Buy local

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

A letter in last week’s Journal from Anita Lorah Hinkle reminds us of the importance of buying locally. Her letter is specifically about the Merrimack Farmers Market, now in its third year, but we can extrapolate and remind readers that we are the ones who keep our neighbors in business.

Why is that important?

Because Merrimack is a town where local businesses help to keep the tax rate down. Imagine, if you can, a community that had no businesses, no industry, and relied entirely on homeowners to fund municipal services. Your tax rate would be considerably higher, as would your tax bill, of course, and if you are on a fixed income, well, good luck.

We know that it is sometimes more convenient to shop at a mall, and that we have gotten used to shopping online, and that’s all well and good. Convenience is important, of course, but when you buy from half.com, for instance, you might be saving a bit on a book, but you won’t be helping your community in the long run. That local book store pays property taxes as does the local gas station and the local restaurant and the local clothing shop.

In and of itself, the Merrimack Farmers Market doesn’t pay property tax, but the farmers who sell their goods there certainly do and the more solvent they are, the less likely it is that they will default on those taxes.

So, think locally when you think shopping.

And if you haven’t been to the Merrimack Farmers Market, well, it’s held every Wednesday from 3:30-6:30 p.m. at the Merrimack Commons across from the post office.

Lettuce is good. Local lettuce is better.