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Keep it in Vermont
by Carol Tashie

What will you do with the "economic stimulus" check you receive from Uncle Sam? No matter what any of us may think of this particular governmental plan, most of us will be getting a small share of this $103-billion payoff. So, what are you going to do with your check?

The powers-that-be in D.C. are hoping that we will all use our checks to buy, buy, buy in order to spend, spend, spend our way out of the recession (not that they admit we are in recession - but we know better). They are encouraging us to head down to our favorite big-box stores and buy the latest widget, gadget or trinket. Their plan, reminiscent of the New England Ponzi scheme of yore, assures us that if we all spend this money on new widgets, then widget factories will increase production, hire more widget-making employees - and voila! Our economy will rebound and flourish, at least until this particular pot of money runs out (or until someone realizes that all of the widget factories are now in China).

If you think this plan sounds akin to putting a Band-Aid on a broken arm, you are not alone. If you think adding to our $9 trillion national debt is not only foolish but dangerous, you are not alone. (Yes, the government is borrowing this money. Which future generation will have to pay it back?) If you think it would have made much more sense to invest this money in green technologies or transportation infrastructure, you are not alone. And if this reminds you of the president's inane advice to "go shopping" after the tragedy of Sept. 11, you are certainly not alone. Shopping to feel better, shopping to defeat terrorism, shopping to fix the economy - consumerism as the magic cure for whatever ails us all.

So, what are you going to do with your check?

Many people have told me they are going to use the money to pay bills, thereby offsetting the ever-increasing costs of health care, gasoline and food. And boy, oh boy - I can't blame anyone for taking this route. Sure, no one is thrilled about putting more money into the pockets of big oil or insurance companies, but bills are bills, and too many of us are struggling just to keep afloat. (Recession? What recession?)

But here's another idea, one that came from two Mad River Valley residents who put their heads together and created a new approach - and a new Web site called "Keep it in Vermont." Their idea is simple and brilliant: We all use the money to stimulate our local economy. Instead of shopping at big-box stores, where the money flies out of our state and we end up with products made in China, we "keep it in Vermont!"

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