> From: "Stephan Van den Zegel" <stephan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>
> Is it a town, really a town... without a macdonald ?
Is it a town, really a town, if its food comes from thousands of miles
away?
We have two Pharmasave stores, a dollar store, and a video rental that
are franchise chains. Everything else is a locally owned business. I
like it that way, and support them whenever I can. For smallish items,
I'm willing to pay double to keep the money in the local economy. For
larger items, if the local price is ridiculous, they're often willing
to get closer, if not match.
I did draw the line the other day when I wanted a simple lab notebook,
with sewn-in pages. Last bunch I bought in a big box Office Warehouse
store were 3 for $5. The local stationery store wanted $8 a piece!
Sometimes they make it hard to buy local.
I hope no one take offense at this urging. The deck is currently
stacked against living locally. But fuel isn't getting cheaper, and
we're all going to have to re-learn local living eventually.
Obligatory Olympus content: I think I'm going to get an E-3 in a
couple weeks when we visit relatives in the US. Still can't find a
local source for them within 20% of the price of Camera World in
Portland. At least I'll be buying it local to where I am at the
time... :-)
:::: Production from local resources for local needs is the most
rational way of economic life. -- EF Schumacher ::::
:::: Jan Steinman http://www.EcoReality.org::::
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