Want to Help Fight the Recession? Buy American...Anything!

By Si Dunn

Billionaire Warren Buffett recently has announced that he is now aggressively buying American stocks, because the current financial crisis has left them undervalued and ripe for turning a profit once conditions improve.

Most of us won't be buying large blocks of stock any time soon, of course. But there is another, less-expensive, way we can follow Mr. Buffett's lead.

The prices of American services and American-made goods also are being depressed by the economic downturn, as providers and merchants struggle to keep their doors open and pay their employees during the long months of recession that lie ahead.

We'll all have to be careful with our money, of course. But those of us who still have jobs and savings should make a special effort to help keep our favorite restaurants, car repair shops, laundries, book shops, gift shops, produce stands and other small firms in business.

We can't help everyone, of course. We can't save the economy on our own. But if we make a deliberate effort, at least a couple of times a week, to buy something extra or get a long-overdue problem fixed, we can keep a little money moving in our local economies.

The laundry owner who makes a few extra bucks today by dry cleaning your suit may decide to buy a hamburger on the way home from work. The tire salesperson who was happy to replace your thin tires earlier this week may have gotten just enough commission to buy a spouse a birthday cake from a favorite little bakery. A $5 gift you're planning to buy tomorrow may help provide the shop owner with just enough lifted spirit to decide to stay in business.

As the old saying goes, every little bit helps.

And don't forget the charities, churches and special programs in your community. The ones you have supported could use an extra dollar or two right now. And the ones that you've thought about supporting are now in need of something more substantial than your intentions.

Everyone is hurting, and we're all in this together.

If we each do a little bit and keep making it a weekly habit, our small gestures can add up to big help in a hurry, for our neighbors, our community and our nation.

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