EDITORIAL OCT 10

IT’S THE MIDDLE OF OCTOBER AND WE’RE HEADED INTO THE HOLIDAY SEASON. SHOPPERS…DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR MONEY IS?

WELL OF COURSE YOU KNOW WHERE IT IS. IT’S FLOATING AROUND THE INTERNET CLOUD OR HEADED TO ARKANSAS AND LET’S NOT FORGET THE BEJIING ECONOMIC REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY BECAUSE THEY ALL CERTAINLY BENEFIT FROM IT. BUT YOU KNOW WHO DOESN’T BENEFIT FROM IT? YOU. BECAUSE WHEN YOU DON’T SHOP LOCAL, YOU DON’T JUST HURT THE LOCAL ECONOMY, YOU HURT YOUR PERSONAL ECONOMY.

TELL YOU WHAT, LET’S HAVE SOME FUN WITH MATH. DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS LAST SUMMER WE SET AN ALL TIME HIGH IN TERMS OF OUR TRADE DEFICIT WITH CHINA? $30.9 BILLION DOLLARS IN JULY. IN FACT THROUGH AUGUST THE U.S. TRADE DEFICIT FOR THIS YEAR TOTALS $335.2 BILLION DOLLARS. THAT PUTS US ON TRACK TO HAVE A HALF TRILLION DOLLAR TRADE DEFICIT FOR THE YEAR AND THAT’S NOT ONLY AROUND $1,600 FOR EACH AMERICAN, IT’S MORE THAN OUR ENTIRE ANNUAL BUDGET DEFICIT. NOW SOME FOLKS IN THIS WORLD- BACK TO ARKANSAS AGAIN- LOVE THOSE KIND OF NUMBERS BECAUSE THERE’S A FAMILY DOWN THERE CALLED THE WALTANS- JOHN BOY AIN’T ONE OF THEM- AND THAT ONE FAMILY THAT ALREADY HAS MORE MONEY THAN THE BOTTOM 40% OF THE REST OF THE COUNTRY COMBINED, JUST GETS RICHER EVERY TIME YOU BUY SOMETHIN’ AT ONE OF THEIR BIG BOX STORES INSTEAD OF FROM A LOCAL BUSINESS AND YOU GET POORER. LITERALLY.

YOU GET POORER BECAUSE YOUR TAXES GO UP. ACCORDING TO BLOOMBERG NEWS, NOT EXACTLY A LEFT-WING RAG, THAT FAMILY OF GAZZILLIONARES DOWN IN ARKANSAS RUNS THE NATION’S LARGEST WELFARE QUEEN BECAUSE ON AVERAGE THEIR EMPLYOYEES RECEIVE $1,000 IN PUBLIC ASSISTANCE AND ARE THE LARGEST SINGLE GROUP OF FOOD STAMP RECIPIENTS. AND EVERY TIME THAT RICH FAMILY IN ARKANSAS OPENS UP A NEW STORE SOMEWHERE, RETAIL EMPLOYMENT IS REDUCED IN THAT COUNTY BY AN AVERAGE OF 150 EMPLOYEES.

HERE’S SOME MORE NUMBERS- ONLY ABOUT 34% OF A NATIONAL CHAIN’S PROFITS ARE REINVESTED IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY WHILE 65% OF LOCAL BUSINESSES REVENUE GOES BACK IN TO THE COMMUNITY. IF THE PEOPLE IN AN AVERAGE AMERICAN CITY WERE TO SHIFT JUST 10%, THAT’S A DIME ON THE DOLLAR, FROM CHAINS TO LOCAL BUSINESSES, THAT CITY WOULD SEE AN EXTRA $235 MILLION DOLLARS A YEAR IN LOCAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. IF THEY SPENT HALF THEIR MONEY LOCALLY THAT WOULD BE OVER A BILLION DOLLARS OF EXTRA ECONOMIC ACTIVITY EVERY YEAR IN THE AVERAGE AMERICAN CITY.

AND IT’S NOT JUST THE STUFF WE BUY AT BIG BOX STORES. A STUDY OUT OF TEXAS SHOWED THAT FOR EVERY $100 SPENT AT A LOCALLY OWNED BOOK STORE THERE’S $45 WORTH OF LOCAL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY. THAT DROPS TO $13 WHEN THAT MONEY’S SPENT AT A CHAIN STORE.

AND, OH BY THE WAY, LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE GENERALLY ESTABLISHED CLOSER TO THE DOWNTOWN AND NOT OUT BY A HIGHWAY SOMEWHERE SO THE AGRAVATION AND THE TRAFFIC TIE-UPS AND THE BURNED GASOLINE ARE NOT A FACTOR FOR A LOCAL SHOPPER.

SPEAKING OF BURNED GASOLINE, THAT CONVOY OF SHIPS THAT GOES BACK AND FORTH ACROSS THE OCEAN DAY AND NIGHT WITH ALL THAT STUFF THAT YOU EVENTUALLY BUY AT THE BIG BOX STORE OR ONLINE? 11 BILLION GALLONS OF GAS BURNED UP EVERY YEAR, A BILLION TONS OF CO2 AND THE 15 BIGGEST SHIPS PUT OUT AS MUCH SULFUR OXIDE POLLUTION AS ALL THE CARS IN THE WORLD. SO IF YOU THINK YOU’RE REDUCING YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT BY NOT SHOPPING LOCALLY, THINK AGAIN, AND EVERY GALLON OF FUEL USED TO SHIP STUFF TO YOU FROM AN ONLINE OUTLET MEANS THE FUEL YOU USE IN YOUR CAR OR TO HEAT YOUR HOME IS THAT MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE AND MORE MONEY GOES INTO THE POCKETS OF MIDDLE EAST POOBAHS WHO, AS WE KNOW, AREN’T EXACTLY OUR BEST FRIENDS.

SPEAKING OF FRIENDS, NO BIG CHAIN BOX STORE IS GOING TO GIVE YOU THE SERVICE YOU GET FROM A LOCAL BUSINESS, THEY DON’T BUY ADS IN YEARBOOKS OR SPONSER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES & COMMUNITY EVENTS, OR PUT YOUR POSTERS IN THEIR WINDOWS AND GOOD LUCK WITH CALLING YOUR RICH FRIENDS IN ARKANSAS FOR A CREDIT EXTENSION WHEN THINGS ARE TOUGH.

AND FINALLY, JUST THIS WEEK WE LEARNED THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA NO LONGER HAS THE WORLD’S LARGEST ECONOMY. CHINA DOES, AND THE BIGGEST REASON WHY IS BECAUSE EVERY YEAR TOO MANY OF US HAVE CONNED OURSELVES INTO THINKING IT’S A GOOD IDEA TO NOT SHOP LOCALLY.

SO BEFORE YOU GO OUT ON THANKSGIVING NIGHT WITH YOUR SLEEPING BAG AND WAIT UP ALL NIGHT IN FRONT OF A BIG BOX STORE, THINKING YOU’RE SMART AND SAVING MONEY AND HELPING THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY, YOU’RE NOT.