The Threat to Ypsi's Local Economy in 1906 Wasn't Globalization

Cheap goods shipped from distant places hurt the local economy. It’s better—no, vital—to shop locally. It’s also a waste of money to buy a cheap but inferior product from afar when a better, if more expensive local one will last longer.

These were the themes of a talk given at an Ypsilanti business association. The themes sound familiar in a globalized Internet age that offers the choice of whether to buy goods made elsewhere or online, or patronize an Ypsilanti store. “Buy Local” is now a familiar idea.

But it isn’t new. The talk at the business meeting occurred not in 2010 but in 1906. The goods from afar undercutting the local economy weren’t from distant countries or the Internet. Read more...