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I wonder if internet shopping will one day help small towns rather than hurt them. One of the things that really sucks about living in small towns is that its d

by rb808 9y ago

I wonder if internet shopping will one day help small towns rather than hurt them. One of the things that really sucks about living in small towns is that its difficult to buy the stuff you really want due to limited products available. When small town residents have access to unlimited ranges of goods and services at cheapest prices, its one less reason to travel to, or even move to the nearest city.

oij82asd38 9y ago
That problem was already solved by catalog and QVC. The problems in rural areas stem from lack of new job growth since 2008 implosion, and jobs with poor wages (and not enough of these even). Not gonna help people buy much online. Logistics around literal access aren't the issue. It's the same old tune: financial access. Putting a website up in place of a catalog doesn't solve that problem.
- jimbokun 9y ago
  "That problem was already solved by catalog and QVC. " Yep, Sears catalog appeared in 1888. http://www.searsarchives.com/catalogs/chronology.htm http://www.searsarchives.com/catalogs/chronology.htm
- TulliusCicero 9y ago
  > That problem was already solved by catalog and QVC. This is like saying that playing video games over the internet is nothing new, because hey, people already played games over distance in the form of chess by mail.
  - oi23wei535oj 9y ago
    Playing video games over the internet is nothing new, because hey, people been doing it for decades.
mechhrt 9y ago
Small towns rely on B&O tax revenue from small businesses though. So for the sake of streamlined access to cheap goods now there's no money to provide police protection, roads, parks, libraries, etc. that are paramounts of small-town life.
- mabbo 9y ago
  I suspect the common political crisis of most small towns over the next decade is going to be raising property taxes. Years, decades of everyone elected fools who refuse to raise taxes has lead to infrastructure that is falling apart, no money for local services, no money for parks and libraries. Now as small businesses all fall to e-commerce (often in part because their taxes were raised to compensate lowering residential property taxes) residents of small towns are finally coming to realize that all these services they've been provided actually cost money.
Simon_says 9y ago
One day? You mean, like, today?

by rb808 9y ago

oij82asd38 9y ago

That problem was already solved by catalog and QVC. The problems in rural areas stem from lack of new job growth since 2008 implosion, and jobs with poor wages (and not enough of these even). Not gonna help people buy much online. Logistics around literal access aren't the issue. It's the same old tune: financial access. Putting a website up in place of a catalog doesn't solve that problem.

jimbokun 9y ago
"That problem was already solved by catalog and QVC. " Yep, Sears catalog appeared in 1888. http://www.searsarchives.com/catalogs/chronology.htm http://www.searsarchives.com/catalogs/chronology.htm
TulliusCicero 9y ago
> That problem was already solved by catalog and QVC. This is like saying that playing video games over the internet is nothing new, because hey, people already played games over distance in the form of chess by mail.
- oi23wei535oj 9y ago
  Playing video games over the internet is nothing new, because hey, people been doing it for decades.

mechhrt 9y ago

Small towns rely on B&O tax revenue from small businesses though. So for the sake of streamlined access to cheap goods now there's no money to provide police protection, roads, parks, libraries, etc. that are paramounts of small-town life.

mabbo 9y ago
I suspect the common political crisis of most small towns over the next decade is going to be raising property taxes. Years, decades of everyone elected fools who refuse to raise taxes has lead to infrastructure that is falling apart, no money for local services, no money for parks and libraries. Now as small businesses all fall to e-commerce (often in part because their taxes were raised to compensate lowering residential property taxes) residents of small towns are finally coming to realize that all these services they've been provided actually cost money.

Simon_says 9y ago

One day? You mean, like, today?