May 19--"Cutbacks are front and center for arts groups"

"Area unemployment claims are up"

"Economy won't improve until 2010, indicators show"

"Schools slashing teacher jobs, upping class sizes"

The headlines these days can get gloomy, but there's an initiative in Aiken on Wednesday to help turn some of this bad news into good news.

The $20 on the 20th program, a brainchild of the Aiken Standard, returns this month. Buy something you've put off purchasing. Join a class. Eat out. Buy something you want. Add your $20 to the local economy.

The program that began in April was so successful that the Aiken Standard decided to promote it again in May.

"The $20 on 20 program is a chance for us as a community to band together and show that we have strengths in numbers, and that we can bring positive impact to our local economy by supporting our fellow Aikenites, and creating a ripple effect of consumer confidence," said Michael Gibbons, Aiken Standard's managing editor.

The driving force behind the program is not just that individuals are spending $20; it's that every dollar spent locally multiplies.

"When people spend their money in one industry, there are backward leakages," said Sanela Porca, associate professor of economics at USC Aiken. "An employer will have to pay for products, wages, (bills), taxes -- the costs associated with businesses. Backward leakages is where money multiplies."

When an employee is paid, they will pass their earnings on to another business, and the owner of that business will pass on.

Economists have developed formulas to determine the multiplier, but, in general, it would be 1.98, Porca said. "That means that $20 would produce $38.60."

Even without the multiplier, the impact potentially is large. If all of Aiken County's 105,000 residents older than 18 spent $20 on Wednesday, it would pump $2.1 million in the local economy.

Local merchants praised the program in April, and many are offering specials and will be showing their support by placing special posters in their windows. Some stores will also be giving customers special stickers so they can show their support.

Contact Jennifer Miller at jmiller@aikenstandard.com.

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