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Saturday, 04 July 2009 |
The sad story of Gayla and Martin Wolf of Rocking K contains a moral that shouldn’t be lost on any of us.
The couple chose to pay a retainer for some tree service from a man who purported to be a tree contractor from Fresno. They, not the trees, got trimmed to the tune of $500.
Every year throughout America a percentage of itinerant roofers, gardeners, painters or whatever come to a town, do shoddy or no work, and then move on to the next town. Experts in those fields, as well as law enforcement spokesmen remind us annually to check on the contractor’s license number before engaging those folks.
Lost in all that, however, is something just as obvious: Hire local tradespeople and rest assured that not only will they be around to back up their work, but they come with local references. Local contractors who don’t perform don’t last long in the business.
Shopping locally first is a rallying cry in rural America. Including local contractors in that thought makes just as much sense as when buying clothes or appliances.
The out-of-town contractor may well charge a few dollars less and even do great work, but that’s no bargain when you think about how those dollars travel out of town.
Local contractors hire local employees, pay local taxes, volunteer in local enterprises and donate to local charities and churches. The money you spend locally circulates again and again right here in the Eastern Sierra – some estimates are as much as seven times.
In addition to the risk involved, the money you save when you choose to hire an itinerant contractor falls way short of the actual civic cost of that decision.
Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Mammoth Times Editorial Board, comprised of publisher Dave Balcom and editor Diane Eagle. Signed editorials are the opinion of the author. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 13 July 2009 )
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