6 ms·

This is a tragedy in its own right. Small businesses create richer communities and help stave off cultural homogeneity. They can be a source of pride for locals

This is a tragedy in its own right. Small businesses create richer communities and help stave off cultural homogeneity. They can be a source of pride for locals. They help de-centralize economic power. I hope we can find a way to rebuild what's being lost here.

tluyben2 6y ago
Are you buying only local? As I agree with you, most people I know just order from Amazon even though the local places deliver too (the owners often drive themselves; or their children). Or, if not a Covid spot, go there ofcourse. Still, why pay a cent extra right? Not saying you think like that but most people do. Restaurant/fastfood chains are preferred over local ones as well. I have no clue why (outside money, but cooking yourself is cheaper and nicer): if I wanted to eat plastic, I could just eat a garbage bag. But it is what it is. Same goes for wine, beer etc; you fav craftbeer is probably owned by Heineken, while the local brewers are going out of business, even if their beer is far better. Stimulating local businesses starts with completely cutting out the companies that own everything. People will never do that though for many reasons. It starts with money; without subsidising local companies by the gov, there is no way they can compete.
- enahs-sf 6y ago
  I have definitely been supporting my local brewers much to the chagrin of my wife and waistline.
  - tluyben2 6y ago
    Why does your wife not like it? Mine is a brewer, so i'm curious. Edit: as I get downvoted, let me reformulate as I guess it reads different than I meant (not native English). I am curious why she doesn't like; my wife being a brewer has nothing to do with it.
    - mensetmanusman 6y ago
      Since no one has explained it, The joke is that he is enjoying local brewers so much that he has gained a lot of weight or has some behavior changes due to increased alcohol intake that bother his wife :)
      - tluyben2 6y ago
        ah I indeed did not get that; weight gain sure, but that seemed a separate item from wife’s chagrin. Thanks for explaining!
- dehrmann 6y ago
  > ...fastfood chains are preferred over local ones as well. I have no clue why (outside money, but cooking yourself is cheaper and nicer) Cooking for myself costs me more per calorie than fast food, probably even more per meal, especially if I want it to be nicer.
  - onion2k 6y ago
    There are 563 calories in a Big Mac, and the average price across the US is $5.71. You could get the same number of calories from ~190g of cooked white rice. At Costco prices that's about 38 cents. You could spend $5 on things to put on top of the rice and still come out ahead. Obviously there are cheaper fast food options than a Big Mac, and I've used average prices which doesn't help you, and I've assumed you're in the US, and I haven't accounted for things like fuel and water, but there's something seriously wrong with the market economics of where you live if fast food is really cheaper than cooking for yourself.
    - tluyben2 6y ago
      I do not count calories so I don't know about that. I don't know why anyone would unless you are either very underweight or very over weight (the latter, cooking yourself will definitely help). I live in the EU and my fav foods are egg fried rice, pizza & curries; all of them are vastly cheaper to make myself (with smart shopping); far healthier, tastier/nicer (matter of taste for sure!). I see a pizza at NYC Domino's will cost you $7.99 with a coupon; mine, including wood + ingredients comes to around half of that. Ofcourse not counting time; counting time makes all cooking crazy costly, but yeah, it does so with a lot of other things as well; actual eating (fastfood or otherwise; why not a nutrients drip next to your computer?), going to the gym, shopping, cleaning, showering, going to the toilet and most people probably did not optimise any of those either.
    - gridlockd 6y ago
      That much cooked white rice is a very high glycemic load. I'd rather get my diabetes from candy, thanks. I think you missed a subtle point though: Cooking takes time and energy, which you should not value at $0, unless you really enjoy cooking, in which case you probably don't eat at McDonald's a lot.
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  A lot of local restaurants in small town USA source their ingredients from Sysco. While ownership of the venue might be local, the actual food is hardly different from that at chains.
luckylion 6y ago
Unpopular opinion: I'm not convinced of small local businesses. Where I live, it feels like "that shop has always been here, it must remain here" without looking at whether it's really still providing the same service. I believe it's fine for shops to close, others to open, or to reinvent themselves. There's always the argument "the town won't be the same if they're gone". That's true, but change isn't bad, it's just different.
- nicc 6y ago
  Sure, who cares about people in your community losing everything, right?
redis_mlc 6y ago
> This is a tragedy in its own right. You have no idea. The impact on the US small business market will dwarf corona, and last for decades. Millions of small businesspersons will either lose their stake (the capital to maintain or start a business) or just retire. This is an existential crisis for US society and culture - really the death of the American Dream. TARP saved the small and medium auto suppliers, but I don't see any easy way to get out of this spiral.
dclowd9901 6y ago
Big businesses aren’t new. Small businesses crop up because people love them. They’re not going anywhere. Calm down.
- gridlockd 6y ago
  Have you ever run a small business? People may "love" them, but that usually translates to keeping them barely above water. At some point, the system will run out of suckers who put their lifeblood into a venture rather than a cozy job.
  - ntsplnkv2 6y ago
    We keep talking about small businesses largely because of political conditioning. Small businesses struggle because people are too poor to afford anything more than cheap crap at Walmart and McDonalds. We should focus on providing basics to all americans instead of getting upset when the pop-up barbecue ice cream truck doesn't make any money and went under when people's health became more important than someone's life long "dream" to become a barista at their own cafe.

tluyben2 6y ago

Are you buying only local? As I agree with you, most people I know just order from Amazon even though the local places deliver too (the owners often drive themselves; or their children). Or, if not a Covid spot, go there ofcourse. Still, why pay a cent extra right? Not saying you think like that but most people do. Restaurant/fastfood chains are preferred over local ones as well. I have no clue why (outside money, but cooking yourself is cheaper and nicer): if I wanted to eat plastic, I could just eat a garbage bag. But it is what it is. Same goes for wine, beer etc; you fav craftbeer is probably owned by Heineken, while the local brewers are going out of business, even if their beer is far better. Stimulating local businesses starts with completely cutting out the companies that own everything. People will never do that though for many reasons. It starts with money; without subsidising local companies by the gov, there is no way they can compete.

enahs-sf 6y ago
I have definitely been supporting my local brewers much to the chagrin of my wife and waistline.
- tluyben2 6y ago
  Why does your wife not like it? Mine is a brewer, so i'm curious. Edit: as I get downvoted, let me reformulate as I guess it reads different than I meant (not native English). I am curious why she doesn't like; my wife being a brewer has nothing to do with it.
  - mensetmanusman 6y ago
    Since no one has explained it, The joke is that he is enjoying local brewers so much that he has gained a lot of weight or has some behavior changes due to increased alcohol intake that bother his wife :)
    - tluyben2 6y ago
      ah I indeed did not get that; weight gain sure, but that seemed a separate item from wife’s chagrin. Thanks for explaining!
dehrmann 6y ago
> ...fastfood chains are preferred over local ones as well. I have no clue why (outside money, but cooking yourself is cheaper and nicer) Cooking for myself costs me more per calorie than fast food, probably even more per meal, especially if I want it to be nicer.
- onion2k 6y ago
  There are 563 calories in a Big Mac, and the average price across the US is $5.71. You could get the same number of calories from ~190g of cooked white rice. At Costco prices that's about 38 cents. You could spend $5 on things to put on top of the rice and still come out ahead. Obviously there are cheaper fast food options than a Big Mac, and I've used average prices which doesn't help you, and I've assumed you're in the US, and I haven't accounted for things like fuel and water, but there's something seriously wrong with the market economics of where you live if fast food is really cheaper than cooking for yourself.
  - tluyben2 6y ago
    I do not count calories so I don't know about that. I don't know why anyone would unless you are either very underweight or very over weight (the latter, cooking yourself will definitely help). I live in the EU and my fav foods are egg fried rice, pizza & curries; all of them are vastly cheaper to make myself (with smart shopping); far healthier, tastier/nicer (matter of taste for sure!). I see a pizza at NYC Domino's will cost you $7.99 with a coupon; mine, including wood + ingredients comes to around half of that. Ofcourse not counting time; counting time makes all cooking crazy costly, but yeah, it does so with a lot of other things as well; actual eating (fastfood or otherwise; why not a nutrients drip next to your computer?), going to the gym, shopping, cleaning, showering, going to the toilet and most people probably did not optimise any of those either.
  - gridlockd 6y ago
    That much cooked white rice is a very high glycemic load. I'd rather get my diabetes from candy, thanks. I think you missed a subtle point though: Cooking takes time and energy, which you should not value at $0, unless you really enjoy cooking, in which case you probably don't eat at McDonald's a lot.
Mediterraneo10 6y ago
A lot of local restaurants in small town USA source their ingredients from Sysco. While ownership of the venue might be local, the actual food is hardly different from that at chains.

luckylion 6y ago

Unpopular opinion: I'm not convinced of small local businesses. Where I live, it feels like "that shop has always been here, it must remain here" without looking at whether it's really still providing the same service. I believe it's fine for shops to close, others to open, or to reinvent themselves. There's always the argument "the town won't be the same if they're gone". That's true, but change isn't bad, it's just different.

nicc 6y ago
Sure, who cares about people in your community losing everything, right?

redis_mlc 6y ago

> This is a tragedy in its own right. You have no idea. The impact on the US small business market will dwarf corona, and last for decades. Millions of small businesspersons will either lose their stake (the capital to maintain or start a business) or just retire. This is an existential crisis for US society and culture - really the death of the American Dream. TARP saved the small and medium auto suppliers, but I don't see any easy way to get out of this spiral.

dclowd9901 6y ago

Big businesses aren’t new. Small businesses crop up because people love them. They’re not going anywhere. Calm down.

gridlockd 6y ago
Have you ever run a small business? People may "love" them, but that usually translates to keeping them barely above water. At some point, the system will run out of suckers who put their lifeblood into a venture rather than a cozy job.
- ntsplnkv2 6y ago
  We keep talking about small businesses largely because of political conditioning. Small businesses struggle because people are too poor to afford anything more than cheap crap at Walmart and McDonalds. We should focus on providing basics to all americans instead of getting upset when the pop-up barbecue ice cream truck doesn't make any money and went under when people's health became more important than someone's life long "dream" to become a barista at their own cafe.