The other day I came across a post on Facebook. It was one of those “trending images” that have begun to appear. It said “If you really want to occupy Wall Street do your holiday shopping at a small independent merchant.” Grammar aside, I was initially thrilled to see this. My mother and her best friend are partners in a small, independent business. They built their business from the ground up. They had a vision for a business that would celebrate American artists. Since the inception of that dream, they have dedicated themselves to making such a business a reality. They opened a small shop in an outdoor market alongside other local entrepreneurs, each with their own vision.
I grew up as a part of that community. I have watched each and every one of them stress over bills and credit card surcharges. I have seen them struggle with the difficulties of maintaining quality services and products in a weak economy. I have watched them rejoice at being able to keep their doors open for another month. Small business owners sacrifice weekends, holidays, family vacations, and the comfort of a stable income with benefits. How are these entrepreneurs treated? They are ridiculed by locals for not having blowout clearance sales. They are accused of inflating their prices to make an extra buck. They are belittled and demeaned for not having exactly what is requested at a ridiculously low price. From behind the counter, these assaults make it clear that corporate chains like Wal-Mart, Target, and Starbucks have consumers so well trained that small businesses cannot compete. Consumers, even those who avidly denounce corporate chains, value the deal more than the item or service they are actually purchasing. If consumers maintain this corporately influenced mindset, it won’t be Wall Street that pushes out the small businesses, it will be us: the 99 percent.
Don’t occupy Wall Street by doing your holiday shopping at a small independent merchant. Without the knowledge of why we should spend our money at a local store, it’s an empty gesture that ignores the heart of the matter. Instead, we should take it a step farther. We need to try occupying Wall Street by re-learning the value of a dollar and the value of controlling where we invest that dollar. We need to ask questions. Who made this? Who grew it? Who is providing the service? Who is profiting? Where was it made? Can the employees talk to me knowledgeably about the product or service? What will happen if I have a concern or complaint? Where is this dollar going to be reinvested?
When we start asking these questions, we may be surprised at the answers. Then we may finally find that our dollar is a lot more valuable and a lot more powerful than we’ve been told. Look at the numbers. Several studies commissioned by small towns and counties have been aimed at determining the economic impact of allowing a corporate chain to open. The vast majority of those studies found that the large chain store would be an economic drain on the community. These big box stores requested subsidized land and development from the towns, citing increased revenue that the chain would bring to the area. What was found was that only about 12-14% of the chain store’s revenue would be pumped back into the community. That’s approximately 87 dollars that leaves the community for every 100 dollars spent at a big box store.
By contrast, locally owned stores return 43-63% of their revenue to the community (there is a greater variance because locally owned stores have more varied business practices than corporate chain stores). The money that stays within the community is spent on paychecks and benefits for the employees (who are local), local advertizing, bank payments to local banks, taxes to local governments, charity, as well as supplies, inventory, and services from other local businesses. An additional percentage (one study cited 8.7%) stays within the state. The percentage of revenue that does not stay within the community or the state goes to out-of-state suppliers, credit card fees and surcharges, insurance, government taxes and, often (but not always) mortgage and rent payments. If we choose to spend our money at local businesses, our communities (and by extension we) benefit economically and socially. Once we acknowledge that there is a substantial difference between local and corporate chain stores, we can begin making educated decisions on where we spend our money. Then, and only then, will the 99% be able to occupy Wall Street.
We shouldn’t shop at small, independent merchants solely around the holidays. That doesn’t keep them around the other 10.5 months of the year. We need to use a local business regularly. We can’t do that until we, the 99 percent, ignore the corporate influences on our current valuation of the dollar. We have to relearn that the entrepreneurs we support will reinvest their money in local communities. They pay taxes to local governments, support fund raisers for your town, provide scholarships for your high school, and hire local employees. If we really want to occupy Wall Street, don’t let our money occupy Wall Street’s purse, let it occupy our local communities’.