In case you missed it, the third Saturday in August is now, by citizen initiative and Governor LePage’s proclamation, officially “Maine Day.” Like so many holidays, its observance is inexorably tied to commerce. In this case it is unabashedly so. There is little pretext of celebrating something else through the act of commerce. Here, Maine merchandising itself is being given celebration. And, that is great. Commerce is great, and spending your money here in Maine on goods or services provided by those who live and work here is the best type of commerce.

“ME First” doesn’t quite have the same positivity of branding as “Maine Day,” but “Maine First” is what is meant to be sustained throughout the rest of the year. Each of the three prominent gubernatorial candidates now share such an economic game plan. Fortuitously timed, our current governor comes from behind and ceremoniously steals the prevailing winds in that realm, deftly appropriating “Home, Sweet Home,” replacing apple pie with blueberry, or, better still, and even more home made, Whoopie.

Political campaigns. You’ve gotta love ‘em. What ever happened to just kissing babies?

Whatever its impetus, Maine Day is all to the good. For me, Maine Day has been my M.O. whenever possible. Buying as local as one can only makes sense. Whatever I intend to buy is sought through local merchants first, and the smaller the business the better. If it can be Maine made, better still.

At issue is the affordability of such a practice. Basic economics makes it difficult for small business to stay competitive with those larger. Quality of life must then kick in to sweeten the deal. Owner in the store benefits, and time and travel expenses, are weighed as value added offsets in calculating bottom line cost.

Buying local, meaning small business, and buying locally produced is inherently more expensive. That’s the capitalist reality of our times. For those who can afford that expense all is well. The predicament for those who can’t is that they must shop elsewhere, hopefully still locally, but more likely in a big box that has no regional or civic identity. Main Street runs up against a global highway.

I love farmers’ markets, but they are a definite luxury. Part of what is purchased is the unparalleled desirability of product. The other part of the purchase enables support for a socioeconomic ideal whose cost remains prohibitive to many.

The dilemma with locally made artisanal goods is that, labor and time intensive, they emphasize a disparity between the way life might be, now enjoyed by the few, and the big boxed lifestyle endured by the majority. Or, preferred. For many, cash strapped or well heeled, national chains beckon for all sorts of reasons. Maine’s iconic L.L.Bean, unrecognizable to anyone that frequented its original store, is now Maine’s first homegrown designer big-box, branded as Maine to the max yet filled with foreign made products.

So, on Maine Day, should one make a purchase from a “local” Walmart or Starbucks? Hannaford or Shaw’s? What about Reny’s and, especially, Marden’s? What about during the rest of the year?

Where is the line drawn as to what is a Maine-owned vs Maine operated business? What if a non- Maine business has a better deal on Maine made products?

Maybe Maine Day will become an exceptional holiday in being the exception that proves the rule. Instead of remaining a celebration of Maine through yet another clever incentive to spur spending, maybe it will be co-opted into a more pure celebration of quintessential Maine, an unbranded Maine, celebrated whether a holiday buck can be made off it or not.

Such ready embrace of Maine boosterism would certainly seem like a win-win political calculation on one’s way to a second term as Maine’s chief executive. The more one dwells on its purpose, however, the more complicated Maine Day becomes in pitting one part of Maine’s economy against the other.

Shopping in a big-box or shopping through a local merchant, many remain politically conflicted in choosing between what is seemingly most affordable and buying American first. Now, we are asked to buy ME first. Governor LePage has far more retail expertise than I, but I would think a Maine merchant of non-Maine made inventory would be somewhat apprehensive, at least in their current business model, of Maine Day becoming an economic sea change, even if only one day a year.

I would rather rally behind a notion that we abstain, for a day’s demonstration, from buying anything at all. This “Mainer Day” boycott would celebrate Maine consumer empowerment, demanding prices aligned with our actual purchasing power, and saying no to a misshapen global-capitalism in which Maine is From Away priced. Imagine that economic game changer.

On our first celebration of Maine Day I changed my purchasing habits not at all. I celebrate Maine everyday. Everyday, I still buy local first, even more so when local products are locally priced. Celebration is fine. Maine first is fine. But, Maine’s economic woes won’t be righted by gimmickry, no matter how well intended.

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Gary Anderson lives in Bath.