Tax breaks are great, but "Who Gives?"

     Dear Krista, of "Kids in Cattle Country":  First of all I appreciate you bringing such matters to my attention.  You bring up a very relevant issue in your July 25th entry titled "Healthy Business is the Cure."  Thanks to these blogs, this class has probably been the learningest class I've taken at ACC.  If you haven't read my blog, you might not know that I've been planning to follow the food trailer trend that's taken over Austin in recent years, and open up my own smoothie/sandwich shop in a renovated AirStream soon (location to be determined by lease price, obviously).  Anyway, it's of great interest to me to know that Perry is planning on giving a tax break to help small businesses thrive in central Texas.  While this action will no doubt be beneficial to us little guys who need the assistance most, I'm not sure that, alone, it'll be enough to fix our growing state deficit.

      People, not just the state, are broke.  That's the issue.  They don't go out as much.  They can't afford to drive as far.  They can't lavish on themselves like they used to.  And the relatively low number of teachers that you say were laid off are not just moving out of the city or state to go find new teaching jobs.  They're going back to old jobs; getting back into the hospitality and service industries, and further raising competition for the positions that we undergrads have held onto so dearly for years.  What this has created, in my opinion from the inside of the beast, is a perpetual black hole of debt.  Unless it's just me, the money being spent in all industries (except for petrol and technology) is waning.  And if we aren't even spending like we used to, then how can the state justify 40,000 tax breaks?  I'm not denouncing the tax leniency for small businesses, just making the argument that such a grand problem needs more than one solution.    

      In order to make money where there is none, the citizens of Texas, not just the governing bodies, need to get more creative.  From what I've read in a March article in Community Impact's online News Magazine, Austin already has about 40,000 small businesses (with annual incomes under 1 million dollars) that may be eligible to bypass the franchise tax.  Also, though I know that Austinites have a general "Anti-Wal-Mart" mentality and prefer to shop local, my question then is "Why are our small businesses struggling, and why are our schools being shut down?"  I know these questions might sound irrelevant, but my simple point is, Austin has the small business thing down.  But that doesn't keep people out of Wal-Mart and HEB, where everything's cheaper because they buy in bulk and from far far away.  If people could afford the prices at their local "specialty shops," then they would probably shop local more often.  The thing that Austinites look for if they are willing to shop at these niche shops is uniqueness in selection, stand-out food (in an eatery), or just to get more bang for their buck.

      I propose a new type of internet advertising agency that kills these two birds with one stone.  While I'm not gunna go completely into detail (as it's still in its infancy, and I don't want it stolen) I will explain the most important aspects of my affordable ad agency, "Who Gives?".  First, it will be cheap.  I'm talking cheap enough for the small mom and pop shops that never thought they could afford a commercial to have a face in quality production, HD video.  Next, and most importantly I believe for the economy and smart shoppers alike, it will feature only companies that give to a cause of some sort.  Any cause what-so-ever.  As long as they are giving back to the community, or to a non-profit organization, we will feature them, and do all the boasting of their benevolence for them.  Most companies that give, although it may be a tax write-off, don't often go much further than hanging up a 'Thank You' from their neighborhood church/school.  In my opinion, if I'm gunna shop locally, and pay a higher price for my specialty goods, I would just like to know what exactly that company stands for other than profits.  If they have an ad agency that highlights the good they are doing for the community while offering cheap commercials, you can bet their business, along with their neighborhoods, will begin to come alive again with an audible heartbeat.

      If you had to pay a dollar more for every burger, sandwich, cup of soup, taco, donut, or cup of coffee, but it was local, delicious, and it helped keep (insert school name) Elementary open another year, clothed the homeless during winter, or helped save puppies from slaughter... Wouldn't you pay more attention to where your money was going, and in turn be willing to pay more for goods offered by local businesses?  I think Perry's small business tax break is a good idea.  But with "Who Gives?" and a New Level of genuine concern for where our dollars go running concurrent, local start-ups in Austin, Texas and eventually the entire country can really start to make their mark.