**Warning: there will be an awful lot of frivolous CAPITALIZATION in the following article.**
Our good friend Viper wrote a blog entry about the “Shop Outside the Box” parade. He voiced some
questions that many of us struggle with. Primarily, is it really that much different buying a novel from Wal- Mart than from the downtown locally owned Sam Weller’s Zion Bookstore?
There are many people who question the goals of local non-profits like Local First Utah, which promotes small local businesses. Actually, I think there are more people who fall into the category of economic lethargy who prefer NOT to think about why Wal-Mart would or wouldn’t be a good place to shop. Due to the very fact that shopping there is convenient, and if they “found out” it was a “bad” thing to do they would have to STOP SHOPPING THERE. Which would be inconvenient.
Inconvenient is the dirtiest of words in American society. Eeeeewwww. Why would you want to do something that was inconvenient??? Even if it is a moral imperative. We want what we want, and we want it in an easy-zip package… delivered to the house if possible. ONE STOP SHOPPING. Or better yet, one click shopping.
We have completely distanced ourselves from the experience of shopping. Relationships with the vendors and pleasure in choice. In Spain (oh no! don’t compare us to those dirty Europeans) every neighborhood block has the fruit shop, the meat shop, the bread shop and various other specific shops. You make one little swoop down from your apartment to these locally owned stores and you can get whatever you need. Store owners recognize you, they know your preferences and they are focused on service. WHAT COULD BE MORE CONVENIENT THAN THAT??? And, you can WALK. You need not even back your oversized vehicle out of its spot. You can stroll down the street, pick up what you need and WALK back.
As for the hopeless picture of stagnancy Viper (and all economists) paint, I object to the use of the logical fallacy, “That’s the way things are and so that’s the way things are going to be.” Just because economic trends have started does not mean that there are no other options nor does it mean that other approaches are invalid or unfeasible. The “answer” to environmental problems that big corporations cause became “RECYCLING” in the 90s. Recycling was a seductive red herring to lure people away from focusing on the real problem- OVERCONSUMPTION and the need to REDUCE (another curse word for Americans). Many argued, “people are never going to consume less or use less packaging… we must turn to recycling what we can to mitigate this inevitable waste.” However, as we have seen from progressive cities like San Fransisco that have banned plastic bags altogether, there are macro steps that can be made to encourage people to waste less. It is equally fallacious to assert that just because people shop this way (at Wal Mart) now, they will continue to shop this way forever- as if we have jumped on the speeding train of Big Box consumerism and there are no engine breaks or chance to slow down.
I of all people, know that it is much easier to wear a “People Before Profit” button than to make difficult choices and commit my dollars to benefit the community. I believe it can be done. I can spend wisely and support my immediate community. And, if I can do it, as LAZY as I am… so can millions. Interestingly enough, there is a national Buy Nothing Day campaign for the day after Thanksgiving encouraging people to participate by not participating. The adbusters ad for this idea was banned from MTV. Guess they don’t want people to not buy their products.
Health Care is a huge issue for Wal-Mart employees and yet another way in which they receive de facto subsidies from the Federal government by not providing health care for their employees and encouraging them to get on Medicare and Medicaid.
I currently work at a small local business with 4 full time and 2 part time employees. I am provided with full-coverage health care as are the other employees. Because of the horrendous health care system in the United States it is very costly for my employer to provide health care, but keeping employees healthy is a priority. One of the ladies employed here works here specifically for the health coverage she receives as an employee benefit. To suggest that small businesses do not provide adequate health care is a common misconception that is totally false.
The majority of locally owned businesses do pay a reasonable living wage. I make twice what someone in a similar position makes (still not much), and my boss is always apologizing for not being able to give me more. Small businesses realize that their employees are not an expendable commodity. THEY ARE PEOPLE.
Job security may be an issue for employees of small businesses. To examine the problem of small businesses closing down enmasse we must examine WHY they are closing down. Many small businesses face unbeatable competition with the subsidy induced low prices at big box stores. What most people don’t realize is that they ARE indeed paying the higher price for their goods, it is simply coming out of their tax dollars instead of at the register upon purchase. My grandfather owned and operated a local variety store in Valley City, North Dakota his entire life. He contributed to the community, excelled in civic duties as a state senator and was a well-integrated part of his small city. In the early 90s a Wal-Mart went up in the neighboring town Jamestown. The allure of “dirt cheap” goods was a temptation for many citizens of Valley City. He and other business owners were forced to shut down their stores and a once-vibrant downtown community became a ghost town.
An “incredible supply chain” is not the only achievement that big box stores owe their low prices to. They owe them to sweat-shop labor in far-away communities they also feel no responsibility to support and US government subsidies, which they use to undercut local businesses & then drive prices back up.
By paying low wages that are below the living wage for the community and by denying the opportunity to employees who may not qualify for other employment to work full time Wal Mart has caused an increase in the poor. They staff their stores with an army of PART TIME “ASSOCIATES” which permits them to escape overtime pay, health care responsibilities and various other benefits the are mandated to give full-time workers. These people must in turn, get another part-time job to make ends meet. Two part time jobs = NO BENEFITS, except for the big box stores. The families are then forced to shop nowhere but Wal-Mart (and the like) thus furthering the perverted circle of poverty they create. That “Wal-Mart makes every wage a living wage” through their low prices is the biggest piece of Rush Limbaugh spew-out BS ever to hit the issue.
I remain convinced that local businesses are the way to sustain a healthy, non-homogeneous community. I remain convinced that the tide of thoughtless, ruthless, soulless consumerism can change and MUST change. And, I remain convinced that the only way to do this is a grassroots revolution of disciplined, informed consumer choices.
It is difficult for me to fight lethargy and admit that with my choices and purchases I can make a difference. I am just as lazy, apathetic and impenitent as any American. But, this parade has renewed my desire to change my shopping patterns and investigate where my money goes. The simple truth is that shopping is a large part of my life and buying local makes it an enjoyable experience not just a chore.
This is the first time Kate and I have hosted a blog carnival on our site and we are very excited for the opportunity. My favorite part of the process was weeding out the unrelated, the advertising, or the completely insane (nothing like a lesson about breast cancer or a computer component add-icle to really help you appreciate cities!). OK, the jokes are out so let’s being.
