“ I love to see people get out and enjoy the holiday parades and tree lighting ceremonies that are a big annual tradition. Consider hiring a local caterer for that holiday open house party. Take the family to Lumination at Gilroy Gardens. Visit local stores to personalize your gift-giving when shopping for the wine enthusiasts, theater goers, book lovers, or fitness buffs in your life. Take friends on a wine tasting tour of our local wineries. Treat family members to a class at Gavilan or a membership at one of our community centers to explore new interests and develop new talents. Support holiday giving drives organized by our churches and nonprofits to provide food, clothing, books and toys to deserving local families. Make it a date night to attend a local holiday fundraiser such as Community Solutions’ annual Black, White & Bling gala at the Granada.”
Understanding the Multiplier Effect
The American Independent Business Alliance( AMIBA) shows how independent locally-owned businesses recirculate a greater percentage of revenue locally compared to absentee-owned businesses. Hence, going local creates more local wealth and jobs.
AMIBA defines the multiplier effect as being comprised of three elements:
• Direct impact is spending done by a business in the local economy to operate the business, including inventory, utilities, equipment and pay to employees.
• Indirect impact happens as dollars the local business spent at other area businesses re-circulate.
• Induced impact refers to the additional consumer spending that happens as employees, business owners and others spend their income in the local economy.
( Source: amiba. net /)
Local Self-Reliance
According to the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance( ILSR), an economy populated by many small, independent businesses produces a more equitable distribution of income and opportunity, creates more jobs, supports an expansive middle class, and is more compatible with democracy and self-governance than concentrated economic power.
According to an ILSR analysis,“ Amazon creates just 17 jobs for every $ 10 million in sales, while traditional brickand-mortar retailers create jobs at more than twice that rate: 42 positions for each $ 10 million in sales.” We need to be aware that even a retailer as powerful as Walmart is moving a significant portion of its business online, in order to compete with Amazon, despite the fact that this will cannibalize its own brick and mortar business.
Based on this and other studies, ILSR has found that“ places that are home to numerous locally-owned businesses are more prosperous, sustainable, and resilient than those in which much of the economy is controlled by a few big corporations.” Its findings point to“ encouraging signs that community-scaled enterprises are on the rise, charting a path toward a more just and sustainable economy.”( Source: ilsr. org)
Research shows that regardless of the size of a municipality, its most potent tax-generating area is its downtown or Main
Street. A study of over 30 jurisdictions across 10 states showed that regardless of their size, municipalities receive a higher level of tax revenue from dense, walkable, mixed-use urban development. Assessing land use on a“ per acre” measurement of its tax revenue generation, study calculations showed that a county earns about $ 7 in property taxes per acre from a typical big-box retail store, and about $ 287 per acre on a mixed-use Main Street-style business district.( Source:“ Thinking Differently About Development.” Joe Minicozzi, Government Finance Review, August 2013.)
Whether we shop online, patronize large national retailers, or buy from local small businesses, our consumption habits matter. Each has its place in our economy. It’ s up to us to decide how and where to invest our hard-earned dollars, to strike a balance.
“ Main Street” Gilroy and“ Main Street” Morgan Hill are unique. Together with San Martin, they make South County unique— a dynamic ecosystem made up of people whose businesses exist to serve us. People who believe in our community enough to invest locally, hire locally, and partner with local government and other businesses. People who volunteer and give back to our local schools and community service organizations.
At the end of the day, each decision we make impacts the identity and vibrancy of the community we live in. Let’ s make South County the best it can be.
WHY SHOP SMALL?
Small business owners bring Main Street to life.
• They offer products and services we need.
• They employ locals and offer summer jobs to our teens.
• They patronize local banks as well as insurance, accounting and legal firms.
• They generate sales tax revenues that help pay for public safety, road repairs, and a host of other things we take for granted.
( Source: americanexpress. com / us / small-business / shop-small / about)
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2016 gmhtoday. com
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