Local independent businesses are under siege

You might have gleaned that Peter Rose has a “thing” against national entities going toe to toe with local businesses that occupy a niche. You may have sensed that.

Folks, it isn’t about me raging against the machine for the menswear and womenswear industry fighting the invaders that dumbed down an industry while eliminating the players that served their regions far better. It’s a fairly accurate comparison to refer to Ukraine under siege by Russia. Ukraine may or may not prevail, but even if they do ... can you begin to comprehend how a nation comes back together when cities are rubble? How many viable, humming businesses are now history?

Likewise, countless good merchants here buckled under the overwhelming force of capitalism at its predatory worst. There really is no difference between the marauding Russians and the marauding capitalists.

People still challenge my view on capitalism. “How can you be so anticapitalist, being a capitalist business yourself?!? How can you be such a hypocrite, Peter?”

I always challenge the question because I believe most challengers know better, and if they don’t, they learn, as quickly as I can tell them. That is my job, after all.

But the truth is, most of them know exactly what I mean as they read it. They just hate having to think about it.

My view is simple and direct. If you allow businesses at the local level to thrive and prosper, the benefit flows up to the greater, broader good.

If you allow “big” to steal the business from those local businesses, you hurt the very constituency that you are here to protect and help flourish.

If you try to get away with selling America that “Trickle Down” is viable, you lose America. You have lied, you have sold out, you have wrecked what should have been beautiful.

Nobody has warm fuzzy memories of their warm, fond experiences at national companies – no one.

We remember virtually everything about the connectivity of America when it was local and independent. But we have accepted the bilious crap that we’ve been sold, haven’t we!

What, you can’t fight city hall?

Nonsense.

You just have to want to fight “city hall”.

Walmart’s mission statement was to invade a territory, and take all the business that was once handled by local businesses, connected to their communities. Their strategy was to lowball the prices until the competition capitulated, then raise those prices.

America bought it. America made the Waltons one of the wealthiest families in the nation by destroying countless communities of businesses across the nation.

Amazon took that model and added steroids. Amazon has aims for every form of commerce there is.

They don’t want to dominate a market, they want to be the market.

Seriously, you guys, you have to let that sink in and realize what that means.

Dollar Tree (which owns Family Dollar, too), and Dollar General are exploding all over the nation at breakneck speed. Every single one of them takes business from the local providers in their area. The profits from those operations leave the region, leave the state.

Looking at these few large examples alone, the picture is instantly clear. The strategy is to replace the sales of the local versions with their national versions.

The strategy is to put as many siphon tube hoses into as many local economies everywhere, so as to suck as much money out what used to stay local, where it benefited local people.

With every door they open (and website they launch), the Wall Street economy gets stronger … at the direct and damaging expense of the “Main Street” economies across America.

Each city is a “Main Street” economy.

Grouping them together as we do in our circumstance to create a larger local economy (Downriver) still forms a local economy. When we flourish here, without any meddling and siphoning off, we retain more circulating capital. We have more people doing well, which tilts the playing field for all for the residents that live here.

It really isn’t a difficult concept to get one’s arms around at all. Yet the indifference is astounding, especially among those that benefit the most from my scenario vs the “siphons scenario”. We happen to be watching a new niche being tackled by national. I’ll mention just one, because frankly, I don’t want to lend any credence to any of them.

In Southgate, sort of across Eureka Road from the A&T Car Wash, a huge project is underway, declaring that

Tommy’s Express Auto Wash is coming soon.

Yes, a national chain of car washes now. More than one.

Now, A&T happens to be an excellent car wash with an excellent reputation. But if you think that no one will switch to the shiny new model across the street, you really don’t want to believe what I’m talking about.

Who knows how big of a hit will be delivered to A&T?

I know what kind of a hit Men’s Wearhouse was to Chelsea quite a while ago, that forced us to learn how to survive on less volume, and they were just one of the shiny new models to tempt the public.

I know that carving 20 percent off the top for any independent business is traumatic, and … shall we say … unwelcome.

If a new, local car wash opens up, I can’t make the same argument. There is such a thing as legitimate competition. But no local can do what this national can do with their deep pockets full of money from people elsewhere.

So, are we just supposed to accept unfair competition, beyond our ability to do anything about it?

It is not OK, friends. It will never be OK. And think about it: What’s going to happen to the little pharmacies around Downriver when Amazon enters the prescription drug fray?

Are you going to be OK with having your choices whittled down to only national options? It’s coming, believe me. Might I suggest that we all collectively start screaming to our governmental officials, making it clear that a lot of us are disgusted and fed up, and that we stand opposed?

Seaway Chorale to present ‘Most Anything Goes’ May 5-6

After a successful return in December to Flat Rock Community Auditorium, the Seaway Chorale and Orchestra will be presenting its spring concert on Friday May 5 and Saturday May 6.

The title of the concert is “Most Anything Goes” and it truly lives up to its name. The group will be singing a potpourri of musical genres with selections from the realms of classical, spiritual, jazz, Americana, rock, pop, folk music and barbershop. The group will also sprinkle in some movie favorites along the way.