Go Local National News

quite a year

It’s been quite a year.  The movement for an economy that is just, sustainable, independently owned, and community-rooted has been growing by leaps and bounds.  More people than ever have been moving their money, shifting their shopping, blocking big-box projects, and calling on elected officials to overturn policies that favor big corporations and enact those that support local enterprise.
Here are some inspiring stories from this year:
~ Sales at independent bookstores are up 15 percent so far this holiday season.
~ A town says no to Walmart and opens a community-owned department store instead.
~ Stories of local businesses revival from Asheville, the Boston metro, and Oakland.
~ A new study finds independent businesses generate more local economic activity and jobs than chains.
~ Small business owners do not feel overtaxed and over-regulated, a survey finds.
~ The wealth of the six Waltons, heirs and owners of 48 percent of Walmart stock, equals the combined wealth of the bottom 30 percent of the population.  We’re talking about the 0.000006% here.
~ Saying “buy local” inside a Walmart store can get you arrested.
Walmart wants to be the nation’s biggest primary care provider.

            - information obtained from The Hometown Advantage Bulletin