“Buy Local, Shop Smart” Meeting with Councilman Peter Koo
by kace
Posted on August 26, 2011
On Thursday, August 25th, Korean American Voters’ Council (KAVC) interns met with City Councilman Peter Koo to present their campaign, “Buy Local, Shop Smart.” KAVC interns hope to gain support for this campaign, which seeks to improve the local economy.
“Buy Local, Shop Smart” is a program that stresses the importance of the well-being of small local businesses to that of the entire community. Most consumers consider “shopping smart” to be comparing prices and buying items at cheaper prices, but this is disadvantageous to small businesses, which cannot compete with the prices of large chain stores. But studies have found that spending more at local businesses helps vitalize the local economy, and in the long term, is actually more beneficial to consumers. The reason behind this is that local businesses hire local workers and use local retailers, effectively keeping the money within the community, unlike chain stores. According to one study, a $100 spent at a local store will have more than three times the economic impact of $100 spent at a chain store. In addition, supporting small businesses creates new jobs as well as additional output, boosting the economy.
By presenting this campaign to elected officials throughout New York and New Jersey, the KAVC hopes to gain support for the program and eventually begin advertising to educate consumers. Councilman Koo was supportive of the program and offered his assistance in reaching out to the City Council. The KAVC interns who met with the Councilman were Stella Kim, Alex Park, Ye Jun Hahn, Sarah Kim, and Sangbo Nam.