"Put your money where your house is"

I'm just finishing a great book called Big Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses and I came across this quote near the end, though it could really be the rallying cry for the entire independent business movement. Author Stacy Mitchell rallies an inordinate amount of data to her issue, finding that local business beats chain stores in any number ways:

1. A substantially higher portion of dollars spent at an independent business stay in the local community.
2. Independent business owners are middle class with a connection to the community. They pay their employees better, customize their store the area's needs, and give double what a chain store gives to charity as a percent of their revenue.
3. Independent businesses frequently match or beat chain store prices, despite constant advertising suggesting that "always low prices" or "get more, pay less" only happens at a big box discount store.
4. Independent businesses tend to add to a community's tax base, whereas big box stores tend to get tax breaks and add substantial strain on public infrastructure such as water, sewer, roads, and the police (prosecuting all shoplifters).
   

It's not as hard as you might think to shop local. Cities like Minneapolis, MN, have an independent business association that lists its members, independent bookstores have a website called BookSense, and most local hardware stores (Ace, TrueValue) are independents but also part of buyer's cooperatives to get better prices.

Anyway, all these points kind of came together for me yesterday into that one phrase. If you are a homeowner and want to see your community thrive, then "put your money where your house is" and shop local.