Vermont Dollars, Vermont Sense

August 13, 2015

A growing local economy movement is putting down roots in the United States and around the world, as people work to strengthen local businesses, promote "buy local" campaigns, and end subsidies and other unfair advantages given to nonlocal businesses. Even in its early stages, local investment is having significant impact. For example, Slow Money, a grassroots group promoting local food investment, has moved $38 million into more than 350 small farms and local food enterprises.

Vermont Dollars, Vermont Sense by Michael Shuman and Gwendolyn Hallsmith profiles 28 local investment tools for grassroots investors, businesses, finance professionals, and others–with examples of how these ideas are being realized today in Vermont, the state with the strongest local economy movement in the country. Vermont Dollars, Vermont Sense also makes clear that the local economy movement can and should be significantly larger than it is today, in Vermont and every other state. Using Vermont case studies, it charts the direction that people in every state can follow (future editions will offer specifics on a state-by-state basis).

A project of Post Carbon Institute, Vermonters for a New Economy, Global Community Initiatives, The Public Banking Institute and The Fresh Sound Foundation.

Michael Shuman

Michael Shuman is director of research for Cutting Edge Capital, director of research and economic development at the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE), and a Fellow of Post Carbon Institute. He holds an AB with distinction in economics and international relations from Stanford University and a JD from Stanford Law School. He has led community-based economic-development efforts across the country and has authored or edited seven previous books, including The Small Mart Revolution: How Local Businesses Are Beating the Global Competition (2006) and Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in the Global Age (1998).

In recent years, Michael has led community-based economic-development efforts in St. Lawrence County (NY), Hudson Valley (NY), Katahdin Region (ME), Martha's Vineyard (MA), and Carbondale (CO), and served as a senior editor for the recently published Encyclopedia of Community. He has given an average of more than one invited talk per week for 25 years throughout the United States and the world.

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Tags: finance, local economy, local investing, vermont

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