|
At holiday time, thoughts on economy.
I sat down with the Chairman of the Economic Development Commission for North Haven recently. We discussed the changing economy of North Haven. In the past several years, North Haven has seen major employers leave town, beginning with Pratt & Whitney and most recently, the downsizing of Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, which at one time employed 2,000 people. The closing of the Bayer facility in West Haven will ripple through the economies of many surrounding towns and may impact the economy housing and job market throughout the shoreline.
But, as I learned recently from a newsletter that my favorite bookstore sends to me, small business is still the life blood of local economies.
Roxanne Coady of R.J. Julia Booksellers in Madison, shared the following facts with her customers via electronic newsletter.
? Shopping locally provides more than three times as much money for the local economy as shopping national chain stores. A recent study shows that for every $100 spent at a chain, only $13 remains in the community, whereas for every $100 spent at a local independent store, $45 remains. For every $100 spent at an online retailer, it is unlikely that a nickel makes it back to our community.
? Local stores and businesses employ significantly more local services than big box stores or Internet retailers. R.J. Julia, for example, uses a local professional for every service we can?our printer, designer, accountant and lawyer, among others, are all local. And are you surprised to learn that R.J. Julia currently employs more than 50 local staff people?
So, shop locally, not just during the holiday season, but as often as possible. In season farm stands provide us with the opportunity to eat fresh native vegetables, local attorneys know the ins and outs of the cities and towns that they work in. They work with Planning and Zoning Commissions, and are neighbors. In this day and age of global economies, we are still a state of 117 towns and cities, each with its own economics rises and falls. - Kristin
December 8, 2006
|
