How to Start Economic Recovery at Home

Wary of relying on a government stimulus to solve all your financial woes and keep you afloat until the economy improves? You can take matters into your own hands. Just ask residents of Lamar, Colo. Tired of waiting for federal stimulus dollars, they launched an economic recovery plan of their own, reports CNN.com.

For every $300 residents spend (on everything but groceries, pharmaceuticals and booze) this month, they'll receive a $30 gift certificate good at any local store. Shoppers can save receipts until they have $300 in purchases, or double up with a spouse to get a $60 gift certificate on a $600 purchase. For buying a new or used car, the city will even provide consumers with a $100 gift card for gas at a local station. The plan is not that different from what some small towns did during the Great Depression, when cities issued scrip (currency good in one community) to keep the economy going, said city administrator Ron Stock, who proposed the idea.

Roger Stagner, city councilman and owner of Stagner Inc., a used car and motorcycle dealership his father started 48 years ago, believes the plan could be the town's salvation. "A lot of the [federal] government programs are aimed at the big businesses," Stagner says. "They're not aimed at the people that are actually spending the money."

NFIB is helping launch a similar plan in Florida to plant the seeds of economic recovery in local communities—the Florida Backyard Card initiative gives businesses across the state the chance to take part in a consumer discount program. The program is designed to encourage consumers to reinvest their dollars back into Florida businesses instead of spending money with out-of-state companies that don't contribute to local jobs and tax revenue. Learn more about how the program works here.