A Vermont Initiative on the Economic Stimulus Package
In May, many of us will receive a check from the government as part of an economic stimulus package. How will you spend your check? Before answering, let’s think for a moment about the economic system we are being asked to stimulate. Our economic system is designed to give the highest return to those who are already wealthy.
What if we consciously used these funds to stimulate our local communities!
Imagine for a moment that Vermonters who receive this economic stimulus check pledge to invest in their local community by doing the following three things:
- Spend 1/3 buying goods and services from local businesses.
- Save 1/3 for future family needs or make a payment on a current debt.
- Share 1/3 to benefit their local community.
What if, at town meetings across Vermont, citizens in each community were invited to join together and pool a portion of their economic stimulus check with the other citizens in their town to be used to address local community priorities?
What if, at town meetings across Vermont, citizens in each community were invited to join together and pool a portion of their economic stimulus check with the other citizens in their town to be used to address local community priorities? If, for example, 500 people in a community donated a 1/3 of their check that’s $100,000. Combine that with many smaller donations and you have a significant community stimulus package! Dream for a moment what these combined contributions make possible. Imagine now, that all those who contributed any amount are invited to attend a special town meeting in June to jointly determine how best to spend this money to directly benefit the needs and enrichment of their community. What a powerful community building experience this could be! This is democracy in action!
The following citizens in Bennington County have already volunteered to bring this idea to their town meetings. If you are interested in doing this in your community and want more information, you can contact Rose-Marie Pelletier (823-0257 rosepell10@gmail.com) and Peter Hopkins (823-5405 peter.hopkins@comcast.net) in Pownal; Bruce Lee-Clark (379-4701 Leeclark@together.net) and Julie Haupt (442-3469 hauptmarr@comcast.net) in Bennington; and MaryAnn Carlson (375-8353 Carlson@sover.net) in Arlington.
This is an idea in its infancy, with many details still to be developed. As we develop mechanisms for engaging citizens, collecting funds, soliciting ideas for ways to allocate this resource and facilitating the community discussion and decision making, we will post them on Pownal’s web site at http://pownal.pbwiki.com. You are invited to visit the site often and to submit your own suggestions.
Together let’s make the most of this one time opportunity for the long term benefit of our communities!