The business crisis that beset a Chattanooga pet supply store last week is a heart-warming illustration of the virtues of local economy. Loyal customers of Pet Care Warehouse in Hixson bought enough seed, feed and pet geegaws to rescue the family-run outlet that was facing a back-tax deadline of Thursday afternoon.
Local economy is a concept big enough to save not just one business, but a city, especially in light of the debacle coming over the national debt. The concept of local food has caught on here. The larger concept of local economy is not far behind, waiting to be consciously developed.
One reason local economy should be an idea on every local tongue is that it is not political. The closer our thoughts go toward Washington or Nashville, the more we are trapped into politics. We fall into old-fogey categories. Democrat vs. Republican, conservative vs. liberal. If politics have led to national ruin, do we expect politics to prevent it or make repairs afterward?
The solution to insolvency in national economy is not an election and a new law. It is a locally oriented free market.
Local economy rests on the premise of localism. It centers on the city. It is, for Times Free Press readers, “Noogacentric.” Human nature makes everyone, to some extent, a provincialist. In the provincialist perspective, local is better than remote. Small beats big. Personal is better than corporate. In keeping things small, one hires a neighbor or the man from church. One avoids having to use software to make hiring decisions. Self-determination we like, but rules by outsiders we don’t.