Jane Jacobs in Cities and the Wealth of Nations, gives a pretty convincing argument for her theory of economics.
In summary, her theory says that the most important unit of economics is the city, and the most important activity that a city can do to create a robust, healthy, and growing economy, rather than a stagnating and declining one, is to replace things that they were importing from other cities with identical or similar goods produced at the home city.
If this import-replacement process is fostered, then the economy will grow and generate real wealth and prosperity in that city. If any one or more of many things happens to decrease or end import-replacement in the city, then the economy of the city will stagnate and decline.
One of the implications of this theory is that by bringing in chain stores, the city is decreasing the production of goods in the home city, thus reducing import-replacement, and leading to the stagnation and decline of the city's economy.
No matter how much taxes the city gets from the chain store, it doesn't make up for that fact that the chain store is siphoning money out of the city economy and decreasing the variety and amount of goods produced in that home city.
Down with Walmart, Target, and every other chain store in the world!
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5 comments:
of course I know it's true... but dang, that walmart has Equate brand tanning lotion for so much cheaper than Jergens.
which is exactly how they drive out the variety of locally produced goods and thus restrict and finally kill the local economy.
Is there locally-produced fake tanning lotion? I mean, I know there must be, somewhere....
splitting hairs.
western family, maybe. then I could buy it at macey's, which is locally owned.
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