Small Shift No Chicken Scratch for B.C.'s Economy

This post is an excuse to share this clip from the show Portlandia. (A great show with lots of evidence that Vancouver is quite a bit like Portland.) Since I feel the need to have a point when I write, I came up with one that fits in pretty well with the clip.

Watch it first, then I'll make my point:

As you can see, this is taking the whole idea of going local to ridiculous (and hilarious) extremes.

There's a new "shop local" campaign that recommends a far different course. Instead of going to extremes, it recommends making a small change, a small change that could make a big difference to B.C.'s economy.  

The Ten Percent Shift is a campaign aimed at encouraging B.C. residents to shift just 10 percent of their household spending to locally produced goods and services and locally owned businesses.

Think 10 percent wouldn't accomplish much? Think again.

The B.C. campaign ties in with many other "Shift 10" campaigns in the United States. A study recently completed in Michigan found that if the 600,000 residents in the area studied shifted 10 per cent of their spending the results would be dramatic.

In just one year the shift would:
 

Create 1,600 jobs.

Create $137 Million in new economic activity for the area.

Create over $53 Million in new wages.

Check out more research on the benefits a small shift can make. 

The point is, you don't have to know your chicken's name to make a big difference to B.C.'s economy.

Pledge to go local in B.C. now.