Stop the Recession: Buy Local or Buy Nothing for 2009

Every time I turn on the television or read an article about the economy, it seems like someone else is looking for a bailout. Mortgage banks, insurance companies, automobile manufacturers, the entire state of California. . .the list goes on and on. While the United States government continues to throw money at every economic weakness in the midst of this recession, no one ever seems to address the real sources of the problem. We have become a consumer society, and the majority of the things that we consume provide little lasting value to our economy. Americans want to buy the most possible things for the cheapest possible prices. This means that suppliers have steadily bypassed goods made at home for things manufactured in impoverished nations abroad. While the prices of goods steadily fall, the hidden costs remain: the American jobs that steadily disappear even as foreign manufacturing booms; the small community business that are replaced with national chain stores and restaurants; the landfills that fill up with junk that was only used for a short time; the high charge card balances and low savings account balances that the average American maintains.

I believe that the solution for our economic problems starts with every individual. There is nothing more mundane than spending money -- hardly a day goes by when we don't buy household goods, eat in a restaurant, or pay money for something. If we stop looking at spending money as merely the way to get more for ourselves, and instead turn it into an opportunity to help others in our community, our economy would be transformed.

I believe that where our money is, there our heart is. Because I truly care about the people in my community who are going through hard economic times, I am pledging to buy local or buy nothing for 2009. I hope that this will be a year of surprises and abundance for myself and all of the people whom my dollars meet.