I had a lengthy discussion with my Mom last night about the deterioration of the small downtown where she used to live in rural Pennsylvania, population 9755 as of 2006 and her shopping habits. She felt a little defensive about my recent posts and thought that I should know the real story, vs. my naive assumptions and grand ideologies. She said that their downtown started failing way before Walmart moved in - probably when the now defunct K-mart started business outside of town in the 1970’s or 80’s. She mentioned that when my brother was growing up, there were three men’s clothing stores downtown and now nothing. She used to send him to the store, have him pick out his school clothes and then the store owner would hold the clothes until she was able to make it in to pay the bill. So, what’s a consumer to do if you have no other choices? You go to the only store in town that has men’s clothing - Walmart, Kmart et al.
My Mom is probably representative of a lot of people in the US - when she runs her errands, she is looking for one stop shopping and doesn’t want to go from store to store looking for the right item when she can get it all under one roof for a lower cost than at the mom and pops. She illustrated her point by telling me that the brand of English Muffins she buys is a full .50 cents cheaper than the local grocery store. You can see how the savings would add up - and she is retired and on a fixed income. The downtown where she currently lives, population 3955 as of 2006, has been revitalized but is chock full of gift shops and other types of homegrown businesses that stock items she really doesn’t need.
I still maintain that resignation is not the answer - that cost and convenience do not justify giving in to the system. I do not want to live in a homogeneous country. Gee, I wouldn’t have to travel anywhere since the landscape of bix box stores would be the same across the nation. I asked my Mom if she had watched the movie - The Story of Stuff, that I had posted last week and she said she didn’t have the time. I replied, “Mom, you’re retired!” She, like a lot of other people, just doesn’t want to hear the message. I’m not picking on my Mom, here - I love her dearly, I’m just trying to understand.
So, as with my previous rants, I’m not trying to criticize the people who do shop at places like Walmart, but rather want to point out how our system has changed the way America shops (I can’t really speak for other countries) and I would argue this change has shifted our values. My Mom did counter that some local shops have had an increase in business despite Walmart and Lowes moving into town since they offer customer service that neither of these places do such as a locally owned appliance shop where she bought her appliances for her new house a couple of years ago. She knows if they break down, the owner, with whom she is on a first name basis, will promptly dispatch a service technician to her home vs. dealing with a large bureaucratic corporations like Walmart or Lowes because she has a relationship with the owner having shopped there for the past 30 years.
So, maybe that’s what it’s about - building relationships within our communities. Buy local when possible and maybe just maybe, we can start to reverse the trend.
The other day, I decided to take stock of my own stuff while I was folding laundry. My family’s clothing is well traveled: Jamaica, Guatemala, Phillipines, Turkey, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, China and more. I did find a few items made in the USA - my husband’s Levis, a pair of velvet Ideology gauchos belonging to my daughter and ironically our “Egyptian” cotton towels. I opened the books on my coffee table printed in China and elsewhere. We live in a global world.
So what about the history of strong economies supporting the weaker ones as Little Like Sand pointed out recently? I don’t think that has to change necessarily, but how about frequenting businesses who pay a living wage and who employ humanitarian work practices? Maybe instead of paying $2.44 for a pair of plastic flip flops I’ll now pay $5.00. Still inexpensive, right?
Speaking of flip flops, check out this woman’s harrowing and painful story that Dinahmow shared with me. Makes you think twice about the actual cost of cheap.
Slowly stepping off soap box,
~Cynthia
P.S. I promise regular art posts will begin again shortly.
Tags: dangerous flip flops, walmart, walmart watch
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Yes, it’s a thorny issue, especially when viewed from the angle of limited funds.
Denise self-published her “Rainbows” book, but she had to go off-shore for the printing.
I’m off now to have my day’s first coffee.Not the local brew (which I don’t really like!) but one which is a blend from organically grown, ethically traded beans.A little dearer, but tasty and some of my money goes to workers’ pockets.
Speaking of strong economies supporting weaker ones, while I was in London, I found A LOT of clothing that was made in the USA. And, shoes. I was shocked! I can’t find a damn thing around here that is made in the US, but when I do, I buy it, even if I don’t need it! (kidding) LOL!
grammatic problems..
I think there are definately multiple sides to all of this…not sure what the answer is as a whole… I WISH there was a way for us to work with what has evolved and bring Walmart to the back to the concept of local business/artisans in a way that would benefit everyone… but unfortunately that may be a little like pretending the ability to build nuclear bombs is not there…. once the knowledge/ system is set up….it’s hard to take it/the knowledge away…. and most of us all have moms….if you know what i mean…
I’ve been keeping up with your posts and thinking. I have lived in Prescott for 28 years and I go to the same stores I always have gone to. It’s nice when they know your name. BUT and it’s a big but, Walmart has come into the most rundown parts of town and really fixed it up. We have streets, sidewalks, underground utilities. Lots of little shops in their shopping centers are doing nicely, yes, they are Olive Garden, In and Out Burger, etc. but a lot of people work there. I have no idea what the answer is BUT I love your spirit!
wow! that story about the flip flops is incredible and terrible, YIKES!!!! And the attitude, well! gggrrrrrrrr!!!!!
Our village of 3,500 is the rare place left which still has a dry cleaner, drug store, hardware store, small supermarket, post office, movie theatre, newpaper office, and two local banks (not including the art shops, pubs etc). Whereas other small towns die, this one hangs in there (with a lot of support from the shop local campaigns). It is not an easy decision to move to Yellow Springs, the houses cost more and one has to commute to work, but moving here for many is a lifestyle choice. It has that sense of community that many pine for.
So the question for some here is why spend the gas money to drive to walmart 10 miles away to save a couple of dollars.
On the other hand I remember well, and to some degree it still seems to be a problem, some local corner shops on the housing estate in england gouging customers. It was a godsend when the metro came along and people didn’t have to depend on local shops.
I think what you have here is two arugments to one story. Results and bottom line stuff drives the economy. Wanting what we don’t need drives us as humans, and not everyone lives in a small town. I’ve lived in both and for me, I’ll take a city anytime from the suburbs over a small town.
But, that is me. I’ve lived in several towns from 100 people to 3-4 million in a city and pretty much everything inbetween. I would just like to say that nothing, yes I’ll repeat that Nothing is ever sliced so thin as to have only One side. WalMart isn’t all bad, little towns aren’t all good, the way it was isn’t all bad and the way it is isn’t all good.
I’ve seen both sides for a long time and neither is correct, it is just that one is predominate right now. As my philosophy and ethics teacher used to say, “Nothing is absolute except change.” I don’t think he is/was always correct either, but for us the short term works right now and is what we’ve chosen by hook, by crook or by-golly.
This is important stuff Cynthia….thanks for speaking out about it
Once a locally supported manufacturing base is lost, the whole economy suffers. Manufacturing and the middle class that it provides can be a great balance to economic extremes.
A local camera photo supply shop I got my photo chemicals from just closed, not because of digital but because they could no longer compete with internet sales and big box stores. Buying power has a lot to do with prices, not just out sourcing. The photo shop couldn`t have competed even on an even playing field due to sheer volume. Out sourcing just made the their demise quicker.
It`s a very complicated issue, many sides and points of view. From building a perminent underclass and strengthening brutal governments, to building a potential middle class that can eventually take control of their own destiny. Only time will tell, then it`s too late to turn the ship.
Thanks for the mention in your post Cynthia.
Self Publishing has to be tricky, Dinahmow - I know 2 people who self published books and it seemed like that’s all they did for years. I’m drinking my first cuppa organic coffee this am myself.
That’s too funny, Diana! Years ago, I went to London with my husband to visit a friend whose husband was transferred to London with his Anheuser Busch job. They built a plant outside of London - can you believe that. Her husband was very proud of the fact, that several English pubs and bars were serving Budweiser. Ick.
You may be right, Judi - but we can all start at home, one person at a time. If enough people bought with a conscience, it would make a bigger blip on the radar.
Emm, I think that’s sort of what my Mom was saying too. The textile mills in her town had shut down and now there were new jobs to support the people. But, maybe their textile jobs were lost because…it’s such a vicious cycle.
I think more towns are waking up to that same attitude, Jafabrit. Take Boulder for example - it’s an incredibly expensive town to buy a house and live in, but it’s also very desirable because of all the qualities they’ve protected to make it such a special place. As a community, they foresaw how these types of businesses could affect their way of life.
You’re right, Mary - it’s too difficult to fix in a few blog posts and the issue is much more complicated than I can sum up in a few paragraphs. I also enjoy living in an urban environment and appreciate that we can hop on the light rail as an alternate mode of transportation, have sold one of our cars (my husband bikes to work or takes the light rail), have a great park nearby, shops & restaurants & bars & even an organic grocer are within blocks of my home. But we pay for that. We live in one of the city’s more expensive areas - Washington Park. Our home cost more (but it’s also held its value despite the real estate crisis) and is much smaller by American standards than what many families are used to. It feels like a small town within the city to me since I don’t have to drive anywhere unless I feel like it. I once had a daughter’s friend who lives in a McMansion in Highlands Ranch ask my daughter “if she was sad.” My daughter, replied, “no why should I be?” And, my friend’s daughter relplied, “Because you live in such a small house.” My daughter later came to me to ask if she should be sad.
You’re welcome, John! I thought about my local ceramic supply when choosing my new kiln last month. I could have received a better deal by buying online, but I don’t want to lose the convenience of shopping here. When I need 5 pounds of Gerstly Borate on the fly, I know I can pop in versus having to order online and wait. Maybe it’s easy for me to sit her and pontificate on the woes of the nation when I am solidly middle class (right now) - even when we went through a rough economic patch we still owned our home and a patch is just what I considered it. To be honest, I have never known what it is like to be truly impoverished where I’ve lost everything and can’t get ahead. Maybe I’d have a different perspective.
I also have never been in a position where I was super wealthy - maybe then, I’d be trying to protect my wealth and would take an opposite position to the one I have.
Maybe I feel like my solid middle class position could change in a heart beat if we don’t do anything - so really I’m protecting my way of life. Maybe, I’m just being selfish? Nah, just thinking out loud here.
Hi, found your site from the Artist’s Magazine blog, which mentioned the Laketrees blog and ended up at your blog through a couple of turns…slightly roundabout way of ending up here, but, I’m glad I found this site.
I loved this post (I have to go read the previous one now). Once upon a time, I had shopped Wal-Mart, but after reading How Wal-Mart is Destroying America by Bill Quinn (some eye-opening anecdotes in there) and The Case Against Wal-Mart by Al Norman and watching the film Wal-Mart The High Cost of Low Price, I’ve swung to the other side of the fence.
I share my views on Wal-Mart if it comes up, but I understand how some people can want to shop there for various reasons.
Thank you for a very thoughtful post!