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Certainly the safety and operating conditions for workers in these kinds of stores needs to be enforced, and companies penalized when they violate workplace rul
by supernova87a 6y ago
Certainly the safety and operating conditions for workers in these kinds of stores needs to be enforced, and companies penalized when they violate workplace rules or create an unsafe environment.
But the larger issue is that these kinds of stores are not "doing" something to communities. They are the reflection of (and maybe focal point for) what has already been done -- communities that are hollowed out of industries that used to sustain people who now don't have a lot of opportunities and can only afford such stores, or where it's too unprofitable or dangerous to sustain a traditional full service store.
If you want a real assessment of this country's prosperity (or lack of it for many people) -- or simply what happens when an economy is no longer in baby-boomer growth mode -- look to places like this where people who have been left behind in the "economic boom" have to shop because they have no other choices. Look to where the poor have to work/shop/live for the indicators of lack of leadership at a national/state level who don't understand that a single rising GDP number (for corporations) doesn't mean that all is good.
And by the way, don't blame the companies fully for it either. They just fill in the gaps where our ineffective governments have abdicated their responsibilities / role to take care of citizens. And the problem with companies filling in the gaps is that they have no real moral values or long-term responsibilities -- that's not their nature. They blow with the wind, or when enough public pressure causes them to have to do something -- until the next quarter.
Don't take the easy route and blame Dollar General. We're the dealers, they're just playing the cards.
- 99_00 6y agoAre the poor worse off now than they were during "baby-boomer growth mode"? Also, what is "baby-boomer growth mode"?
- supernova87a 6y agoMaybe in an absolute material sense they are not worse off now. But most certainly the opportunity to advance and achieve relative changes in class and wealth are not as positive as they once were in the US. Baby boomer growth mode was when the needs and growth of post-war America meant that many, many people could have well-paying middle class jobs that were a source of great economic mobility and improvement across the USA. It was also an era with far less income inequality than now. When your grandparents talk about needing to show initiative and go out there and find opportunity, remind them that they grew up in an era where pretty much anyone with a heartbeat could earn enough at a medium skilled job to buy a home by age 40. Not so much now.
- 99_00 6y ago>the opportunity to advance and achieve relative changes in class and wealth are not as positive as they once were in the US When were opportunities for poor black people better and what metric do you use for this comparison?
- im3w1l 6y agoBuilding a primitive shelter doesn't take a lot of labor, can be done in weeks to months of time. Given that, it's absurd how hard housing is to come by.
- me_againnnnnn 6y agoPeople working for 30 years to pay for something that is built in weeks is the entire problem. The price of land has to drop across the board for any improvements in society to happen. Everything eventually leads back to high rent.
- csharptwdec19 6y agoI think to some extent they are... Dollar stores I see more as a symptom and perpetuation of the problem poor people face today. (Conspicuous consumption.) When I was growing up, my parents had Air fans that they purchased YEARS before I was born. They're still working. Compare and contrast, I have a fan that only lasted 2 summers before burning out. Or, the knife set my parents got as a wedding gift and still use, compared to the set I got 2 years ago that already have pitting and the like. Before, poor people had access to good, quality used goods that could last. Now, they are stuck in the prisoner's dilemma; Either buying a more expensive used thing from goodwill/etc and see how long it lasts, or buying the cheap thing and knowing it's already on borrowed time.