This article from the Huffington Post from over a year ago outlines the effect of non-local financial institutions controlling your credit card fees. It's a quick read, check it out.
http://www.newrules.org/banking/article/move-your-borrowing-along-your-money
A well kept secret : merchants, not the credit card company, pay for the points on cards that reward you for using them. Merchants eventually add this cost onto their products, so you end up paying for those points yourself, spread out with the other shoppers who may be using cash or check.
Stranger yet, merchants are charged a fee, in a small business around 2.25%, for accessing YOUR cash in your checking account whenever you use a debit card. Certainly it is a conveniece, but at a cost, again added to the cost of the product over time.
On top of that, some cards, called "non-qualified" by the merchant services providers - the folks who provide the service to businesses, come with a hefty $1.49 swipe fee on top of their other fees for any size purchase, even as small as a dollar item. So when this happens the small business could be paying the credit card company over $1.50 to sell a $1 item. How many points does that get you with your favorite merchant?
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Directory of Local Business has a big supporter!
NW Mich Council of governments has given initial indication they will discuss the idea and lend staff time to creating a directory of local owned/operated business in our region, and possibly take on as an in house project. This, coupled with the recent news that TCLP would like to hear from ratepayers if they would like to spend Baybucks in paying their light bill, gives tangible momentum to focus on localism.
What are your thoughts?
Steering committee meets this Tues, March 1st at 6:00 p.m. at the second flr. conf. room at the building 50 annex at the Commons-(above Cuppa Joe's)
Please comment below if you are interested in attending, with your contact information, in the event of any last minute venue change - like if we all want to get dinner out, for example.
What are your thoughts?
Steering committee meets this Tues, March 1st at 6:00 p.m. at the second flr. conf. room at the building 50 annex at the Commons-(above Cuppa Joe's)
Please comment below if you are interested in attending, with your contact information, in the event of any last minute venue change - like if we all want to get dinner out, for example.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
An accounting for the "cost of nature consumed"
The steering committee for As Local As Possible group met this evening and made the first attempt as a group to define a mission. I offered a draft mission statement as folllows:
"Advocacy for and awareness building of the power of local owned businesses. These businesses create the most jobs, help to build a resilient community, and provide a model of commerce which accounts for the cost of nature consumed in the process.
Promote spending and investing as locally as possible to further this mission"
Although this did not satisfy everyone's view, there was quite a bit of support for a Green Directory modeled after the Green Pages online. A tangible goal of mine is a directory of local owned and operated business, whether it be printed or online or both.
Bay Bucks collaboration was again mentioned, and the offer from TCLP to consider accepting Bay Bucks in payment of your light bill was an opportunity to build upon. Charlie Wunsch agreed to pen a letter offering just such support which could be posted on social media - thanks Charlie.
Janice Benson commented that education wove together with advocacy, and is a very slow process in the case of Taste a Local Difference - how even after 8 years and a successful outcome some people don't quite get the mission of TLD. She also suggested that the Chamber of Commerce should be encouraged to work together with us on this. I assured her their continued participation would be most welcomed, as Tino Breithapt from the Chamber attended the workshop back in October.
Zack Liggett made a suggestion for a networking group that would draw together all similar mission organizations as a type of coalition, combining a speaker program and socializing time with those working on similar issues. Getting an opportunity to hear what others are doing, and hear the back story could be interesting and inspiring, as well as seek advice from specialists on a range of topics.
Conversation followed that pointed out the limitation of "local" and advocated for a more "triple bottom line" value basis, collectively considering the societal, economic and environmental impact.
Inserting the word "sustainable" next to local could be easily done.
This is hard stuff to do, and apparently limitless in the scope - as was evident in the meeting. Participants were invited to write up their interests in the way of a Mission Statement before the next meeting.
The steering committee next meets March 1st from 1:00 to 2:30 again at the Commons conference room second floor of the annex above Cuppa Joe's restaurant. Please feel free to join us, and if this will be your first meeting- let us know if you will be joining us on that date by commenting below, or emailing to aslocalaspossible@gmail.com
"Advocacy for and awareness building of the power of local owned businesses. These businesses create the most jobs, help to build a resilient community, and provide a model of commerce which accounts for the cost of nature consumed in the process.
Promote spending and investing as locally as possible to further this mission"
Although this did not satisfy everyone's view, there was quite a bit of support for a Green Directory modeled after the Green Pages online. A tangible goal of mine is a directory of local owned and operated business, whether it be printed or online or both.
Bay Bucks collaboration was again mentioned, and the offer from TCLP to consider accepting Bay Bucks in payment of your light bill was an opportunity to build upon. Charlie Wunsch agreed to pen a letter offering just such support which could be posted on social media - thanks Charlie.
Janice Benson commented that education wove together with advocacy, and is a very slow process in the case of Taste a Local Difference - how even after 8 years and a successful outcome some people don't quite get the mission of TLD. She also suggested that the Chamber of Commerce should be encouraged to work together with us on this. I assured her their continued participation would be most welcomed, as Tino Breithapt from the Chamber attended the workshop back in October.
Zack Liggett made a suggestion for a networking group that would draw together all similar mission organizations as a type of coalition, combining a speaker program and socializing time with those working on similar issues. Getting an opportunity to hear what others are doing, and hear the back story could be interesting and inspiring, as well as seek advice from specialists on a range of topics.
Conversation followed that pointed out the limitation of "local" and advocated for a more "triple bottom line" value basis, collectively considering the societal, economic and environmental impact.
Inserting the word "sustainable" next to local could be easily done.
This is hard stuff to do, and apparently limitless in the scope - as was evident in the meeting. Participants were invited to write up their interests in the way of a Mission Statement before the next meeting.
The steering committee next meets March 1st from 1:00 to 2:30 again at the Commons conference room second floor of the annex above Cuppa Joe's restaurant. Please feel free to join us, and if this will be your first meeting- let us know if you will be joining us on that date by commenting below, or emailing to aslocalaspossible@gmail.com
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Light & Power considers Bay Bucks
Traverse City Light & Power needs to hear from its rate payers if you want to see Bay Bucks taken in payment for electricity. If you are a customer of TCLP, just put a note in with your next power bill payment expressing your interest in Bay Bucks being accepted at Light and Power. No promises are made by the utility, and one would expect only a portion of your bill could be paid with BB, but the potential here is nevertheless fantastic.
Tell your neighbor. Build local economy resilience with your power bill payment ! Jot off a quick letter to the editor, he would love some mail. Spread the word.
If Light and Power takes BB, they could partially pay willing employees with them, who in turn would spend them at neighborhood shops and for local services, food etc. This would be just the jump start Bay Bucks needs.
Tell your neighbor. Build local economy resilience with your power bill payment ! Jot off a quick letter to the editor, he would love some mail. Spread the word.
If Light and Power takes BB, they could partially pay willing employees with them, who in turn would spend them at neighborhood shops and for local services, food etc. This would be just the jump start Bay Bucks needs.
Monday, January 31, 2011
How does resilience tie into As Local As Possible?
I am coming fresh from a taping of an Up North TV program* with host Dave Barrons, and drawing together the threads of connection between issues, thinking of what I should have said - as one is apt to do at the end of very good conversations. Dave has hosted over 40 shows focusing on personal and community resilience in the face of future shifts in our culture as our world matures into its next phase of development. He was asking how local economy ties into resilience. Resilient here meaning being able to withstand many fold increases in energy costs, or going without things that come from very far away due to transportation costs, or even how to stay warm and fed when energy and food are a bit harder to come by.
What I wished I'd talked about was one proposal from Zach Liggett of Goldeneye Asset Management to invest pooled money of several investors into a project he has called Real Impact, transforming a neglected piece of farmland into a productive organic market garden/farm. This would provide a precious opportunity to young enthusiastic farmers ready to dive into just such a challenge. Here is just one example of how a main goal of As Local As Possible - invest locally - ties back into being just a little better able to fed ourselves with healthful non-genetically modified food. Ties back into job creation, and nurturing or enabling the next generation of farmers. Ties back into community resilience, by fostering a sense of belonging to a place when you know where your food comes from, who grew it, and what was on the land prior to this happening, etc. etc. The ties ins are everywhere.
*http://ir.nrec.org/node
What I wished I'd talked about was one proposal from Zach Liggett of Goldeneye Asset Management to invest pooled money of several investors into a project he has called Real Impact, transforming a neglected piece of farmland into a productive organic market garden/farm. This would provide a precious opportunity to young enthusiastic farmers ready to dive into just such a challenge. Here is just one example of how a main goal of As Local As Possible - invest locally - ties back into being just a little better able to fed ourselves with healthful non-genetically modified food. Ties back into job creation, and nurturing or enabling the next generation of farmers. Ties back into community resilience, by fostering a sense of belonging to a place when you know where your food comes from, who grew it, and what was on the land prior to this happening, etc. etc. The ties ins are everywhere.
*http://ir.nrec.org/node
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Michigan Green Consortium and Clean Up Green Up fever.
The Michigan Green Consortium is a good sized group (40?) businesses and non-profits that was formed about 2 years ago with a goal of attracting green businesses and promoting green practices. I am a proud member, and have participated in the last 2 Clean Up Green Up's - their signature event- held at the Farmers Market parking lot in T.C. This is a hectic and extremely popular event, held on Spring equinox (observed by MGC Sunday, March 13th this year) and Fall equinox. They way to remember the event is the day when you reset your clocks, always on a Sunday, semi-annually.
There is considerable common interest in these two groups, yet a distinction in where the criteria is drawn for what businesses they want to attract. They are embracing Home Depot and Best Buy for example, and that would be ruled out with Local anything.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to become acquainted with their (our) work. http://www.cleanupgreenup.com/
There were 800 vehicles that came thru the line last fall, and people were excited, gracious and mostly proud to be recycling their 75 year old washing machines or their old t.v.'s (Best Buy took them - they were still loading up 2 hrs. after the event ended).
I brought back a beauticians chair, doors, lights, etc. The business next to me, Evergreen Bottle Company, accepted a variety of used wine and select other bottles. Bay Area Recycling was a hero with their accepting Styrofoam packing materials and thousands of plastic plant pots, well - plastic everything really.
The intersection of green living practices/local owned operated business/local money is not on many maps. All of the pieces are here. Can we figure out how to put them together, and have as much fun doing it as the seniors going thru the line last November with their ancient appliances, their carefully folded scraps of plastic sheeting they have had under the staircase for 12 years - just in case? Some people were giddy with joy over the fact we were taking their stuff. I just hope it was happiness, not laughing AT us for being crazy enough to take it. There is a lot to say in admiration for Best Buy taking the TVs, and Home Depot taking the light bulbs and tool batteries.
How to weave together an identity of a new group, and yet not ignore the good that is going on now, already. That will be a big challenge. MGC should be in on this.
There is considerable common interest in these two groups, yet a distinction in where the criteria is drawn for what businesses they want to attract. They are embracing Home Depot and Best Buy for example, and that would be ruled out with Local anything.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to become acquainted with their (our) work. http://www.cleanupgreenup.com/
There were 800 vehicles that came thru the line last fall, and people were excited, gracious and mostly proud to be recycling their 75 year old washing machines or their old t.v.'s (Best Buy took them - they were still loading up 2 hrs. after the event ended).
I brought back a beauticians chair, doors, lights, etc. The business next to me, Evergreen Bottle Company, accepted a variety of used wine and select other bottles. Bay Area Recycling was a hero with their accepting Styrofoam packing materials and thousands of plastic plant pots, well - plastic everything really.
The intersection of green living practices/local owned operated business/local money is not on many maps. All of the pieces are here. Can we figure out how to put them together, and have as much fun doing it as the seniors going thru the line last November with their ancient appliances, their carefully folded scraps of plastic sheeting they have had under the staircase for 12 years - just in case? Some people were giddy with joy over the fact we were taking their stuff. I just hope it was happiness, not laughing AT us for being crazy enough to take it. There is a lot to say in admiration for Best Buy taking the TVs, and Home Depot taking the light bulbs and tool batteries.
How to weave together an identity of a new group, and yet not ignore the good that is going on now, already. That will be a big challenge. MGC should be in on this.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Jan 14th notes cont'd - setting the bar high - a directory....
This is the second half of the Jan. 14th meeting notes, see below for first half.
"Setting the bar high" for defining what businesses we want to promote was one suggestion that stood out from several folks in the evening. The over use of the word "local" renders it diluted, a weak standard. By defining the criteria for all that could be encompassed in a local campaign, a local philosophy, we have a rare opportunity to pull together a lot of otherwise disparate issues under one tent.
If we as a group want to truly stand out and compete for attention, we could hammer out a definition of our values that are roused by the combination of eating local food, circulating local script, practicing lifestyles with respect for our own health, and our fellow man, and in turn our home Earth. Or as Bill McKibben now spells it: Eaarth. He maintains it is no longer the same place, so it needs a new moniker. Should local become Locaal?
A tangible goal: directory of businesses. If we take the time to make a directory of local business, we could incorporate all local owned and operated business with the autonomy to make their decisions on how they staff, supply, fund, insure, advertise and manage their business, PLUS we can put a spotlight on a business that constantly pushes the barriers of what can be done to create a cleaner world to leave to our grandchildren, like Bay Area Recycling. Or a business that creates new opportunities for more to grow and sell organic food, like Oryana and Food for Thought.
This should be done in a manner that encourages more joined efforts from our colleagues as opposed to being superior about it. I am far from a purist, but I like idealism.
6 people of the 15 present agreed to be on a steering committee to, I anticipate, write a mission statement and perhaps take a first stab at defining the criteria of what we mean by local - . reporting this back to the full group in a month. Andy Gale suggested, and I concur, that waiting a month for the steering committee to first meet would be too long, two weeks might be good. Those six are Andy, Zach Liggett, Charie Wunsch/ Barb Folan, Jeremy Truog, Chelsea Bay Wills and myself.
This concluded the business promotion half of meeting.
Zach Ligget of Goldeneye Asset Management next laid out some seed ideas for local investment. In a nutshell, there are numerous scenarios with a few common ingredients:
1. Collective or co-operative decision making by investors, all participate to some degree in decisions.
2. Investments per person in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. (more on how to include lesser investors later)
3. Buy real estate outright, (avoid interest expenses), with or without improvements, that are at distressed prices. Make a smart buy. Have enough investors at start to pay for the remodel of any improvements.
4. Plan on leaving your money invested "slowly", in the range of 8 to 12 years.
5. Reinvigorate the asset into the best, greenest, energy efficient, sustainable property we can.
6. Provide opportunity to involve the young, under banked to lease to own it. Use lease income for maintenance and taxes. Use local businesses that already practice these values in the design, remodeling, etc.
7. Sell asset with goal of making a return equaling 6 to 9% per year. Repeat with a new project.
more tomorrow
"Setting the bar high" for defining what businesses we want to promote was one suggestion that stood out from several folks in the evening. The over use of the word "local" renders it diluted, a weak standard. By defining the criteria for all that could be encompassed in a local campaign, a local philosophy, we have a rare opportunity to pull together a lot of otherwise disparate issues under one tent.
If we as a group want to truly stand out and compete for attention, we could hammer out a definition of our values that are roused by the combination of eating local food, circulating local script, practicing lifestyles with respect for our own health, and our fellow man, and in turn our home Earth. Or as Bill McKibben now spells it: Eaarth. He maintains it is no longer the same place, so it needs a new moniker. Should local become Locaal?
A tangible goal: directory of businesses. If we take the time to make a directory of local business, we could incorporate all local owned and operated business with the autonomy to make their decisions on how they staff, supply, fund, insure, advertise and manage their business, PLUS we can put a spotlight on a business that constantly pushes the barriers of what can be done to create a cleaner world to leave to our grandchildren, like Bay Area Recycling. Or a business that creates new opportunities for more to grow and sell organic food, like Oryana and Food for Thought.
This should be done in a manner that encourages more joined efforts from our colleagues as opposed to being superior about it. I am far from a purist, but I like idealism.
6 people of the 15 present agreed to be on a steering committee to, I anticipate, write a mission statement and perhaps take a first stab at defining the criteria of what we mean by local - . reporting this back to the full group in a month. Andy Gale suggested, and I concur, that waiting a month for the steering committee to first meet would be too long, two weeks might be good. Those six are Andy, Zach Liggett, Charie Wunsch/ Barb Folan, Jeremy Truog, Chelsea Bay Wills and myself.
This concluded the business promotion half of meeting.
Zach Ligget of Goldeneye Asset Management next laid out some seed ideas for local investment. In a nutshell, there are numerous scenarios with a few common ingredients:
1. Collective or co-operative decision making by investors, all participate to some degree in decisions.
2. Investments per person in the $10,000 to $20,000 range. (more on how to include lesser investors later)
3. Buy real estate outright, (avoid interest expenses), with or without improvements, that are at distressed prices. Make a smart buy. Have enough investors at start to pay for the remodel of any improvements.
4. Plan on leaving your money invested "slowly", in the range of 8 to 12 years.
5. Reinvigorate the asset into the best, greenest, energy efficient, sustainable property we can.
6. Provide opportunity to involve the young, under banked to lease to own it. Use lease income for maintenance and taxes. Use local businesses that already practice these values in the design, remodeling, etc.
7. Sell asset with goal of making a return equaling 6 to 9% per year. Repeat with a new project.
more tomorrow
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