7th
Hats Off to Local America.
It bothers me when people claim that “corporate America” is oppressive, restrictive, or taking over the world. That’s a pretty tough rap for being built by you, the consumer. Yes, you might shop at mom-and-pop stores, eat at local restaurants, and entertain yourself at privately owned venues, but it all leads back to a few, large sources. Let me explain myself before you begin to hate me too (and even after, you still might).
We will start with the rise of what is now considered “corporate America”. I will give you a few examples throughout to solidify my argument, but do not take my blog as factual, these are simply my opinions and the sources I found to support that.
To throw the first pitch, I will lob and easy one over the plate. Are competitive prices worth the quality you are getting? The small diners or privately owned restaurants can usually offer a decent compromise, but nothing that comes close to large chains that Brinker International (Chili’s, Romano’s Macaroni Grill, On the Border Mexican Grill and Cantina, Maggiano’s), Darden Restaurants (Olive Garden, Red Lobster, Smokey Bones BBQ), and Outback Steakhouse (Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, Roy’s) can offer. Twice the amount of decent food for half of the price? How do they do it, you might wonder. Typically, it is because they cut the middleman out. ordering foods direct saves on the cost of buying it slightly inflated from a wholesaler. Mom-and-pop diners don’t have this option because they cannot afford to buy enough from the company to be worth their time. On average, smaller restaurants have to make up for that cost and do so by tacking it on to your bill.
Secondly, you, the consumer, are at fault. Unless you possess your own farm that is capable of fresh produce, dairy, meat, grains, and so on, you contribute to corporate America, one way or another. As previously stated, smaller businesses must get their supplies from somewhere… but who? That’s right, the larger corporate businesses that have the resources to supply them. I will explain with a t-shirt shop as my example. A man rents a space in a privately owned strip mall to start a t-shirt shop. He hires/trains his employees, but he needs materials and equipment! Maybe he ordered it here:
http://www.silkscreeningsupplies.com/
He could have even been here:
http://www.shirtprintingsupplies.com/
To continue on, he had to at least purchase supplies somewhere (unless, of course, he built everything himself after he mined the metal for the machinery, made the fabric, and mixed the inks). Oh no, after a month of being open, he has to purchase more t-shirts (or make them, but that seems a little absurd)! You, the consumer, bought three shirts last month that he screen printed for you. Wait, if he orders his supplies from a corporation and you buy the shirts from him… BINGO! You are making the bigger companies bigger.
I’ll end with the king of them all, Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, both owned by Sam Walton. Thousands of small businesses rely on these to operate from day-to-day. Remember me stressing the “middleman” that the small restaurants need to purchase from? This is a perfect example: more bang for your buck, but there is still a middleman charge, nonetheless.
http://walmartstores.com/aboutus/297.aspx
This brief history of Walton’s excursion through the world of retail and consumerism. He and his wife sunk 95 percent of the money into one store, not many and not a massive corporation. As you read, it took more than 10 years to open enough stores to gain interest in going public and stock sharing. That can only be attributed to one thing: the consumer. People wanted more for less, and that is exactly what Walton gave them. Sam’s Club gives small businesses the chance to boom by offering products that they would otherwise have to make, raise, etc. on their own. Time is money, and when it is so convenient, how could Walton’s companies NOT succeed?
All of this is a chain of events that connects you, the consumer, with “the man”. How incredibly ridiculous to think that the land of opportunity can be shut down to a local level by boycotting corporations. I hope that the few short words I have written very speedily at least piqued your attention enough to do a little of your own research, but maybe not. however, do not be ignorant to the facts. Corporations are avoidable, but do buy into something that you do not understand or have a solid background on.
