Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008 - (Page 26)

Guest Editorial A c t, a n d S h o p , L o c a l l y by deanna chevas, Perri Jewelers he corporatization of america has devastated locally owned businesses across the country, effectively removing local flavor and replacing it with the banality of walMarts and Mcdonalds. while the corporate creed states they are bringing in jobs and helping the local economies of the towns and cities they infiltrate, the exact opposite is actually true. In fact, for every two jobs national retailers bring to a community, three jobs are lost as a result of local businesses closing down. as far as tax revenue is concerned, the more consumers shop locally, the more tax revenue stays in the community. In these uncertain economic times, it is so important to strive to sustain our localities by supporting businesses owned and run by our residents. to that end, the non-profit Local First arizona (LFa) was created with the goals of preserving the unique flavor of arizona’s individual cities and keeping the local economy strong. LFa supports local businesses by marketing to the public, raising awareness of the benefits of shopping locally and advocating for local T business on the state and city levels. one of the best ways to champion homegrown businesses is to get in the face of politicians. Founder Kimber Lanning is doing just that, by pushing a bill to break tie bids in favor of arizona businesses. that means if the Governor’s office needs office supplies and a national chain submits a bid and a local business submits one that is equal in price and quality of product, the arizona business would win the bid. according to a study facilitated by LFa, the bid going to a local business would re-circulate three times the revenue through the state than if it went to a national chain. according to the Local First website, 45 cents of every dollar spent at a locally owned business is re-invested in the local economy as opposed to 13 cents of every dollar spent at a national chain. Profits from locally owned businesses get reinvested in the community at a higher rate than those of chain businesses. national chain stores or restaurants often drain local economies because of misguided government tax revenue subsidies. we need to stop giving our money away and keep it at home, where it belongs. Fortunately, more and more people are realizing this. there is a reason why First arizona has grown, in just five years, to be the largest of organization of its type in the nation with over 1300 members. the launch of the tucson chapter this year brought on over 60 more members, with downtown core businesses Mary’s downtown Flower Market and Perri Jewelers signing on, along with the Fourth avenue Merchants association and several individual 4th avenue businesses. “the response in tucson has been very positive,” said LFa tucson representative Lisette deMars, “most of the 67 tucson members having signed up in the past 4 months.” “tucsonans like tucson,” deMars stated. “they want to make it and keep it their own.” The next meeting of the Tucson chapter will be October 10 at 4 pm at Bentley’s Coffee House. More information is available at www.localfirstaz.com and through Lisette DeMars at 837-4234. 26 downtown tucsonan.october.08 http://www.localfirstaz.com http://www.downtowntucson.com http://www.downtowntucson.com http://www.tucson12.tv http://www.tucson12.tv

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Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008 Contents Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performing Arts Film Events Museums Historic Downtown Guest Editoral Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - October 2008

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