About

Local Tuscaloosa is a blog about local mom and pop shops. The United States of America exemplifies the greatest experiment in liberty the world has ever seen. We enjoy, and often take for granted, immense economic freedom, political freedom, and the freedom of thought. These three pillars of liberty are intertwined, and each are vital for the others to exist at all.

It would do us good to remember the value of these aspects of liberty, especially during troubling times. And that's what this blog is meant to do. Rather than pontificate on general philosophical points, this blog will focus more on the practical application of liberty on the most realistic level we as individuals and as communities can actually influence: our local community. I live in Tuscaloosa, AL. Local Tuscaloosa will primarily be focused on how we can promote our general liberty by supporting the local economy.

Economic liberty is often assumed to be permanent until we experience economic hardships. Sometimes these hardships are small, like losing a job, or large, like a massive recession. But then, a curious thing happens: people become far more reluctant to act. American liberty is fueled primarily by economic freedom, which is powered by small businesses. Local Tuscaloosa will be a place for promoting small, locally owned and operated business who do not have the advantages of chain stores and regionally or nationally recognized names. This blog is written under the assumption that freedom works best when individuals and society are active rather than passive.

Local businesses hurt during hard economic times, just like individuals do. Small businesses also offer the most employment opportunities to American society. Our natural reluctance to spend our hard earned money hurts businesses, especially mom and pop shops, particularly during a recession. Many people lament the closing of mom and pop shops, while on their way to shopping at big chain stores. When businesses fail because of incompetence or lack of vision, that's one thing. But when they fail because their community in general has just become resistant to participating in commerce, that creates an entirely different environment, one which affects far more than just a business owner. As this blog mentions local small businesses in future posts, please consider a few things:

• The implications of spending money outside your local area
• The implications of a reluctance to spend at all
• The implications of a local business closing permanently
• Treating price as more important than quality
• How could your job be affected by a spend-resistant society?
• How does prosperity work?
• What really happens when prosperity returns to a local community?

As this blog grows, it will feature local businesses I know and believe in. I intend to promote these local businesses because I like what they have to offer, and hopefully you will too. One of the most important aspects of the free market system is communication among the public. Customers and potential customers need to talk to each other about their local businesses. Companies that deserve to stay in business need you to know about them. Businesses that shouldn't be in business, well you also need to know about them. Talk to other people about these things, and don't be afraid to ask others about it too. We do this sort of thing all the time with movies and restaurants and other things. Small businesses need this kind of talk as well.

I am given no compensation from any of the businesses I promote for mentioning them on this blog. The purpose of this blog is to encourage residents of the greater Tuscaloosa area to graduate from speaking of support for local business, to acting on it. I hope to provide reasons to act.

Please feel free to comment on this post with your recommendations of local businesses, stories of your experiences with these businesses, and any other realistic ideas to promote prosperity within our Tuscaloosa community. Complaining seems so easy to do, but it's nice to find some random encouragement now and then.

Thanks for visiting.