slug.com slug.com

1 3

The government has asserted its authority in deciding what businesses are not essential and may be shut down at any time (as in the pandemic response) or may be denied police protection (in the case of the rioting and looting). They consider local businesses are expendable. This is especially true for small independently owned and operated businesses, but it is also true for local outlets for larger corporations.
What happened this year was made possible with the emergence of a digital economy that facilitates getting goods from deliveries or a contact-less pickup.
Even a decade ago we discussed the predicted end of the so-called brick-and-mortar businesses. Such businesses cannot compete with the better and more diversely stocked on-line businesses, often with free delivery with easy returns. Those businesses that would remain open would see customers browsing to see products for themselves and then walking out and ordering it on-line for a lower . Businesses trying to products were acting as a -free show room for the on-line businesses.
Over the decade, there has been some resilience, at least in some niche markets. People do prefer to shop locally.
Certainly, I prefer to shop locally, and by locally I mean within walking distance. I walk to get groceries, go to pharmacy, to visit my doctor or dentist, to be a guest of a dining or drinking place, and for getting products for my house or personal use (such as clothing). I want to shop in person, but I also want to interact in person, especially with people I recognize and they recognize me, even if we never formally introduce our names.
It really pained me to see these businesses being forced to shut down or severely restrict their operations such as limiting to fewer than customers or only curbside pickup or delivery. Each day I walked through town and each day my heart sank as I saw businesses closed and even more for businesses trying almost futilely to stay open with the ridiculous restrictions in place. It was especially sad to walk past restaurants or bars that I could not enter and hang out for a while.
More recently, the government has opted to put these same businesses in jeopardy of vandalism, looting, and arson in order to show support for recent protests by demanding police to stand back if such problems would occur. While so far my community has escaped such damage, I saw what happened in other areas and mourned for the community now robbed of their local businesses while political class dismisses the losses as just property or .
The earlier suspension of non-essential businesses have permanently harmed these businesses, many will not be able to return at all, and others will return severely set back by the loss of past business and loss of relationships with their customers. The more recent desertion of police protection will discourage future investments or new ventures. Why would someone start a business that the government considers to be disposable with no notice and with no chance to object.
At the same time, customers now have doubts about doing business locally because the government may terminate the relationship either directly through restricting their operation for completely arbitrary reasons, or through denying public safety protections in order to make some political statement.
I mention that I enjoy doing business locally, in particular I like being a regular at businesses I use. I like coming to a familiar place, seeing familiar faces, and exchanging at least implicit acknowledgements of mutual recognition. Part of the reason I regularly return to a business is because I intend to return regularly in the future. Lacking some assurance that the business will be around in the future, the appeal goes away about giving them business today. I never am attracted to going out of business sales. For me, it is not about the sale, but it is about supporting the business and doing my part to assure the business remains in business. I want that inter-personal experience, no matter how briefly. I am not merely trading my for something, I'm exchanging with another person who shares some link to my community.
The current governments at all levels from local to national are displaying an alarming lack of appreciation of the concept of an economy at the local community level. It appears we have reduced communities to simply providing residential housing. The government appears to operate on the assumption or the goal of a global economy where all commercial exchanges are done remotely with no person-to-person interaction. Even if we interact by phone, there are automated voice menu systems that separate us from talking to a human, and if we do get a human, frequently it is someone on the other side of the globe with an accent we can barely understand.
This year, the governments have displayed their conclusions that local businesses are optional, non-essential to allow to continue to operate, or even disposable to the whims of mob action. Consequently, the governments displayed their conclusions about their citizens as mere residents that are just coincidentally within their boundaries.
It was once said that all politics is local. Part of the truth of that is that all relationships are local. What has happened this year is an all out assault on the possibility of local relationships, and that assault has been incredibly successful.
Part of what it means to be an individual is to be recognizable to others and to recognize others. It used to be that everyone can achieve that recognition and belonging at a local scale. Now, that recognition is only available on a global stage with either global businesses or global celebrity status. Everyone else is nothing more than a unit of production, an occupant of residential delivery address.

KENeumeister 5 June 14
Share

Be part of the movement!

Welcome to the community for those who value free speech, evidence and civil discourse.

Create your free account

1 comment

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

By the Constitution, any government which seizes rights MUST demonstrate that they have done their due diligence to establish that the threat justifies the draconian measures. The government has failed to show that it has.The lawsuits are just beginning that will bankrupt many governments.

This. If you recall, the lady in Texas who refused to close her salon was jailed for contempt. Judges have broad authority to jail for contempt, but the question of whether the original TRO was constitutional, legitimate, or even a good idea has not yet been argued.

You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:104131
Slug does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.