The approach that the Augusta-Richmond County has been using in its attempts of navigating the year 2020 has been ‘pivot, plan, prep – and then pivot again’ according to Simmons (2020). It is no doubt that county governments, as well as the national governments all over the world have suffered the pains of the coronavirus pandemic, which has had a negative impact on the economies of multiple countries. Augusta-Richmond county is no different. It has suffered the Covid-19 effects, and it has plans on how its growth can be increased in the coming year (2021) and beyond the Covid-19 pandemic. This article focuses on how the county can maintain the current businesses, as well as attracting new businesses and increasing the county revenues, as well as managing the current revenues and transforming the county’s technology and infrastructure.
The Augusta-Richmond county began the year with a challenge because the low unemployment rate would have made civic leaders and businesses focus on the development of workforce. However, it is almost the opposite, as the county is embracing creative approaches for trying to sustain the small businesses as the economy has been wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic. The county is emerging from the Covid-19 shutdown, and according to the leaders, they have tried using their time in planning for a future that, although it cannot be accurately envisioned, will help the economy in regaining its footing and make educated guesses to help the county in being ready for anything that can come next (Simmons, 2020).
Simmons K. (2020). Augusta, Richmond County: relying on a diverse economy. Georgia Trend. Retrieved from https://www.georgiatrend.com/2020/07/31/augusta-richmond-county- relying-on-a-diverse-economy/
Increasing Growth in Small Business Relief
The pivoting ability is helping Augusta as well as Georgians. Being partly funded by SK Innovation, a South Korean battery maker, Augusta University created a free telemedicine application that helps in screening people for the virus. The method involves using a saliva test, an easier method than the current nasal swab procedure (Simmons, 2020). There was a scramble by the small businesses to get e-commerce options, and the chamber offered assistance through different resources such as webinars. Online shopping also increased and different companies improved their online shopping experiences and set up online payments.
It is also expected that about 5000 people will fill roles at the United States Army Cyber Command Center, and therefore more people travelling across, and this could result to housing issues. In addition to the growth of cyber center, the development authority seeks to have more than 80 companies to consider Richmond County as their home. Success by the development authority would bring a potential of more than 9000 new jobs. The main economic expansion impact comes from the federal reserve, consumer spending, increased home building, higher defense spending as well as a population growth that is above average.
If the county can offer relief to the small businesses that have suffered because of the pandemic, it would boost these small businesses, and therefore improve the county’s economy. The government revenues would also improve, because the county would receive more revenues as the businesses develop. The growth of the small businesses would promote innovation and improve the employment rate. With more people employed and earning a living, the lifestyle of the people would improve. They would have more money to spend, and by spending their earned funds, the county would receive more revenues.
Federal Reserve to Consumer Spending
The county can benefit a lot from the federal reserve. The federal reserve helps in reducing the economic injuries that result from slumps. It has different powerful tools that influence the money supply (Hall, 2020). The pandemic has negatively affected the economy, and the federal reserve can be used to stabilize it. The federal reserve manages the money supply as well as bank reserves with an aim of promoting a stable economy expansion. One way that the economy of the Augusta-Richmond county can be improves through federal reserve is changing the reserve ratio. The reserve ratio refers to the percentage of the reserves that a bank needs to hold against deposits. If there is a decrease in this ratio, the banks would be allowed to lend more money to the small businesses, and increase the money supply in the county. By being able to borrow more funds, small businesses will have enough funds to guarantee their operations both in short and long term. The federal reserve can also encourage spending through lowering the discount rate – the interest rate charged to commercial banks requiring to borrow more reserves. Through reducing the interest rate charged, the banks would borrow more money, and therefore more money would flow.
The county economy is a mix of business, consumer, and government financial activity, and the consumer spending is the largest driver of the county economy. As people spend more money, the county will receive more revenues, improving the economy. Consumer spending is a powerful economic indicator as it often coincides with the overall confidence of the consumers in the economy. High level of consumer confidence indicators are related to increased consumer spending in the economy market. Consumer confidence gives the businesses and government an analysis on the perception of the consumers. The Augusta consumers need to spend more, as the economy is negatively affected when consumers increase their savings, invest or pay debts because the businesses receive low consumer spending.
Hall M. (2020). How the Federal Reserve manages money supply. Investopedia; Monetary Policy. Retrieved from https://www.investopedia.com/articles/08/fight-recession.asp
Ms Cynthia Rhodes is a native of Augusta-Richmond County, graduate of Augusta University with a heart for service and a focus on solutions to economic growth. Follow me on Linkedin