Please Buy Local

Arts on Union buys as much of its materials as possible from businesses in the local and regional marketplace. In addition to art and photo supplies, this includes food and beverage for openings and receptions, flowers and landscaping materials (more flowers). It makes sense to buy from local establishments, especially locally independent entrepreneurs, because most of your money stays in the local economy.

Please, if you are receiving the Making Work Pay provision from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), please spend those few extra dollars per week at locally-owned, independent businesses, including Arts on Union, which sells art (photos, cards, paintings, jewelry) across a broad price range and promotes the work of local and regional artists.

During 2009 and 2010, the Making Work Pay provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will be seen in the form of a refundable tax credit averaging up to $400 for individuals, and up to $800 for married taxpayers filing jointly, according to statistics released by the IRS. The Making Work Pay provision translates to an average increase of $13 per week in take-home pay, per household.

Many people do not realize how positively and significantly spending $13 per week at businesses other than big-box, national chains will affect local economies. An average central business district has about 5,000 households in its trade area receiving the Making Work Pay tax credit. Therefore, if each household spends just $13 per week at locally-owned, independent businesses, this equates to $65,000 per week in additional sales for the local economy. Over a 52-week period, that dollar amount will grow to more than $3 million dollars. The true impact of spending $13 per week locally would be seen in the multiplier effect of local businesses investing their increased revenues back into the community.

There are many statistics out there regarding the ways communities benefit from buying locally,
but one constant is that independent businesses are more likely to buy their own goods and services locally. So, if 60 percent is a middle of the road figure for revenue remaining in the community through secondary purchases, then the $3 million figure increases to $5 million over the same one-year period.

Arts on Union thanks the Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC) for its initial press release on the stimulus provision and the Greater Middletown Economic Development Corporation (GMEDC) for sharing the information.

Founded in 1987, the mission of Pennsylvania Downtown Center is to advance the sense of place, quality of life and economic vitality of Pennsylvania’s downtowns, traditional neighborhood districts and nearby residential neighborhoods. Likewise, the GMEDC has a vision and when shoppers buy locally, they help to fulfill the plan for a vibrant community.