THE RURBAN FRINGE

Shop Local This Small Business Saturday

Holiday season is ramping up, with stores hauling out their seasonal displays and people brushing off their credit cards in anticipation – or dread – of Christmas shopping excursions.
This year, American Express is once again leading the promotion of the Small Business Saturday initiative, encouraging people to focus on supporting their local small businesses which, in [...]

Small Town Tries Economic Development Incentives

Are business incentives a cost-effective strategy to help achieve economic growth?
The town of Denton, North Carolina (pop. 1,650) thinks so.
As part of their Jobs Creation Program, the town hopes to create 150 new jobs over the next five years.  Their plan includes:

Water/Sewer/Trash – Three month grant assistance to approved businesses to help cover water, sewer and trash [...]

Small Businesses Aren’t Everything, They’re the Only Thing

October 16-22 is Small Business Week here in Canada … a time to celebrate the many contributions small businesses make our economy. 
And while the economic recession has taken a toll on many owners and entrepreneurs, small businesses still managed to employ almost half of Canada’s total workforce (that’s over 5 million people, folks) while accounting for over $68 billion [...]

Locavesting: Investing in Main Street Instead of Wall Street

Using historical facts and sharp research to make her point, author Amy Cortese explores the concept of investing locally in Locavesting: The Revolution in Local Investing and How to Profit From It.
In an interview with Fast Company, she states …
“The crazy thing is it’s easier for most people to invest in a company halfway across the [...]

Study Reveals Big Box Store Subsidies Don’t Work

When public money is used to woo private chains, economic growth and job creation aren’t worth the cost, says Stacy Mitchell of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance.  Independent retailers also suffer.
Handling out enormous subsidies to large chains has become common in both the US and Canada, with such deals premised on the idea that new [...]

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