"*Buy into the gifts that keep on giving ... to Durham* by Frank Hyman in The Durham News":http://www.thedurhamnews.com/109/story/16679.html

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Just as someone who voted for Bush twice may be experiencing buyer's remorse, you might well ask yourself: "Am I getting the right thing for my family, but buying it in the wrong place for my hometown?"

If all of your shopping takes place at national chains, it might dampen your Christmas spirit to learn that of every $100 you spend, all but 14 bucks has left Durham, much of it swelling the pockets of corporate board members and shareholders. These folks aren't shouldering our local tax burden; instead they treat Durham as a colony to fleece.

On the other hand, nearly a dozen studies show that for every $100 you spend at locally owned businesses, as many as 45 to 68 of your dollars stay in Durham, depending on the type of business. That's 31 to 54 percent more of your $100 building a better Durham.

Some of you may have a credit card that gives you a small rebate on purchases. You could think of buying locally as a way to have a virtual credit card that pays everyone in Durham a 31 to 54 percent rebate, but without the paperwork or the spam. Instead you get:

* more local jobs
* better customer service
* a growing tax base (to keep your tax rates low) and,
* a network of people who know your face if not your name and can help you out in a pinch.

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For groceries, aside from a few trips to Whole Foods (organic) and Kroger (union), we mostly avoid the national chains by shopping at the *Durham Food Co-op*, King's Red & White (where the cashiers might call you "sugar") and the Durham Farmers' Market, which functions as the city's public square. The winter market will operate from December through March in the Central Park School gymnasium. Come April, it will open for hungry voters at a new polling place with a classy metal roof on Foster Street.
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