Originally posted by rwingett It is neither possible nor desirable for people to buy everything locally. The point that I have been making is that they should buy MORE locally. In the example I gave earlier, if every Michigan family spent a mere $10 a week more on local products, it would result in $37 million more per week staying in the Michigan economy. Over a year that's nearly $2 b ...[text shortened]... ese are not ironclad rules, but guides that I employ depending on what is being purchased.
I'd put "smaller is better" at the top of the list.
There's a reason why beer from micro-breweries is better than Miller or Bud.
Originally posted by telerion Tw's question is a very good one and one that I hope you will give another look. Lest you feel set upon and for this reason defensive, you should know that I at least am not trying to show you wrong for your purchasing habits. I just chalk it up to preferences which, at least in terms of economics, cannot be wrong. Eating "in season" produce sounds like ...[text shortened]... t you don't, why should local sellers be exempt from your rule of thumb but not consumers?
The question is not a good one. It is a pedantic one. I have no interest in answering any of your 1,001 possible exceptions to a generally applied buy local strategy. If you perceive a contradiction, then use your own common sense to resolve it. It's not up to me to dictate the proper response to every situation. Just buy local more often and you'll do fine.
As for 'efficiency', I think it is by far the most overrated word in the English language.
should there be a "Sell Local" ethic for businesses?
if everyone was to "Buy Local" regardless of price, all businesses would end up having no choice but to "Sell Local".
If a 'buy local' ethic predominated, then 'selling local' would be the de facto norm. One would hope that instead of multi-national corporations, a plethora of mom and pop shops would predominate.
Originally posted by rwingett I am strongly becoming in favor of "buying local" as much as possible. Buy your products from as close to home as you can. My wife and i have altered our grocery and eating habits substantially recently. We now buy the bulk of our food from the local farmer's market. This, in turn, plays a large part in determining what we eat each week. As a result, this h ...[text shortened]... illion more per week that is going into the local economy. This can only be a good thing.
And my New Balance model no. 498 athletic shoes just arrived in the mail today, shipped from Lawrence, Massachusetts, home of the Lawrence textile strike of 1912. The famous 'Blood and Roses' strike that was one of the great victories for labor in this country. New Balance is the only manufacturer of athletic shoes left in the United States today. They maintain five plants in the US, including three in Maine and two in Massachusetts.* It may not be much, but I have consciously taken control of my purchasing power to stall (however slightly) the global race to the bottom for wages.
*Sadly, even New Balance manufactures only about 25% of their shoes in the US, which includes the model no. 498.
Originally posted by rwingett The question is not a good one. It is a pedantic one. I have no interest in answering any of your 1,001 possible exceptions to a generally applied buy local strategy. If you perceive a contradiction, then use your own common sense to resolve it. It's not up to me to dictate the proper response to every situation. Just buy local more often and you'll do fine ...[text shortened]...
As for 'efficiency', I think it is by far the most overrated word in the English language.
If even one of your responses in this thread gave any indication that your unsubstantiated claims regarding the benefits of a "buy local" rule might in fact have some merit then I would not hesitate to give them a deliberate second thought. Unfortunately, each and every one of your responses both to me and others suggests instead that you do not have clear grasp on the implications of your consumption rule and that you are unwilling to consider them. In this you cling to dogma as surely and as fearfully as the evangelical Christians you battle with so vehemently in other parts of this board. Resolve the apparent conflicts in your thinking? Do your intellectual heavylifting for you? I think not. Instead I will leave you with the single lesson that I learned from this brief exchange and what should have been my first and only reply to you: your post is complete nonsense.
Originally posted by telerion If even one of your responses in this thread gave any indication that your unsubstantiated claims regarding the benefits of a "buy local" rule might in fact have some merit then I would not hesitate to give them a deliberate second thought. Unfortunately, each and every one of your responses both to me and others suggests instead that you do not have clear ...[text shortened]... ange and what should have been my first and only reply to you: your post is complete nonsense.
I tried to enlighten these folks to the economic argument against buying local but it didn't go well either.
Buying local and buying American are both protectionist strategies doomed to failure if the entire society were to abide by these policies.
Perhaps it's time everyone relearned "absolute advantage" vs "comparative advantage" again.
Originally posted by telerion If even one of your responses in this thread gave any indication that your unsubstantiated claims regarding the benefits of a "buy local" rule might in fact have some merit then I would not hesitate to give them a deliberate second thought. Unfortunately, each and every one of your responses both to me and others suggests instead that you do not have clear ...[text shortened]... ange and what should have been my first and only reply to you: your post is complete nonsense.
And we are supposed to believe that you "professional economists" have any understanding of anything? Thanks, but no thanks. I have no further interest in your neo-liberal, free-trade, globalization sleight-of-hand. It only serves to destroy local markets, make the rich richer and drive wages down across the globe.
Originally posted by rwingett And we are supposed to believe that you "professional economists" have any understanding of anything? Thanks, but no thanks. I have no further interest in your neo-liberal, free-trade, globalization sleight-of-hand. It only serves to destroy local markets, make the rich richer and drive wages down across the globe.
it's easier to understand the micro rather than the macro...isn't it?
Originally posted by rwingett RHP IS a mom-and-pop business. The fact that it's on the internet does not alter that.
but RHP is a global company -- it's customers come from all around the world. And it illustrates how the internet has been a major force in moving society away from the "local" and towards the "global"
In a completely "buy & sell local" world, RHP would somehow be limited to people living within a certain radius from where RHP's server was located.
Now RHP might be a mom & pop business insofar that it's a relatively small operation. It's not the stereotypical monster corporation (ala Walmart). This is why I consider "buying small" to be a lot more important than "buying local".
Buy American vs Buy Local
26 Aug '09 13:27
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