It seems that every year, the prediction is that a higher and higher percentage of holiday shopping will be done online. Certainly, with covid in full stride last Christmas season, it was far safer and more convenient to simply let one’s fingers do the shopping.
Now, with more and more people vaccinated, perhaps the brave will be able to get out a little and actually shop. And then, of course, there’s the phone for making that happen.
However one can pull it off, we recommend buying as many presents as possible from local vendors. It’s not easy or cheap to run a brick-and-mortar business, especially in today’s environment where people order tissue paper and shampoo online.
But buying locally has a multitude of benefits. Mainly, it keeps people employed. Small mom-and-pop businesses — the types of enterprises that keep America moving — employ scads of individuals, who are then able to live in a community. They are your neighbors, your friends, your acquaintances.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
And if they don’t have jobs, they may not be any of those things as they’ve had to move somewhere else for work. Because they work here, they also spend their wages here for the most part. Gas, food, entertainment — the money for all of that gets churned back into the local economy, creating tax dollars all along the way. Those tax dollars pay for police and fire department employees, keep parks open and they pay to keep streets paved, etc.
If the business owner also owns the building they work in, there are property taxes to be paid, with that money, once again, building up the local economy.
Yes, tax dollars created by online sales now find their way back to the local economy, which is an improvement on the voluntary system that had been in place for years.
But while buying something online from Minnesota or California or wherever an online store exists probably helps keep those employees working, it does nothing for keeping a local person employed.
Certainly, there are purchases that cannot be made here because the buying options are limited no matter where one lives. But there are a lot of opportunities, nonetheless, if one is creative. Gift certificates come to mind, as they work for just about anything one wants to offer as a present, whether it’s cologne, a haircut, a slab of ribs or a car muffler. Chances are a business would love to sell you one, even if they aren’t in the habit of doing so.
So put on a mask or two, head out and create some holiday cheer on both sides of the aisle – the seller and and the receiver. By doing so, you will make the Christmas lights shine a little brighter all around.