Forget Wall Street — Let’s Invest in Our Own Streets

“All of us are overinvested in the global companies we distrust—and all of us are underinvesting (that is, not investing at all) in the local businesses that we love.” – Michael Shuman

Jun 13, 2025

What if Instead … We Bet on Local?

In this episode of What if Instead?, hosts Mim Plavin-Masterman and Alejandro Juárez Crawford speak with Michael Shuman, economist, attorney, author, Main Street Journal publisher, and a leading voice on community economics. Together, they challenge one of the deepest assumptions in economic development: that salvation comes from somewhere else.

For decades, governments and institutions have invested resources into chasing outside corporations. But what if the solution to job creation, resilience, and wealth-building was already right here—in the neighborhood coffee shop, the family-run grocery, the local co-op?

Listen to the full episode!

“You can do about 90% of what people actually consume in a competitive way within any given region of the planet.” – Michael Shuman

Our Priorities Are Backward

Billions go into subsidies for out-of-town companies that often leave within years.
Local businesses get crumbs, despite being better at creating jobs and keeping wealth in the community.
Policy and finance overwhelmingly reward scaling up and global expansion, while ignoring hyperlocal potential.

The Capital is There—but Misplaced

This isn’t just a policy problem. It’s a capital problem. Most Americans’ money is tied up on Wall Street, where it’s disconnected from their communities.

Michael urges us to ask: What if you could invest your retirement funds in your neighbor’s bakery, your local bookstore, or a renewable energy co-op?

He’s spent years helping states and towns create frameworks for this—from local stock exchanges to investment clubs and crowdfunding strategies.

Democratizing Investment

Shuman envisions a system where local people back local businesses. Where citizen investors, not just VCs, direct capital toward the places they live.

With tools like community investment funds, public banks, and self-directed IRAs, this future isn’t just a dream. It’s underway.

“We need to stop pretending local investing is risky and Wall Street is safe. The real risk is doing nothing,” he says.

So, What if Instead?

What if economic development wasn’t about recruiting saviors—but instead recognizing the power of what’s already here? What if finance was reimagined not as extraction, but as connection?

Michael says it best:

“Economic developers believe that wealth is generated when big global companies set up factories, usually manufacturing factories in someone's backyard.”