Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”
—Thomas Friedman, from his March 7 NYT column

Greetings  :

Isn't it refreshing to hear Thomas "Flat-World" Friedman eating crow and acknowledging that the system he has applauded and promoted for decades isn't working? That his notion that the global economic system would end the world's woes is wrong? Well, perhaps he hasn't gone that far, but local community-serving business people know that the participants in and beneficiaries of globalized business are a handful of multinational corporations, which are not representative of most of the world. In fact they are like giant leaches on real, value-based community economies.

We small business people know that real value is exchanged in local economies. It is an abstract, derivatives-deluded economy that proceeds on the global scale. What we get doing business locally, is what is truly valuable—not just the necessary exchange of money for goods and services—we get the true spirit of commerce, and meaningful, fundamentally human interaction.

There is a lot of bad news on the airwaves. We are steeped in it. But bad news for whom? Most of it spells the demise of dinosaur business entities that have put profits before people, the environment, and the human spirit. The good news is that here in the Hudson Valley we have a vibrant, connected community of people and businesses that work and live together, with aims that transcend the personal pursuit of getting and having.

Tonight I attended the monthly meeting of Hudson Valley Green Drinks at local brewer Keegan Ales, in Kingston. People working or seeking to work in fields that have meaning populated the event. I met land planners, solar and geothermal energy designers, writers, marketers, advisors, and folks that are between jobs, but all shared the desire to do something meaningful and connected in their community. It was a buoyant and uplifting atmosphere, and left everyone with a keen sense that in connecting with one another in the spirit of improving ourselves and the world there are real possibilities for us all.

I want to bring your attention to an article we ran in the most recent issue of Chronogram. It is an interview with Michael Shuman (by local activist Carl Frankel), author of The Small-Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition and Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age. The Q&A is titled The Lure of Local, and here is an excerpt:

What’s the rationale for buying locally?

There are four strong arguments for why locally owned businesses contribute more to the economy than other businesses.

First, local businesses don’t move. They are reliable generators of wealth for the local community. Local governments often focus on attracting or retaining big corporations, only to find that at some point down the road they flee. Local businesses stick around and generate income for years and often generations.

Second, local businesses have a higher economic multiplier. What this means is that a dollar spent at a local business tends to circulate in the local economy longer. About six years ago, a study was conducted of economic multipliers in Austin, Texas. When a person spent $100 at a Borders bookstore, $13 stayed in the local economy. When the books were purchased at a locally owned bookstore, $45 out of the $100 recirculated locally. Many similar studies have been conducted and they all point to the same conclusion.

Third, local businesses have a size and character that is consistent with leading theories of what makes a community flourish. People want walkable communities. Megamalls and industrial aren’t compatible with this, but small and home-based locally owned businesses are. Communities built around locally owned businesses are also more appealing to the so-called “creative class,” a term coined by the social scientist Richard Florida to describe knowledge workers and other “creatives.” These people are a key driving force of economic development, and they’re drawn to communities that are diverse, entrepreneurial, and fun to live in—in short, communities with lots of locally owned businesses. In addition, tourists tend to be drawn to local businesses.

Fourth, local businesses have a smaller carbon footprint because their inputs and their markets tend to be more local.

Read the whole article here.

Finally, we’ve got a great April issue in the oven, brimming with relevant compelling content that our 50 thousand-plus monthly readers will soak up with rapt attention. Our readers love Chronogram because it is real, and truly reflects the mindset of the region. And readers look to who is advertising in Chronogram to see which businesses are part of their community.

Tonight at Green Drinks ten people stopped me to tell me how much they love the magazine. Yesterday, on the phone, a client told me “People really remember my ad in Chronogram. I only advertise a few times a year, but people tell me they see my ad all year long.”

If you have been thinking of advertising in Chronogram, please do it now. The magazine is a powerful and effective means of helping your business reach an audience of eager community members, but the magazine is sustained by your participation. In effect Chronogram is a 3-way partnership between us, our readers (your customers) and you.

Even a directory listing in one of our three business directories is a powerful presence both in print and on-line. And it is only $60.

Finally, you may have noticed that Chronogram is now full color throughout. This creates a more scintillating and engaging reader experience, as well as the opportunity for you to have a color ad anywhere in the magazine. If you haven’t seen the print edition, check it out the virtual version on-line.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for your attention. And if you’d like to advertise, please contact your rep, .

Sincerely yours,

Jason Stern

Luminary Publishing / Chronogram

845-334-8621 fx845-334-8610

www.chronogram.com

"There's a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in."

L. Cohen