Money spent on imports is worth less to the local economy.
Community-based businesses like those generated by Options for Life benefit the community by employing local people, paying local taxes, purchasing local goods and services and using local utilities.
Money invested in a community has a value to the local economy which is more than the investment. More jobs mean more people spending money in the community on goods and services. Goods and service providers, in turn, also spend more money in the community as they make more money.
Money spent on imports is worth less to the local economy than money spent on local products because much of the money spent on imports is actually extracted from the economy.
Three times as much money stays in the local economy when residents buy their goods and services from locally owned businesses. For example, for every $100 spent in a ‘big box store’ like Walmart, researchers discovered that big box retailers put about $14 back into the local economy. On the flip side, spending $100 at a locally owned business pumps $45 back into the local economy.
