tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post115617631557266844..comments2023-10-26T04:23:00.142-04:00Comments on Money and Values: Locally-Owned Businesses Vs. Corporate ChainsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156392769244425582006-08-24T00:12:00.000-04:002006-08-24T00:12:00.000-04:00Does http://abebooks.com/ have an affiliate progra...Does http://abebooks.com/ have an affiliate program? I know they have booksellers all around the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156308704784931002006-08-23T00:51:00.000-04:002006-08-23T00:51:00.000-04:00It's great to hear from all of you on this. You'r...It's great to hear from all of you on this. You're right that it's hard to be consistent and it definitely can be pricier, but we're in the "uphill battle" together!<BR/><BR/>Cathy, I'm in Chicago. That's great work you're doing with BALLE; best of luck!<BR/><BR/>Anonymous, good questions and I'm glad you brought them up. As I said, I have more concern than just where the money goes, like the importance of local and smaller-scale decision-making processes. But regardless, I don't buy that where the money ends up all evens out. The CEOs and shareholders are more likely to live in rich suburbs. I don't think the people in poor or middle-class small towns or suburbs or cities end up with their fair share. <BR/><BR/>And while it's a fair question, I fundamentally reject the ideas behind "Why not just give your money directly to a charity if that's what you care about and shop at the cheapest place possible?" In my mind, that's the equivalent of saving on gas by walking across jagged rocks, and then using the savings to buy bandaids for your feet. (Sorry, lame analogy.) We keep digging ourselves into deeper holes if we don't think about how to make systems work better, if we insist our financial decisions should be amoral.<BR/><BR/>oeconomist, I'm sorry! I didn't even think about that. I'll try to look for alternatives for non-US readers; let me know if you come across anything.Britthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02936348981871298702noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156304830997495642006-08-22T23:47:00.000-04:002006-08-22T23:47:00.000-04:00Your BookSense affiliate links are next to useless...Your BookSense affiliate links are next to useless for me, as I live outside the US. First thing it does is ask me for my zipcode.<BR/><BR/>I'd love to shop locally for books, but BookSense isn't the answer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156296184963802872006-08-22T21:23:00.000-04:002006-08-22T21:23:00.000-04:00If you buy from Amazon, you help me out (Seattle r...If you buy from Amazon, you help me out (Seattle resident). If I buy from Coke, I help someone in Atlanta out. The money doesn't dissappear when it goes somewhere else, so I fail to see why creating a bunch of little isolated economies is better than a larger, more efficent one. Buying a burger from Red Robin isn't immoral- just as many of your neighbors work there as do at the non-chain place. The only difference is where the profit goes, but the profit is a pretty minimal result from your purchase. Most of your money flows down the supply chain right away and is distributed anyway. <BR/><BR/>Why not just give your money directly to a charity if that's what you care about and shop at the cheapest place possible?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156278057402979372006-08-22T16:20:00.000-04:002006-08-22T16:20:00.000-04:00I don't care about who owns the business but I wou...I don't care about who owns the business but I would definitely support a business in a downtown business area rather than an out of town mall/big box strip mall to every extent possible. So it isn't so much for me about local business but about supporting activity in environmentally (and socially) friendly locations.mOOmhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03440274434662150925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156243336657713692006-08-22T06:42:00.000-04:002006-08-22T06:42:00.000-04:00I don't know where you are writing from but I am i...I don't know where you are writing from but I am in Atlanta GA .We are at the beginning stages of organizing local businesses through a non-profit In spiringFutures which sponsors a local chapter of BALLE ( Business Alliance for a Local Living Economy). Balle will be sponsoring (along with Flexcar and several other organizations) an talk by Michael Shuman author of Going LOcal. This talk will occur 10/19/06 in conjunction with the Bioneers Souheast Forum. More info about this can be found at inspiringfutures.org.The Michael Shuman event may not be posted quite yet. Info on Bioneers can alos be gleaned at bioneer.org.<BR/>I am inspired by your example and glad to have run across your posts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156196358596545992006-08-21T17:39:00.000-04:002006-08-21T17:39:00.000-04:00Excellent post. I try to buy local--especially fo...Excellent post. I try to buy local--especially for restaurants--but still have a long way to go. I admire your commitment to community development investing and am going to put up a link to your post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156187188044965262006-08-21T15:06:00.000-04:002006-08-21T15:06:00.000-04:00Awesome post.Her and I always try to shop at the i...Awesome post.<BR/><BR/>Her and I always try to shop at the independently owned local businesses. I'm sure you know as well, in Chicago there is no shortage of them. <BR/><BR/>The difficulty, though, is that we're in so much debt that sometimes a trip to Jewel or Target or Kohl's is all that's in the budget.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156179057770426812006-08-21T12:50:00.000-04:002006-08-21T12:50:00.000-04:00Penny, as usual, you're speaking my mind. I defini...Penny, as usual, you're speaking my mind. I definitely hold the ideal of shopping at locally-owned businesses. Do I always do it? Well, I'm inconsistent about it. <BR/><BR/>For many years I just chose one industry--books--to really hold the ideal. I never, ever shopped at chain bookstores for most of my twenties. Then I started getting the occasional Borders gift card for Xmas, so I slipped a bit, but still didn't spend any money otherwise at Amazon, Borders, or the other giants. <BR/><BR/>But about a year ago I started using online shopping affiliate programs (first Upromise, then others) and the ideal just went out the window. Now all of my brick-and-mortar book purchases are still at independents, but online I buy from the big guys.<BR/><BR/>Sigh. It's an uphill battle having morals, isn't it? But I would rather have morals that slip occasionally than not care about anything but myself, though.Tiredbuthappyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17292908687495239545noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23840632.post-1156178650253972652006-08-21T12:44:00.000-04:002006-08-21T12:44:00.000-04:00I am totally for the small businesses. I try to s...I am totally for the small businesses. I try to shop local as much as possible. For obvious reasons this is not always the most financially sound decision. Or is it? I look at each purchase as one I kept out of Wal-Mart's hands. <BR/><BR/>Plus the locals are so much nicer and care about my business. Wal-Mart doesn't care about me.Denise Mallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13253101883627114010noreply@blogger.com