By REP. WILLIAM OWENS
The holiday season is a time when we come together with our family and loved ones to celebrate the many blessings of our great nation, and to take a breather from our day to day lives in preparation for the year ahead. At the same time, Upstate New Yorkers like myself and others will no doubt spend some time at shopping centers and local malls picking out gifts for those we love. But, as we all finish our last-minute shopping, it is important to remember that where we buy our gifts may be just as important to our friends and neighbors in the community as it is to those receiving the gift.
We all know that consumer spending plays a major role in the American economy. What is less well known is that those purchases can have a positive impact here in our community if we buy from local vendors. Walk through any downtown square across our district, and you'll find everything from bookstores and furniture stores to eateries and hobby shops. Small businesses like these are deeply integrated into our local economy.
Buying a gift from local vendors has a compounding effect on other small businesses and is important to our community for a number of reasons. First, locally owned stores are more likely than national chains to purchase their inventory from local manufacturers. Locally owned stores are also more likely to rely on local service providers for their banking, accounting, internet service and other needs and are more likely to spend their profits within the community.
Moreover, local small-business owners are more likely to hire from the local labor pool, and if their business grows they can ultimately create jobs in our community.
In light of all this, some studies have estimated that every dollar spent at a local business can generate three times as much spending within our local economy than when we spend that same dollar to buy a gift from a national chain or "big box" retailer.
This is not to disparage retail chains, as they have as much of a place in the economy as anyone else, but for our friends and neighbors who have lost their job or seen their wages fall in this tough economy, any investment in our community that leads to job creation or economic development is of great importance. That alone could make the difference for our job creation efforts and be a first step in the right direction toward putting our local economy, as well as national economy, back on track.
William Owens (D-Plattsburgh) is the representative of the 23rd Congressional District of Northern New York.
