--- David Brauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 1. You could argue that a Downtown coop - which
> would almost certainly
> start out smaller than a Lunds - would actually
> require a bigger subsidy
> than a Lunds.
>
> How? It depends on your definition of subsidy. If
> you use the Jim Boyd
> definition - that TIF is not a subsidy because the
> developer pays the
> same property tax level - than a Lunds does not
> affect the tax base (the
> new taxes Lunds pays merely pay off costs of the new
> project). However,
> a coop would almost certainly generate too little
> new property taxes to
> pay off ITS land acquisition costs. Most likely, it
> would take a direct
> appropriation - from the current tax base - to make
> it happen.
>
> In other words: with a Lunds, you net tax balance
> remains level; with a
> coop, your net taxes might actually drop.
>
> Now of course, there are other factors that come
> into play - your
> feelings about shareholder-owned versus
> member-owned, corporate values
> versus co-op values, etc. But my point is, if you're
> on the coop side,
> you have to admit you may actually be spending MORE
> (in terms of net tax
> dollars) to do a co-op deal.
Actually, a well funded coop startup with funding by
bonds sold to interested parties connected with the
North Country Cooperative Fund(buying some for your
IRA brokerage account is a good investment in my
opinion) could help build a first class coop with a
tax evaluation comparable to that of a Lunds store!
David Brauer also wrote:
> 2. Elitism. Now, I've been a member of the Wedge
> since memberships were
> $20, but I can tell you, it's the only place that
> might be more
> expensive than a Lunds. Hey, that's cool - I pay for
> quality food and
> more sustainable agriculture. BUT if one of your
> social goals is to have
> a grocery that's affordable to the most residents, a
> Lund's may not be
> the epitome, but it's incrementally more affordable
> than most co-ops.
> And if you want co-ops in all four corners of
> downtown, they will be
> smaller and thus their costs will be even higher.
As a vegan consumer, most items I purchase when I go
grocery shopping are considerably more expensive at
the uptown Lunds than at the Wedge. Organic produce
is not as extensive and more expensive at Rainbow and
Lunds when comparing comparable products.
Also, the Wedge is very responsive to community
concerns. They pay their workers a living wage(as
does unionized Lunds). They also provide domestic
partnership benefits, childcare, grocery discount, the
community workshare program, and other worker benefits
that go far beyond Lunds.
Coops do not have to be "natural food" coops. Coops
carry whatever their membership desires. In Minnesota
natural food coops are the rule with more than 43
spread around the state(by comparison California has
13 making it the state with the second highest
number).
As far as a Lunds goes, they are unionized and pay
well. They have a good community reputation and carry
alot of local product as well as being locally owned.
A coop would be guaranteed to remain locally owned. A
coop is owned by those who shop at the coop and
profits go back to membership in the form of a
nontaxable patronage rebate. Coop membership makes
great financial sense if you shop at a coop with any
regularity.
As a former employee of Lakewinds Natural foods in
Minnetonka, (they also have a great natural home
products store featuring organic linens and
environmentally home cleaning products, etc.) I may be
a little biased towards the coop since I found it such
a wonderful working experience. I worked for a UFCW
organized grocery "hypermarket" in Michigan in the
early nineties and found the cooperative to have far
better worker conditions.
I live at 13th and Yale and walk past both proposed
locations every day on my way to work. Being
auto-free by choice(as are more than a third of the
folks in my coop building) a coop at either location
would be very convenient compared to walking or
bussing to the Wedge.
Thanks, David Strand
Ward 7
Loring Park
>
>
_________________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get your free @yahoo.com address at
> http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> _______________________________________
> Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic
> Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
> Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
> http://e-democracy.org/mpls
__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
NEW from Yahoo! GeoCities - quick and easy web site hosting, just $8.95/month.
http://geocities.yahoo.com/ps/info1
_______________________________________
Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy
Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more:
http://e-democracy.org/mpls
