On Thursday, June 12, 2003, at 01:17 PM, Chris Johnson wrote:
No, big does not equal better. No, small does not equal boutique. No, small does not mean more expensive.
However, I'm fairly sure I will never chane Dyna's mind on any of those points in my lifetime. She's clearly decided that big stores, big trucks, big trains and big unions are always better.
I pointed out that there are some economies of scale with bigger buildings, although they often disappear when the building gets bigger than a hectare. Big trucks are more efficent, provided you have enough freight to fill them. That said, triple trailers and 100+ car trains offer so little productivity gains their not worth the degradation of service and safety they bring. To counter big corporations you need big unions.
Again, the Mercado Central concept may not work everywhere.
But it may work on Broadway. Dyna has presented no more evidence that it would not work than she has that it would. Always the cynic, Dyna.
It might work... do you have a couple million dollars to bet on it working?
The last time Dyna gave us a reality check on SUPERVALU, her facts were all wrong as even just a glance at the front page of their web site would have confirmed.
IIRC, I pointed out that Super Valu was a medium size grocer, not the beast of Bentonville. Their website says they're the 11th largest grocer. Sorry Chris, reality bites.
Dubious benefits like living-wage employement for people working those industries? Lower unemployment? Less environmental damage? Lower energy usage? Dyna's position to me sounds like "I'm poor but I still want to buy all of the American dream at super discount prices, screw the long-term and societal costs." If we were not so spoiled by low retail prices on a large number of items, we could actually afford to employee people instead of making them charity cases. The middle class could be greatly expanded, and the destitute greatly reduced.
And were going to do this on the low wage jobs with no benefits that your favored small business provides?
If one knows how coffee is grown and harvested, one knows that it ought to be $9 a pound or higher. If it were unionized, it would be even more expensive.
Providing most of those $$$ were actually going to the grower and employees I wouldn't mind.
What kind of person bashes a dairy as being "scab" and hazardous material, and further lumps Cedar Summit Farm into the equation? Cedar Summit actually produces their milk at a lower cost than other dairies, but because of government meddling in the marketplace, the really huge producers get far bigger tax breaks and subsidies, resulting in the end products having retail price ratios opposite to their cost of production. Further, Cedar Summit uses sustainable farming, grazing their cows on grass, instead of using feed, hormones, antibiotics and more.
Cedar Summit is not the only dairy to produce good milk, and what is wrong with our Northside's milk?
Dairy farming is perfect example of big is not better. Let me quote Dave Minar, a dairy farmer:
"The solution to the dairy crisis is not to recruit outside investors to build the biggest dairies possible so we can claim we are number one in dairy cows. In Minnesota, we need to focus on the number of dairy farmers, not just the number of dairy cows. Cows don't shop on Main Street -- people do. A community is better off with 10 100-cow dairies, rather than one 1,000-cow operation."
I agree. BTW, are you aware that our Northside dairy is owned by a farmer's co-op?
Dave Minar was a conventional dairy farmer for many years before converting to management intensive rotational grazing, instead of using feed. This technique also spreads the manure in an evironmentally sound way.
Grazing is best, but there are times you're going to have to use feed. Also, have you considered the acreage that grazing requires?
I'm generally a supporter of the union ideals, especially in times where management seems more apt to take advantage of employees than not. But not for one second do I believe that the only good industry or shop or store is the one that is unionized.
Chris, there's this concept called Solidarity... but you probably wouldn't understand.
I buy my milk from Cedar Summit, and I don't have to go to New Prague to get it. It tastes better. It's far less contaminated with chemicals. It's better for the environment. And yes, it costs more. But I'm happy to support a family farm, and thereby support a rural community and protect our environment.
And I support our Northside, it's working people, and the family farm co-op owners and suppliers of our Northside dairy by buying their milk. And I save money in the bargain!
sipping the sweet milk of Hawthorne,
Dyna Sluyter
TEMPORARY REMINDER: 1. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. 2. If you don't like what's being discussed here, don't complain - change the subject (Mpls-specific, of course.)
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