Summer Downsizing: Ways to Jumpstart Your Local Economy

Now that we've entered the Twitter era, I find myself more and more inclined towards brief but very informative pieces of information, especially when surfing the internet. I'd liken it to reading Psychology Today Magazine over individual psychological studies. This has led me to read a lot of lists and pointers, undoubtedly feeding my childhood love of Hints from Heloise. 

I found this list today titled: Summer Downsizing: 31 Ways to Jumpstart Your Local Economy.  Not all of the suggestions were actually related to one's local economy; some were just ways to remove yourself from spending money period. Nonetheless, I really enjoyed the community-focused section, pasted below:

Summer Downsizing: 31 Ways to Jumpstart Your Local Economy

By Sarah van Gelder, YES! Magazine. Posted July 9, 2009.

 
Read the entire article in PDF format here.

IN YOUR COMMUNITY

22. Link up people looking for job skills with people who can offer apprenticeships.

23. Start a local currency or time dollar program to help link needs and offerings, those with time and those starved for time.

24. Use publicly owned lands for community gardens, farmers markets, business incubators, community land trusts (with affordable housing), community-rooted grocery stores.

25. Hold on to the local businesses you already have. Help retiring entrepreneurs sell to employees or other locals.

26. Create a car, kayak, and electric pick-up truck co-op to save money and carbon, and provide access to a variety of vehicles.

27. Create or join a chapter of the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE) or similar groups. Work together to find services or products you could substitute for imported ones, local assets you can build on, and ongoing institutions that could be serviced locally.  Did you know that the Mile High Business Alliance is Denver's BALLE chapter? -Now you do!

28. Start a community bank, loan fund, or credit union to invest in local well-being, or encourage existing ones to rethink their lending.

29. Declare an end to corporate personhood in your community. Barnstead, New Hampshire did, and, more recently, three communities in Maine have done it. You can too.

30. Hold a weekly dinner for the hungry. Ask those who attend to help serve food at subsequent dinners. (Having an opportunity to give is important for everyone's dignity).

31. Keep your energy dollars circulating locally. Launch a clean energy cooperative to install wind turbines or solar roofs, and to weatherize homes and businesses.

Read the entire article in PDF format here.