Support Your Local Lemonade Stand!

True Economic Reform lies in a Change of Focus

A short time ago, one of your respective authors was driving back to his home in the sticks after a busy day tending to business matters in the city. In a small town on the way, a familiar sight was on the curb in front of a neighborhood house. A small folding table complete with a frosty pitcher, a stack of cups, and a white poster board sign reading “Lemonade For Sale. $1 per Cup.” Four children tended the table from their folding chairs around it, and a parent sat on the porch a couple yards away keeping an eye on them. It seemed like a good opportunity to support the local economy and there was little chance of the big guy/girl getting his/her cut of the profits. Soon, an undiluted free market transaction benefited both parties; yours truly from a cold, refreshing drink, and the lemonade stand representatives from a cold, hard-earned, invest-able, save-able dollar bill...and a 100% tip.

Summer and Autumn are times when local economic opportunities are expressed more openly; from lemonade stands to farmers markets where locals trade with one another in town squares, pavilions, and parks. These are people committed to providing quality produce – an essential commitment because it has never been more convenient to pass up a farmer's market and lemonade stand. Consider that groceries purchased online can be delivered in one day. Granted, the buyer has to open the front door and put them away, but the convenience is a no-brainer. Quality is the only selling point that these small businesspeople can use to compete, and many excel. Though they do seek monetary return for their labors, it is merely a part of the wholesome satisfaction that comes from a free, reciprocal, and unforced transaction. These are hard-working, honest individuals, who have no corporate overlord wielding a metaphorical whip over them. This means they have the freedom to more freely adapt to consumers’ changing needs and to make deals with those who have a special need or limited resources. They also more readily recognize and reward faithful patrons who continue to give them business. In short, this economic activity is the closest thing to the pure free market as described by Mises, Hazlitt, & Rothbard.

In America (and the West in general) which is in deep economic decay, this is the kind of economic activity which needs support from the people now more than ever. America’s current economy is largely run by crony capitalists who have created a totalitarian behemoth known as “Corporate America.” Here economic activity has been centralized to the benefit of a well connected few who then treat employees as mere cogs in a machine with no regard for their humanity or individual strengths and weaknesses. Conformity is the name of the game in order to survive within the corporate world, no matter how immoral, unethical or unfeasible the situation. Considering the unrealistic demands placed on peoples' physical, mental, psychological, and emotional abilities, it is no wonder that there are skyrocketing cases of depression, exhaustion, drug abuse and many other health ailments which seventy years ago would have been unthinkable. The system is designed to be run by a few string pullers at the top for the benefit of the well connected and to ensure an ever-increasing class gap between common people and elites.

Like all totalitarian systems, this corporate arrangement is not sustainable. Stifling and abuse of the human creative spirit cannot continue forever. The top-heavy nature of the system ensures that, as the mistakes, crimes, and cover-ups of its manipulators become more egregious, instability grows until it finally collapses. This was how the Soviet Union collapsed economically in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which resulted in its subsequent political dissolution. In America, and many other places around the world, the same scenario is unfolding as corporations are trying to get by with fewer employees doing more jobs. Fewer services and poor quality goods are being offered, and there are more frequent occurrences of empty shelves and re-stocking delays for extensive periods. Government guaranteed profits have become the top priority for corporate elites, replacing customer and employee satisfaction. As a result, the quality of corporate-produced products, services, and jobs has been undergoing an accelerating decline. Now more corporate businesses are declaring bankruptcy due to exhausted, underpaid workers leaving and dissatisfied customers cutting back due to rising inflation and disgust with deteriorating quality.

As the collapse of this corrupt corporate structure unfolds, it is imperative that the common people replace it by building up and supporting local businesses, such as farmers markets, product creators (i.e.: woodworkers and craftsmen), specialists (i.e.: lawyers, electricians, tutors), local traders (non-nationwide-chain stores) and, of course, lemonade stands. This will ensure that the economic transition, when it happens, will be smoother and less painful than it otherwise would have been. Local business relationships will be built which will enable communities to withstand the shock of the failure of nationwide corporate businesses as DC's empire unwinds.

This will re-orient economic growth from dependency on international connections to a focus on local resources and needs. This will be a tremendous benefit to everyone in the long-term as economic downturns and re-adjustments in one area will be unlikely to affect individuals in others. Steady and consistent economic activity will continue for more people across wider segments of the world as recessionary pressures will be contained to smaller segments specifically affected by the downturn. A shorter lifespan for economic recessions and depressions will result as local problems causing these economic downturns will be more easily addressed and more quickly resolved by those closest to the situation.

The greatest benefit which will result from this new focus will be the decentralized nature of the economy. It will substantially check the ability of certain individuals to gather enough economic power to manipulate local economies across wide segments of the world, and influence political matters to the detriment of individual liberty. The decentralized focus will also help establish a bulwark against political centralization by helping people to keep their focus on the local issues instead of looking to issues beyond the borders of their own community. It will provide incentives for people to seek satisfaction and peace in their own community, rather than lusting for more power over others and so repeating the mistakes that have led to the current economic predicament.

There will be pain and inconvenience as the old economic system ends. Many who have benefited from the old system will be forced into a stark learning curve as they go through the adjustments needed to support themselves independently. Even here though, individuals will benefit as they become better acquainted with their communities by helping each other re-build economically as Corporate America collapses. A new spirit of charity and respect will be discovered as each person learns how to support himself on his own merits while appreciating the merits of others. It all begins with the first step of withdrawing business from Corporate America and instead supporting a local lemonade stand, farmers market, small manufacturer, trader, or craftsman.