On Thursday, June 26, 2003, at 10:42 PM, Mark Snyder wrote:
Question: if someone shops at a co-op AND does not own a car, does it
logically follow that the co-op patron cannot afford a car? Perhaps it means
the co-op patron *gasp* does not WANT a car (I realize this comes as an
immense shock to some readers - take a few seconds to get your senses back).
I wish I could get by without a car, but on the Northside there a neccessity- it's to dangerous to take the bus or bicycle here.
But we certainly can strongly oppose adding MORE of them. We're doing a pretty good job of it over on Central Ave. so far.
Yes, I have to admit your co-ops backers have done a very effective job of stacking the neighborhood meetings and keeping competitors like CUB out.
I don't think so. The advantage that big boxes claim is low prices. It's
certainly not better service - except in the case of competition between
big boxes, i.e. Wal-Mart and Target. In addition to providing better
service, smaller retailers tend to get more of their products from local
suppliers/manufacturers whenever possible. That's part of how they better
serve the overall community - by spending locally the dollars that they take
in from their neighbors.
Strange- I find the highest percentage of american made stuff at a big box- Fleet Farm. BTW, you may not have noticed that we don't make much here anymore.
Ahem? I think that downtown Target got a little bit of a handout, didn't it?
Didn't Block E, which is home to big box retailer Borders and chains like
Applebee's get a little something? Ron Leurquin mentioned earlier this week
that part of why the proposal for a Cub Foods on Lowry/Central died was
because no subsidy was going to be available. I sure hope Jerry's Foods
sticks with their plan of not asking for any subsidy, but forgive me if I
don't hold my breath in anticipation.
Please read the posts before you reply- I said "currently", and CUB has asked for no subsidy to move to the Northside or Nordeast.
You may abhor it, but you still support it with your purchasing choices.
Last time I checked, actions spoke louder than words.
And my purchasing power is not about to change a big corporations behavior one iota. Boycotts often only work when a very big customer (like a city) becomes involved in them.
And the percentage of revenue going to owners (small businesses don't HAVE
CEOs) is often less than what goes to the workers. Those who got to the end
of that article David Brauer cited yesterday and read the "reader responses"
might have noted a couple of examples of small business owners who talked
about when times get tough, they end up not paying themselves anything after
making payroll. Someone mentioned that an advantage of small businesses is
owners are less likely to engage in shenanigans because their families would
have to live with the consequences. Small business owners are also far less
likely to lay off workers indiscriminately because it's harder to put your
friend out on the streets than it is some random human that you know by an
employee ID, if that.
Small businesses also tend to pay less and offer fewer opportunities for advancement for minorities, etc..
I also have to question the assumption that larger businesses have reduced
administrative costs. Take a typical small retailer, for example. You'll
have the owner, maybe an in-house accountant and the rest of the employees
would be "floor staff" who are out doing the day-to-day work. Contrast that
with, oh, say Supervalu. They have a CEO (who made $1.7 million last year,
by the way), probably a handful of VPs, a whole pile of "supervisors" or
"directors" and then the "floor staff" who are out doing the work.
Which system sounds like it has lower administrative costs?
The big company has economies of scale in administration as well as other areas and can spend a lower percentage of revenue on administration. BTW, your small business will probably need a computer/web geek, HR person, etc. too.
Dyna, nobody gets a pension anymore unless they're fortunate enough to work
in a union-represented job like you and I. As for $28K, that works out to
about $13-something an hour - far more than any non-union big box retailer
is gonna pay and on par with what a union-shop Cub Foods would pay.
And how is $28K peanuts to you, anyway? I thought you were supposed to be a
poor Northsider? It's sure not peanuts to me - that's what my starting pay
was when I began working with the state and that's with a BS in chemistry!
$28K won't qualify you for a mortgage on any of the 3 modest houses for sale on my crack infested block.
Saturn of Minneapolis - 625 Marquette Ave. South.
Just a showroom- the service department is out in the 'burbs. BTW, I take special pride in having been throw out of a Saturn dealership. You can still buy a Volvo, Lotus, Jaguar, and maybe a Kia in Minneapolis though. Boyer Ford heavy trucks just moved out, but their light truck dealership is still here as is an International truck dealership.
You forgot something, Dyna. If Northside were to fund it's own police, then
it would mean that only Northside's tax base would be available for that
funding. Given the picture you paint of limited retail options and fleeing
homeowners, it's probably safe to presume that Northside doesn't have the
tax base that other neighborhoods do. Combine that with the high crime rates
you complain about so much, and that would mean that your costs for funding
police can be expected to be quite high. So high cost divided by low tax
base equals way higher tax rates than you pay now.
This afternoon I saw two Minneapolis traffic cops writing up single drivers in the car pool lane on 394- in Golden Valley! By putting our police where the crime is we would get more bang for the buck and better police the Northside. We'll put those traffic cops to work doing civil forfeitures of the luxury cars, SUVs, and big trucks carrying drugs on the Northside. We'd turn the impound lot in Minneapolis' discount auto sales, maybe even have the mayor doing our commercials on late night TV. If what we seize don't sell, we just feed it to our on site crusher.
Hope you've picked out that RV because you just taxed yourself out of your
home with that idea.
Minneapolis property taxes will be going up like crazy with no intervention on my part. For $50,000 you can by a diesel pickup and a fith wheel trailer. You can travel with said RV or settle down in a campground, trailer park, or on your own land. Obviously a much better investment than property on the Northside!
held hostage in 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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