Saving small, locally-owned businesses is critical to who we are as a community
The unique, quirky, fun, healthy, and inventive local businesses that populate our town set Asheville apart. These businesses create the local flavor that attracts tourists, but also makes Asheville a place to stay and call home. Local business owners are caring employers and committed community members. We need them to stay. Unfortunately the dire predictions suggest that many of our small businesses won’t survive the recession. We need to act fast. This article proposes a tested and successful solution to preserving local ownership of small businesses.
“States and cities could establish public holding companies that invest and acquire an ownership interest in distressed businesses. These Local Economy Preservation Funds (LEPF), as we have dubbed them, could then exit their investments in ways that build a more democratic economy when the recovery begins.”