Shop at home

Shop at home
Support for our local economy will hold the recession at bay

November 24, 2001

This year, it seems even more ironic to devote one day to Thanksgiving and more than a month to the commercial aspects of Christmas. Decorations are up, trees are available, and, on the Friday after Thanksgiving, stores across America were ready for the holiday shopping rush.

Merchandisers order their Christmas wares in the summer. This year, that meant orders were placed well before Sept. 11. In order to survive the Christmas season, merchants need to sell those products for a profit, no small feat during a time when everyone is nervous about the economy.

Television advertisers would have us believe that it’s our patriotic duty to spend our way out of the recession. That might be good for the economy, but most of us feel a little better knowing we have some savings stashed away. What, then, is the right thing to do this Christmas season?

Spend what you can responsibly afford, and spend it locally.

It’s human nature to want to believe that everything is better in the next, bigger, town down the road. Cortez isn’t a shopping mecca, and it’s true that some products aren’t available here. That’s no reason, however, to buy everything, or even most things, out of town. Devote a day to shopping here — and don’t forget Dolores and Mancos. Make a real effort to fill your gift list locally. Shoppers will be surprised at how few names will be left unchecked by the end of the day.

Shopping in Durango and Farmington isn’t cheaper. Gas may be less expensive than it has been, but it’s still not free. Meals cost money. Savings on merchandise are largely mythical — wrapping paper and tape cost the same at Wal-Marts everywhere, and we’d be willing to bet that impulse buying on out-of-town trips raises the bottom line well above what shoppers would have spent here.

Amenities aren’t free either, and shoppers should understand what they buy. Sales tax isn’t all about funding controversial recreation facilities; it also pays for such essentials as police coverage. Local merchants are the ones who support their communities day in and day out, helping to keep school and civic activities going even when the people who enjoy those activities are taking their shopping dollars elsewhere. That exodus of dollars is not fair, it’s not sensible, and over the long term, it’s not sustainable.

We’ve all seen communities in which the downtown businesses catered almost exclusively to visitors, offering products that residents did not need and could not afford. One reason that happens is that locals shop elsewhere. That works (although not conveniently) as long as visitors spend at least as much here as residents spend elsewhere; otherwise, the community suffers.

This year, there’s not as much money to go around, and that means not as much will flow into Cortez. At times like this, it’s even more important to keep what we’ve got circulating locally. We do have wonderful products, including some that are not available anywhere else, offered by the merchants who can only support our communities as well as we support them.

Shop locally. It’s the right thing to do, this year and every year. This year, it combines patriotism with common sense.