Have you ever wondered about the domino effect?Some entrepreneur thinks up this wonderful idea... buy in bulk, sell cheap. He opens a huge discount center based on his philosophy. People flock to the new discount center. It's wonderful! No matter what you need, you can buy everything in one place--and it's cheaper.
Pretty soon the small local businesses close their doors because no one shops there anymore. Oh, it might be a little further to go to the discount center, but everyone has a car and really, you need an SUV to haul all of your cheap stuff home from the discount center!
But the economy plunges in the dumpster and suddenly, it costs more to go to the discount center than any amount of money you save. People quit driving as much as they used to. Some even start to walk again. The problem is now there's no store close enough to walk to. That cute little diner? Well, it went out of business. The cleaners closed. The drugstore was swallowed up by a conglomerate. Small town America is fast-food and hotel row. All the jobs are far away. Life is hours on the freeway in stop-and-go traffic.
Now people have to decide whether to buy gas or food. Most buy gas so they can get to work in the hopes of making enough to buy food. Families stand in line at the food pantries hoping there will be enough food for them this week. Mostly, there isn't.
I suppose you're wondering why the doom and gloom. It's just reality now. Cause and effect. Sure there are other strains on the economy, but there always have been. So why have we crashed and burned this time? I don't know for sure, but I think that our discount center lifestyle might have something to do with it. Hundreds of small independent businesses start up every year. And hundreds fail from lack of support. The huge conglomerates are formidable competition. How many actual gas companies are there? How many independent airlines? There have been so many bank mergers that most people don't even know who owns their bank.
Pretty soon there will be one oil company, one bank, one giant food conglomerate... And they'll set their prices. And we'll pay or do without. So take a tip from me. Turn out the lights when you leave a room. Plant a garden. Plan your shopping route so you use the minimum in gas. It's all in preparation for the time when the shortages will be real.
Anny
Hey! Check out the blogs at Amarinda's Place, Kelly's Blog, and OhGetAGrip! Oh, yeah! Leave a comment!
"Pretty soon there will be one oil company, one bank, one giant food conglomerate..."
ReplyDelete- Isn't there just one now with many subsidiaries?
And to think they broke up AT&T because it was a monopoly that worked, now all the parts have become Promptel. I think you're right, everything is headed that way. In Reading there are huge discount stores on the outskirts of the city and the small, ethnic stores that have sprung up on every corner. Only problem is I'm afraid to go in them due to an uncomfortable experience the one and only time I did. I know, not fair to judge all by that but human nature prevents me from doing otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIt would be so much more helpful if companies set you up to work from home with internet access... not just some companies, all companies. And then paid you via paypal deposits.
ReplyDeleteDon't talk to me about the security issues of above, I'm living a dream here, where everyone is honest.
Today's devotional talked about how God sometimes blesses us with less, instead of more. If we still lived in the country, 9 miles from the nearest town, we'd be be worse off than we are now, living in town. We can go for a week at a time on 10 gallons; whereas 'back home', I would have been limited to probably only one trip into town per week.
ReplyDelete