There is no gun to your head telling you to buy anything from McDonalds, Amazon or Walmart. But you won’t find that small profitable businesses automatically h

There is no gun to your head telling you to buy anything from McDonalds, Amazon or Walmart. But you won’t find that small profitable businesses automatically have better compensation packages either, nor even those rising star hipster burger, coffee and grilled cheese joints that are smaller than the big players but still you know, corporate chains. If you want some modicum of independence from modern American consumerism, to take a fully principled stand against the way we do business in this country, take out a loan with your morally scrupulous bank and/or credit union and start a farm with the goal of feeding yourself and your family first and foremost. Or start a small business, but then see what you can afford to pay your workers when it turns out that what you would need to charge to pay them a living wage will drive people away from your business. $15 sandwiches or whatever might be delicious, but short of some very expensive areas with very expensive leases, they won’t sell in the quantities you need them to because it turns out, Americans do take a stand when it is their dollar or even just their time on the line. Which is why many of them shop at either Walmart or Amazon or even both. They made themselves appealing by being cheaper and/or getting stuff to your door quicker than the competition. The market selected for these types of companies, and as a result they are incredibly profitable enterprises!