After The Rock Dissapears


     While I have heard of the term “Shop Locally” I had never truly connected the term “economic multiplier concept” with the shop locally process. At face value, shopping locally keeps our hard earned dollars close to home. It’s not hard to imagine why shopping locally is beneficial as compared to shopping online or even driving out of the area for that better deal. What might not be known by all is just how this process can be expanded by something called “the economic multiplier concept”. This concept is best described as being similar to the impact of dropping a rock into a pond. It is known that dropping that rock causes an impact to the water surface. What might be missed is the fact that that impact doesn’t stop after the rock slips below the surface. Dropping the rock causes ripples that have an ongoing impact on the water and the pond itself. The economic multiplier concept is just that. The ripples are in fact effects shopping locally has on the local economy. For example, if Oliver’s market hires a new employee and that employee decides to relocate closer to his/her new employer, the new rental income brought into the community is an induced (indirect) effect.  If the employee now seeks services locally to repair his bike that too could be seen as a ripple. Additionally, effects such as increased tax revenue can be part of this multiplier effect. If this new employee takes part of his hard earned cash and enjoys and dinner out with his partner, this has a positive impact on the community..another ripple.


     In summary, shopping locally has an impact far greater than simply the purchase price of the goods and/or services. Shopping locally has the potential to positively impact our community long after we leave the local business…long after that rock drops below the surface of the pond. Every dollar spent locally has the potential to support jobs, increase tax revenue, impact other local businesses in a positive way and build the potential for further local growth. Our role in all of this is to recognize the value of our participation is imperative. Finally, we all need to look outside of our own selfish desires. Sure, we could shop online and save $2.00 but do you really know just how much that $2.00 investment could provide in the long run? Do we truly understand how that investment can be added to the investment to others and ultimately infused into our community? Understanding the multiplier concept is the first step in understanding the value of keeping it locally. We need to model this behavior and share the benefits of making this small individual financial investment. Our investment is important as it can support and ultimately sustain the communities we are all a part of. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Seeing the Forest Through the Trees

Image
Photo courtesy of : http://roberthodgin.com/portfolio/work/into-the-trees/ Watching the short documentary titled “Seeing the Forest” drives home the perspective that we (society) see all our natural resources as being ours for the taking. We could be speaking of our water resources, our land or maybe our fish or other land animals. What we fail to recognize is our short term withdrawal has wide spread and long standing implications on the environmental webs in our ecosystem. The Siuslaw National Forest is one such web that society impacted over the previous 40 or more years. The forests of the Siuslaw area were decimated over time in part by clear cutting and irresponsible or uninformed logging practices. Trees play a vital role in our environmental web that go far beyond their role in absorbing carbon, stabilizing our soils or providing important habitat for birds and other animals. The influence and impact on trees branches out into other areas of our ecosystems like st...
Read more

More Than Just Sautéed...An Actual Spore Exuding Superhero!

Image
Discovery Magazine      I admit it…I was not a mushroom fan but that was before I watched the Ted Talk on “6 Ways Mushrooms Can Safe the World” .  While I wasn’t the biggest fan of mushrooms, I guess most of my experiences were gastronomically focused.      T hinking about a mushroom as more that something that is either included or excluded on your dining menu is an important step to start with. Mushrooms are not going to save the world by simply including them in your menu, so lets get that out of the way now. They are however far more than just something to eat. Did you know that we are more closely related to fungi than any other organism? We actually share the same pathogens. Giant fungi inhabited the earth at one point, they survived even after  the dinausauer extinction. Mushrooms are virtual superheroes in our ecosystem and they can be called upon to take on many tasks that could actually help get us out of the bind we a...
Read more

Fueling the Fire - The Bark Beetle Dilemma

Image
Bark beetles are a natural pest that are part of a natural ecosystem when populations are maintained. The beetles bore through the bark of trees and deposit their eggs under the tree’s bark. After hatching, the larva feed on the tree bark as they continue to tunnel into the tree.  The beetles continue to grow and reproduce to continue their life cycle. The boring of the beetle eventually cuts off the circulation of the trees killing it where it stands. Trees aren’t helpless in all of this as their sap can act as a barrier to these beetles. Unfortunately, sap levels in trees are not substantial enough to act as a barrier when trees are stressed or living in conditions that aren’t ideal for their growing requirements. Years of drought in California have left our trees vulnerable to infestation by bark beetles. This ideal environment for the beetles has allowed populations to explode and in turn, infestations have grown across California. Trees that are infested with bark be...
Read more