Going Local: Self-Reliant Communities

Some say that small business is a prerequisite to democracy in the Americas. But the current trend is to attract multinational corporations with tax abatements, reduced environmental standards and a plethora of goodies offered in an ever-escalating bidding war. The results: communities that are vulnerable to remote decisions and capital flight and an at-risk local workforce relying on a job source with loyalties limited to the bottom line. Michael Shuman proposes another approach. By placing the focus on locally-owned and -operated businesses and creating incentives for staying in business, a community’s vulnerability can be significantly reduced .