This Little Piggy went to Market
So I wrote a little piece about the idea being tossed around that you will have nothing and be happy and it made me think that I may have been a little harsh on big markets. After all, they are there to ensure that EVERYONE has the ability to have access to any goods on the planet, right? So that isn't a bad thing, right? Well, turns out that it's probably wrong.
To figure this one out I had to do some memory searching back to my childhood to remember the way stores USED to be. Granted, some of you folks out there are gonna read this and think to yourselves that this old man's memories are your todays, but consider yourself the blessed one, if you do.
Everyone in developed countries think of the nearest department store whenever they think of something they need because it's one giant market stall verse Mike's Hardware, for a hammer, Suzy's Meat Market, for a ham, and Bob's Bakery, for a loaf of bread. Convenience and uniformity have become the defining terms of a modern civilization. On the surface, the idea of having one place to get all these things just sounds more natural, but the word you would be looking for is more ordered, not to mention efficient, and this is by design. Not for the former individual shop owners, who have become employees instead of owners, but to the heads, who now run the market.
You see, Mike's Hardware was THE hardware store in town. Sure there were time he wondered if he would have enough money to feed his family, but there were years when there would be this big construction job or remodel and the carpenters would make him a years wages in just a month or so and his piggy bank would just fill to the brim and then some. Now, Mike was smart and he would put that money away for the leaner months ahead when the winter would cut down sales. So he always had what he needed and sometimes even more.
Susy, well she was the only meat market in town and pretty much had a steady supply of income because customers are pretty regular about what and when they need a cut of meat. Now there were some times throughout the year when meat sales were on the rise because of some event or holiday and the butchers that brought her meat to sell were always on top of their game and she had orders ready to go and filled her piggy bank with the extra profits. She would also have times of lean or extra production and she would always find fellow meat salespeople in other neighborhoods to even things out. But all in all she did a pretty good business and was able to put money away for a rainy day.
Bob's Bakery was another staple in town and he felt like he almost could never keep up and just when he thought he did, somebody had a party or a birthday and Lord knows how many cookies that Santa got came from Bob's Bakery. Business was good for Bob and he always made sure he put a portion away in the piggy bank because he knew one day he was not gonna be able to keep up any more and he was gonna have to put someone else in charge and eventaully, sell it to a successor.
Well as things do, a succesor did come to town... Seems that there was this new type of store that handled hardware, meat markets and bakeries all under one roof, not to mention a whole slew of other departments that the neighborhood never had before. Next thing you knew, the was no Mike's Hardware, Suzy's Meat Market or Bob's Bakery anymore, just the one great big department store that had everything. Now some would be quick to say that this was good, because now, there were so many other products and you didn't have to run all over town to get stuff. Well, let's see what happened...
Mike, since he ran the Hardware store, was top qualifier for the hardware department in the new store and was given a salary for his position, based on what he used to clear from the old store. That year, a big construction company came in and built a new housing development. His department was doing more sales in a week than he used to do in a year for most of the summer. Of course, Mike got his salary. The rest of the money went to the corporatee headquaters for the new department store, which was out of state. Mike wonders how his family would have fared if that business had come through his little hardware store, before the big store came around. He could imagine how much good the money would have done for the neighborhood.
Suzy and Bob both got positions and saleries based on their expertise and watched the housing development go in and saw how much meat and bakery product demand increased because of the new residents in town. They both wondered how much they would have made from the increase to the individual markets and how much good the extra business would have done to their community, but, they got their salaries and the increased profits generated went to corporate headquarters, outside of state.
Ordered and efficient... Next time you are in a big department store and see this basket with a van full of product in it, think about how much Mike, Suzy or Bob's family would have gotten, if they were owner, like they used to be, instead of employee. Think of how much of that money would have stayed in the community, instead of going out of state. Think about where your money is really gonna go when you slide or insert that card. Maybe, after you are done shopping, take a ride around town and see if you can find a little hardware, meat market or bakery and stop in to see what they have to sell. Maybe next week, try a different kind of shopping and see if the little shops are really all that bad. Imagine what you might be putting in their piggy bank and how much money won't be leaving the community any time soon.