The Yuba City Council has approved to match private business funds to help educate and remind area residents of the importance and significance of buying from local merchants.  The primary marketing message is “shop local first”.  Give local business the first chance to help you get what you want.  The money we spend stays where we spend it.  We all need to do our part to shop local whenever possible to help maintain the financial health of our community. 

We all understand that, from time to time, you may decide to shop elsewhere if the price is significantly less or if you can’t find what you need here close to home.  But if you can buy it locally, you will save time, money and ultimately community services and improvements.

For a detailed review of City Council’s decision, here’s the article from the Appeal-Democrat.  Let me know your thoughts.

When times are tough, you often have to take matters into your own hands.  The  Appeal-Democrat is implementing an initiative to pump additional money into our local economy.  It’s time we stand together to make a difference.

The following article will run in the Appeal-Democrat on Saturday, August 8:

By Dave Schmall

Appeal-Democrat publisher

    Call it our own local economic stimulus plan. Or call it what we’re calling it: “$20 on the 22^nd.” Regardless of the name, the campaign’s goal is to encourage local residents to step up and give our community a much-needed economic boost.  How? Simply spend $20 more on the 22^nd of August on local goods and services you would not have otherwise purchased that day.

  Ahhh, but you have questions.  Let me try to answer a few anticipated ones to give you a better understanding of why we’re doing this.

   Why the 22^nd?

   Actually, we were tempted to go with “$20 on the 20^th,” but the 22^nd is a Saturday, when most folks can get out to shop and dine.

  Why $20?

  There is a lot you can do with $20. We know times are tough, but we’re hoping most of us can find $20 to inject into our local economy as our contribution to the cause.

  Do you really think my $20 will make a difference?

  Yes, we do.  Consider this: If every adult in Yuba, Sutter and Colusa counties spends an extra $20 on the 22^nd, that will mean an additional $2.7 million pumped into our local economy. Not only will it generate the sales taxes that pay for police, parks and potholes, but it helps businesses stay in business and pay employees who continue to put money back into the local economy.

  But what happens after the 22^nd?

  Studies show money changes hands about six times in a community, Laura Nicholson, executive director of the Yuba-Sutter Chamber of Commerce, said in a recent A-D story:  

 “You buy a car, go to the bank, you take that money and go out to a restaurant, where you tip the waitress, who goes home and pays the babysitter, who buys a soccer uniform for her son, who plays in a game sponsored by (local businesses),” Nicholson said.

Besides, if this program proves successful, we can do it again.

  What’s in it for the A-D?

  We’re just trying to do our part in sustaining the vitality of our community. 

Let’s face it: the newspaper is only as healthy as all the other businesses within our area, so we all share a vested interest in surviving the current economic mudslide. And yes, we hope that lots of businesses buy newspaper ads to let resident shoppers know what they have to offer for $20.  Nonetheless, we’re going to sell those ads to businesses at $20 each, which is heavily discounted from our regular rates. We’re not doing this to make a buck right now – we see it as an investment in our future and that of our community.

  So there you have it. Set aside two bucks each weekday for the next two weeks and you’ll have your $20 for the 22^nd.  Go spend it and have fun!