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There is a new move afoot to encourage people to shop locally. The 3/50 Project wants folks to dedicate $50 each month to shopping at three local retailers. The theory is that this keeps tax dollars in the local economy. I like the idea of shopping locally and eating at local, independent restaurants. In fact, I prefer my local eating establishments over the chains any day. I buy much of my food through local co-ops. Local is good.

The only problem I see with this idea is that it is an idea for the elite. And by elite I mean those who actually have expendable income each month. For the elderly on a fixed income or the low-income family who barely pays the rent each month the idea of $50 to spend any way and any where they want is a glorious fantasy. When the blood pressure medication prescription needs to be filled, the patient can choose to pay $4 at Walmart or market price at the independent pharmacy.

To the elite, $50 sounds like pocket change. To many Americans it sounds like the difference between paying the electric bill and not paying the electric bill. Local is a grand idea if you have $50 in your pocket that isn’t already earmarked for basic life necessities such as water, heat and shelter.

Perhaps instead of worrying about where the common folks are spending their money, our local enthusiasts should concentrate on finding ways to create an economy that provides $50 of pocket change for every person.

The Brookings Institute recently released a report analyzing the economic health of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the United States. They looked at employment, unemployment, wages, output, home prices, and foreclosure rates. I found it interesting that the top 10 were all concentrated in one small area of the country. Here is the list:

1. San Antonio, TX
2. Oklahoma City, OK
3. Houston, TX
4. Austin, TX
5. Dallas, TX
6. Tulsa, OK
7. Omaha, NE-IA
8. El Paso, TX
9. Wichita, KS
10. Des Moines, IA

The middle of the country, especially the Southern Plains and Texas, seems to be the hot spot for economic stability. Perhaps it’s a result of our own financial meltdown back in the 80s when the oil business went bust. Maybe we learned back then that prudence is the better part of finance and thus avoided the speculation and shaky lending practices that have toppled some of the most vibrant cities in this country. And, in no small part, the current health of the oil and gas industry which fuels much of the economies of Oklahoma and Texas has sheltered us from the job losses experienced in more traditional manufacturing economies.

Friends and I have noticed a whole bunch of out of state tags on the cars zipping around our city streets. We always have a few due to the proximity to Tinker AFB. However, based on our purely casual and totally unscientific observations, those numbers have increased. We surmise that they’ve joined our Okie ranks in search of jobs and the all-around good life here on the Southern Plains. You’re welcome to join us too.

You can read the entire Brookings Institute MetroMonitor Tracking Economic Recession and Recovery in America’s 100 Largest Metropolitan Areas June 2009 report as a PDF.

Alright, I do consume some things. Mostly coffee and food. However, I am distressed by that fact that American citizens have been reduced to nothing more than consumers who either are or are not buying material goods. Naturally, we all have needs and the often way too voracious wants to satisfy. What disturbs me is that we’ve been reduced to the monetary totals of those needs and wants. We have become nothing more than what our dollars can afford us to consume.

I’d like to think the people around me are much more complex than the loaf of bread they did buy or the grossly over-priced pair of shoes they recently declined to buy. Perhaps these trying economic times might force us to look beyond our fellow citizens’ wallets and see them for the fascinating human beings they are. We might even come to recognize that a culture (and an economy) based solely on consumption is doomed to fail. Sales of big screen TVs and fancy cars might indicate a boost in consumer confidence but they don’t provide an accurate gauge of the human connection quotient.

People (especially politicians) talk about peace and making the world a better place to live. Our consumption, however, gives our true intentions away. Consumption by its very nature equals destruction. For every item consumed, resources are destroyed. Consumption also equals waste. We buy new for the sake of new and throw the old away. Consumption also fuels envy and greed. We consume in order to compete, to outdo our neighbors and to puff up our egos. Consumption, sadly, does not equal compassion or charity — the very things that would actually go a long way towards creating a more peaceful society.

So, I’m trying to read the news these days and mentally substituting “fellow human being” every time I see the word “consumer.” The headline “Consumers spend less, save more” becomes “Fellow human beings spend less, save more.” And when I read that consumer spending is the largest portion of our country’s economic activity I’m a little startled to think that my fellow human beings have become nothing more than cogs in an economic machine.

I don’t know any cogs. I do know a lot of human beings. I cheer them for spending less and saving more. A little less time at the mall might just mean a little more time getting involved in the community and finding better ways to build a society than unsustainable consumerism.

Well, I know one subset of the population that is taking advantage of recent downturns in the economy — spammers. These are some of the subject lines that have made their way into my spam folder:

• Fight Foreclosure
• A “Bailout Plan” for the rest of us
• Realistic Extra Income for the Average Joe
• A new six figure income challenge

You know, even if I needed information on fighting foreclosure or earning extra income I think an unsolicited email from someone I don’t know is the last place I would look. Scary to think someone out there who really does need some help might fall prey to these vultures.