A friend recently accepted a new position in Burlington, Vermont. As I was checking out the virtual scene, comparisons to New Albany, another historic city of similar size, were inevitable.
In searching for clues as to the differences between the two municipalities, one thriving and the other being us, and how local action may make them more similar, it was again evident that we don’t need to reinvent the wheel when so many others have paved the road, put gas in the tank, taken the car for a test drive and then wisely opted for public transportation.
We may want to consider reinventing money, though. The Burlington Currency Project has created a monetary system, Burlington Bread, usable at local establishments only. In fact, there’s a whole national movement to do so.
It's unclear at this point whether we should print bills with the Samtec logo or trade for growlers of beer, but it's not a bad idea. Let us know what you think.
I would love to see something like this, basically like a locally owned business gift card.
ReplyDeleteI could see it working if downtown businesses came together as a group and agreed that they would accept them and sell them.
It's just another way to try and make sure dollars are spent downtown.
Here comes my plug once again for NewAlbanySource.com :) All of these kind of ideas are ideal for a site such as that which could be the hub for something such as this, though which is currently sitting there kind of stagnant (my time is being pulled elsewhere at the moment and my cries for submissions have fallen on deaf ears :P
Hang in there, Jim. You've done too much work already for it not to be put to good use.
ReplyDeleteThe comments thus far point to a need for a head on the horseman and a horse before the cart, i.e., a revamped DNA.
Nice one Jeff. My bride and I have been looking very hard for sometime now the advantages and disadvantages of that city and state for possible place for retirement. Very, very progressive community that is a good "college town" like Asheville,NC with also that chance to springboard to close by Montreal Canada if things starting getting real sour here in the lower 48.
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