Lots of folks 'round these parts are very excited about BALLE, the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies. I think the group does some good stuff, but it seems a little cookie-cutter to me. And BALLE's kissing cousin, Michael Shuman, appears to be an ideologue whose ideas would be incredibly hard to implement in the real world.
Still, both BALLE and Shuman have some good ideas worth considering and BALLE, in particular, is a fine aggregator of information on the value of local living economies. Here are some items from the latest BALLE newsletter (with a tip of the hat to Dan Coleman for doing the digesting for me):
1) Van Jones' new book has a 10-page "policy ideas"
section on green collar jobs.
2) 80 indie weeklies are participating in a spend $100
locally for the holidays promotion.
3) Michael Shuman wrote an article on local investment
mechanisms.
4) A proposed Agenda for a New Economy.
5) The City of Denver proclaims Buy Local Week.
6) Elfster has a "Secret Santa" website
supporting local businesses.
What do you think?
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