best story and art from today's independent comic book creators.