Solution:  Shop at locally-owned small businesses.

Why We Need It:  The centralized, chain-store, corporate economy we live within is part of the reason for the ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor.  Our reliance on mass-market retailers also further fragments our society, puts small business owners out of business, and destroys our communities.  If we keep our money in our local communities, our communities - and the people that live in them - will flourish.  For a more in-depth treatment of this problem, click here.

Why You'll Like It:  Personally knowing the people you do business with is a great feeling.  And over time, keeping your money local will benefit you directly - socially, culturally, and even financially.

In Depth:  Why should Wal-Mart and its mass-market brethren rule the retail world?  Don't let corporate chain stores destroy our communities any longer.  Shop at small businesses in your community and keep your money local, your town thriving, and a smile on everyone's face but that little round yellow Wal-Mart smiley guy.

Take the one-month challenge:  For the next month, every time you need something from a retail establishment, seek out a local source for the item.  Whether it's the farmers market, the Main Street hardware store, the cafe down the way or the outdoor store downtown, make sure you're helping out your neighbors and friends instead of an international conglomerate.  At first you may find it a bit hard to locate sources for some items, or you might feel like prices are a little high.  But if you give it enough time - say, one month - you'll find that the hardest part was the change in your attitude.  Instead of driving your car to do one-stop shopping in some far-flung concrete hell, ride your bike to make a few stops downtown, or near your home.  Once you figure out what you can buy where, your local shopping experience will be a lot less complicated.  And if you take into account the fact that the bit of extra money you might be spending is going directly into your community's economy - instead of into corporate coffers somewhere - the prices won't be so objectionable.  After all, small business owners aren't out to cheat people.  Their prices are sometimes a little higher because they don't have the economies of scale that mass-market stores do.  The small amount of extra money you spend will be returned to you many times over in goodwill, friendship, and community coherence - not to mention gas money, if you stay closer to home.

America used to be built on relationships between community members.  Now it's built on relationships between corporate leaders, who, so removed from the consumer, make decisions based not on what's good for the people, but what's good for their bottom line.  Let's turn that around again, and bring business back to the people!