Today's Economic Climate Today national and state governments are stepping up the process of shifting financial responsibility to the local level. The additional burden requires local officials to fine-tune their analytical skills in order to better understand their economy. Knowledge gained from local economic analysis will help communities to control growth and development in ways that benefit their social, political and economic welfare. A sophisticated approach to planning will give more knowledgeable communities an edge in the effort to maintain an adequate standard of living and quality of life for their citizens. Supporting responsible local businesses is imperative.
Local firms circulate money in the community.
In addition, local firms are embedded in the social fabric of the community and are not apt to leave the area for lower-wage parts of the country, or world. However, the public sector can do more than support local businesses to retain the value added produced in a community. In addition to its role as facilitator, local govemment can act directly to establish and support institutions that serve as centers for capital accumulation. Absentee owners, unproductive activity, and distant govemment drain social surplus from communities rather than contribute to community development. Our approach promotes an expansion of public planning and grassroots initiatives to reinvest this surplus locally.