With the supply and shipping issues, it's going to be more important than ever to keep our economy as local as humanly possible. 

This concept is known as the "Shadow Economy" (sometimes "underground economy" or "grey market"). 

It is also long been a concern for the powerful entities that control the "official" economy....

The IRS:

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The best way to locate an undergrounder is through cash invoices found in related examinations. When the examiner encounters payments for goods or services made in cash and verified by questionable,  possibly handwritten, invoices, it is very likely the taxpayer paid an undergrounder to do the work.  further questions should be asked to determine how the taxpayer located the underground worker, and if the worker is known to work for other local businesses, or if they worked on personal jobs for the taxpayer.

If the examiner follows up and determines the undergrounder’s home is not extravagant, do not be dissuaded. Even a small economic lifestyle will cost money to maintain, and it may be deceptive because cash expenditures and cash accumulation are not immediately evident. The undergrounder’s lifestyle will still require more income than what is reported.

The Federal Reserve :

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The informal economy, also known as the underground economy or black market, is very hard to measure. A good example is the produce vendor on the street who sells the same vegetables you find in the supermarket but handles only cash and pays little or no taxes

The International Monetary Fund: 

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A factory worker has a second job driving an unlicensed taxi at night; a plumber fixes a broken water pipe for a client, gets paid in cash but doesn't declare his earnings to the tax collector; a drug dealer brokers a sale with a prospective customer on a street corner. These are all examples of the underground or shadow economy—activities, both legal and illegal, that add up to trillions of dollars a year that take place "off the books," out of the gaze of taxmen and government statisticians.

Investopedia  :

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All such under-the-table transactions, in which participants fail to report their income to the IRS or the state, are technically considered to be underground economic activities. This status can even apply to babysitters who don't report the cash that they pocket after watching Junior down the street.

And commercial interests like MasterCard :

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Action is needed and it should come in the form of education and awareness raising activities for consumers on (1) how greatly the shadow economy affects economic growth and spending on public services and (2) on how we as consumers can take steps to counter it. Simply asking for a receipt makes a difference but often we don’t do it. By combining this type of behavioural change with a move to a cashless society we can effectively counter undeclared transactions.

To enable this shift, investment and development of payment infrastructure is needed at both private and public level. It can facilitate not only the registering of transactions but also speed, reliability and security of payments and collection. Whether it be paying utility bills or tax online or buying groceries at the supermarket, consumers have shown willingness towards this type of cashless transaction. Nearly 80% of respondents across the CEE region are eager to pay electronically more often and 86% would take receipts for each transaction

 

Sadly, reliance on technology and increased scrutiny of cashflow (by the forces mentioned above, et al) are making it more difficult for today's generations to participate in the porch-to-porch relationships that our grandparents were free to engage in.

1 hour ago, MsKreed said:

Sadly, reliance on technology and increased scrutiny of cashflow (by the forces mentioned above, et al) are making it more difficult for today's generations to participate in the porch-to-porch relationships that our grandparents were free to engage in.

Good grief!