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But why is that better? If you talk to people in towns like this it turns out the locals buy everything they can online and then are generally mad about overpay

But why is that better? If you talk to people in towns like this it turns out the locals buy everything they can online and then are generally mad about overpaying to buy from the local small shops. So they travel an hour every couple of months or so to restock everything non-perishable and freezer friendly so they don’t have to get ripped off. This isn’t “smaller towns beating big corporations with the local government”. It’s “business owners in a small town stop competition using local government lobbying”.

fc417fc802 2y ago
It isn't necessarily! But the alternative is hardly pretty either. Surely you've seen the aftermath of a marginal town where the local economy was replaced by one or two large retailers? In both cases you'll be able to find people who complain bitterly about the status quo. The fairness of the local politics will vary but at the end of the day if the majority of the population were truly unhappy with the situation presumably the officials would be voted out.
- monkeyelite 2y ago
  Are there things I miss about book stores? Yes - the atmosphere and serendipity. Also notice that many know that - and have shifted their business to coffee house, etc providing the atmosphere. And I can still get those experiences when I go to a towns that have a unique book store. I don’t why this was such a key institution that needs to be subsidized. We may have fond memories. If you’re just generally lamenting that good times have changed - I’m with you. But we can’t just mandate that the world stops changing.
- kortilla 2y ago
  The aftermath is that it kills businesses that were just shops adding cost to basic stuff to retail it. Those businesses suck and aren’t the kind you want anyway. The main streets that people like have coffee shops, boutiques, specialists, restaurants, etc.

fc417fc802 2y ago

It isn't necessarily! But the alternative is hardly pretty either. Surely you've seen the aftermath of a marginal town where the local economy was replaced by one or two large retailers? In both cases you'll be able to find people who complain bitterly about the status quo. The fairness of the local politics will vary but at the end of the day if the majority of the population were truly unhappy with the situation presumably the officials would be voted out.

monkeyelite 2y ago
Are there things I miss about book stores? Yes - the atmosphere and serendipity. Also notice that many know that - and have shifted their business to coffee house, etc providing the atmosphere. And I can still get those experiences when I go to a towns that have a unique book store. I don’t why this was such a key institution that needs to be subsidized. We may have fond memories. If you’re just generally lamenting that good times have changed - I’m with you. But we can’t just mandate that the world stops changing.
kortilla 2y ago
The aftermath is that it kills businesses that were just shops adding cost to basic stuff to retail it. Those businesses suck and aren’t the kind you want anyway. The main streets that people like have coffee shops, boutiques, specialists, restaurants, etc.