There is a flip side to every coin. The least well-off among us do not benefit from having the most economical options handicapped to support the less economic

There is a flip side to every coin. The least well-off among us do not benefit from having the most economical options handicapped to support the less economically feasible option, regardless of the intangible communal benefits. This plays into the most common error surrounding how people view protectionism; the interests of the most obvious group is held above the harder to see ramifications of their protection. It seems ethically troublesome to me for a handful of bureaucrats to pretend they can predict every pro and con of every economic mandate for everyone else (or for the majority to decide for the minority). Decentralization of the decision making seems like the least problematic way to go about such things; and you can't get much more decentralized than each individual consumer. If the community at large recognizes the benefits of these local shops, they should put their money where their mouths are and make them profitable.