I live in a rural area without a lot of brick and mortar options, so hate me if you must, but I do end up shopping at Walmart more often than I’d like.
My take is that they killed mom and pop shops. They dont really leave people options in rural areas. If you can move beyond them to something local, you should. I used to be staunchly anti-Wal-Mart. Then I got laid off and prices went higher. I still do my best to shop local, though.
Agree and I do try to support the local mom and pop places – when I can and within reason.
The other unfortunate aspect of living in a rural area is that the mom and pop places are also a landmine in terms of politics. I hate supporting Walmart and big business that donates heavily to conservative organizations and Republican candidates, but that money is mostly going to national politics. Local places in rural areas are often run by conservatives who use their donations to support local conservative candidates and policies that often have way more negative impact on my day to day life than national politics. And I’m saying that as someone whose layoff was literally and directly due to national politics.
My take is that they killed mom and pop shops. They dont really leave people options in rural areas. If you can move beyond them to something local, you should. I used to be staunchly anti-Wal-Mart. Then I got laid off and prices went higher. I still do my best to shop local, though.
Agree and I do try to support the local mom and pop places – when I can and within reason.
The other unfortunate aspect of living in a rural area is that the mom and pop places are also a landmine in terms of politics. I hate supporting Walmart and big business that donates heavily to conservative organizations and Republican candidates, but that money is mostly going to national politics. Local places in rural areas are often run by conservatives who use their donations to support local conservative candidates and policies that often have way more negative impact on my day to day life than national politics. And I’m saying that as someone whose layoff was literally and directly due to national politics.
I understand that issue. It has been frustrating seeing some of my local haunts go mask off and I have to take my business elsewhere.