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View Full Version : Do you care about buying local?




Andrew-Austin
08-13-2010, 11:06 PM
Just wondering what the numbers are on this issue among libertarians. Haven't seen this poll yet.

Having worked in retail I haven't really understood or emphasized with the localism fetish. To be more specific, people buying product X just because it is local or relatively more local, even though sometimes they can get the same type of product for less and of better quality if they do not buy local.

It doesn't really make a difference does it? Hypothetically if there were a company that somehow bothered to grow bananas on United States soil, what would be the point of it? They certainly wouldn't be as cheap and abundant. Do Texans who insist on Texas peaches over Georgia peaches really think people in Georgia are so smelly?

And if we have "product made in X U.S. state" or "produce made in Y foreign country" labels on goods, then why not go a step further than that... Why not indicate what percentages of certain goods come from where. We can have little disclaimers saying "X percent of the capital that made this produvct came from here, Z percent of the labor came form there, etc etc etc. Thus stroking more paranoia regarding the division of labor.

jazzloversinc
08-13-2010, 11:07 PM
I support local IF they are competative...otherwise, I find the best deal.

BuddyRey
08-13-2010, 11:17 PM
I really couldn't care less where my clothes/electronics/shoes, etc. come from, as long as I know I'm getting a quality product for the lowest cost possible.

RedStripe
08-13-2010, 11:19 PM
Who cares if the product comes from quasi-slave labor. Not my problem!

trey4sports
08-13-2010, 11:38 PM
Who cares if the product comes from quasi-slave labor. Not my problem!

lol i can see CNBC saying something like "Terrorist orginization Ron Paul Forums supports slave labor" their all racist kooks!

(and yes, i get that you were being sarcastic)

BTW you're a leftist on RPF ? left leaning libertarian or socialist?

Andrew-Austin
08-13-2010, 11:42 PM
Oh and folks I included "on the whole" for a reason, if you only buy GM cars because you have family that works for GM then specific instances like that don't count.
Who cares if the product comes from quasi-slave labor. Not my problem!

If you are being sarcastic just say so, and define "quasi-slave".

FrankRep
08-14-2010, 12:10 AM
lol i can see CNBC saying something like "Terrorist orginization Ron Paul Forums supports slave labor" their all racist kooks!

(and yes, i get that you were being sarcastic)

BTW you're a leftist on RPF ? left leaning libertarian or socialist?


RedStripe says he's for "Socialist ends" and calls himself a leftist.



Don't want to derail, but basically I'm for socialist ends (pro: economic egalitarianism, worker's rights, wide distribution of capital, labor class-consciousness, sustainability and anti: bigotry, racism, homophobia etc) through libertarian (anti-state) means.

Many old school socialists were anarchists/libertarians who understood that the state, along with capitalism, must be defeated in order to have a truly just society.

silentshout
08-14-2010, 12:26 AM
I prefer to buy local if at all possible, obviously for food but for other things, I do like if they are made in the US.

dannno
08-14-2010, 01:40 AM
For essential items like food it is best to buy local when possible. This increases the food infrastructure in case their is an emergency which stops commerce from coming into your area, your town will better be able to sustain itself.

Andrew-Austin
08-14-2010, 02:05 AM
For essential items like food it is best to buy local when possible. This increases the food infrastructure in case their is an emergency which stops commerce from coming into your area, your town will better be able to sustain itself.

I only partially agree with the way you put this. The problem I have is in the details.
"In case of an emergency which stops commerce from coming to your area". This makes it sound like a mere flooding or pummeling of tornadoes can create such conditions that cause you to starve to death. Though hypothetically possible, especially if one lives on an island (islands don't sustain themselves anyways), its a pretty negligible threat these days. Akin to worrying about being struck by lighting I'd say depending on where you live. If my town or city (central Texas) is doing so shitty that people might starve to death, I'd move at least temporarily elsewhere. Or I take advantage of my meager stockpile to cope with a temporary threat and perhaps accepting the donations/help of those outside of my town (since people are so charitable and you are describing this catastrophe as more local then help could come from outside my affected region).

The only thing I would be concerned about would be some sort of national economic collapse, some serious doomsday shit, the dollar collapsing while we enter WW3, people rioting because of high unemployment, etc. Its hard to imagine so much social and economic strife happening that the division of labor collapses, but I suppose its possible. So you may have a point, assuming the world is pretty much the twisted shit hole it tends to be, to the extent that the above concern in bold isn't completely baseless. So if I admit you may be right in that way, I also gotta point out that is not the reason the majority of the "buy local people" buy local.

Kregisen
08-14-2010, 02:18 AM
I choose to reward the most efficient company with my money for their product.

DamianTV
08-14-2010, 02:53 AM
As much as I do care, I cant really afford to be choosy.

BenIsForRon
08-14-2010, 03:43 AM
For essential items like food it is best to buy local when possible. This increases the food infrastructure in case their is an emergency which stops commerce from coming into your area, your town will better be able to sustain itself.

This. And it is fresher.

But for plastic and electronic crap, I just try to avoid China. It can come from Europe, Japan, South America, whatever. I just do not want to support China's supremacy in the global economy they achieved through the government's violence against generations of citizens.

Isaac Bickerstaff
08-14-2010, 07:08 AM
Buying local is the most important thing we can all actually do. It is not money itself that creates wealth, it is the exchange of money. You could be sitting on a million dollars, but until you exchange some of it for stuff, you will be living in a cardboard box, naked and starving to death. The money you spend locally not only helps support your neighbors, but also encourages them to spend money back your way if possible. As money becomes increasingly hard to come by, we can continue local commerce without using "Their" money if need be, and maintain a relatively normal standard of living.

I will willingly spend more on local items simply because I have products to offer, and money circulating in my immediate area has a greater chance to come back to me. In most cases, the only reason out-of-area products are cheaper than local products is because they are heavily subsidized, usually on many, many levels from debt relief and manufacturing to transportation.
Besides, the local merchant offers knowledge, superior customer service, and usually an unofficial warranty that far surpasses anything you can get when you save a few cents on out-of area stuff.
So many reasons to spend locally; I can't really think of a good reason not to, given a choice.

Unless you already have a backup plan when Federal Reserve Notes are scarce and worthless, start making local connections now, because the cheap subsidized out-of area products will be the first to dry up when things go south. We need to support our local economy now so it will be there when we need it.

RPgrassrootsactivist
08-14-2010, 01:18 PM
It's good for the country when consumers choose to buy local. It's bad for the country when protectionist government policies force consumers to buy local. Foreign competition can help pressure local businesses to keep innovating and offering low prices, which is good for consumers.

cooker263
08-14-2010, 01:33 PM
I think its a good mix. I think it's good to support local but I think it's detrimental to consistently buy inferior products - you send the wrong message. Like GM: if they didn't milk their brand equity/loyalty and people bought better cars outside of Detroit, they may have cleaned up their act years ago. Then again, there's a lot more at play. On the whole though, if both are relatively equal or close in whatever value I'm searching for, I'll buy local. However, I think you end up doing US producers a favor in the long run just picking the best product no matter where it originates.

dannno
08-14-2010, 01:40 PM
I only partially agree with the way you put this. The problem I have is in the details.
"In case of an emergency which stops commerce from coming to your area". This makes it sound like a mere flooding or pummeling of tornadoes can create such conditions that cause you to starve to death.

I'm thinking more along the lines of the dollar collapses and we can't afford enough oil to transport as many things across the country which could be bad for certain areas.

Kludge
08-14-2010, 01:58 PM
Local fruits/veggies/dairy/meats are often cheaper here, but I really don't care that I'm buying local -- it's coincidence. People in the US are all well-off as far as I'm concerned, and I lived in a NC town with a median per capita GDP roughly half of the US's. I'd much rather the money (partially) go to someone whose survival is truly at stake.

Other food most likely to be consumed (flours, ramen, sugar, noodles, vinegars) often coincidentally comes from the US.

In rare events we buy non-perishables, it's almost always second-hand (or recertified, at least).



We did, however, recently purchase two patriotic US flag shirts made in Pakistan - $3 a pop.

libertybrewcity
08-14-2010, 06:23 PM
I would love to buy local, but it is hard with a very small income or no income at all.

djdellisanti4
08-14-2010, 06:26 PM
I try to buy from local stores as opposed to large corporations, but I don't care where products that those stores supply come from.

Jack Bauer
08-14-2010, 06:30 PM
Only the meat.

libertybrewcity
08-14-2010, 06:33 PM
A lot of large corporations are starting to sell cheaper and cheaper organic products. I know Walmart is doing something like this. I doubt it's local, but this could doom local business even more..

paulitics
08-14-2010, 06:38 PM
A lot of large corporations are starting to sell cheaper and cheaper organic products. I know Walmart is doing something like this. I doubt it's local, but this could doom local business even more..

I will never trust a big corporation for my food again. Since I have been buying from small companies, local, organics, etc my health has improved...no lie.

If the label says Kraft or Heinz on it, even if it says made with organic ingrediants, I still avoid it.

Local is also fresher. Cost is not always what's on the pricetag. There are other factors.

heavenlyboy34
08-14-2010, 06:40 PM
Depends. Local bookstores and such have better prices and staff. National chains have better prices on many things I use regularly. Overall, I shop local when I can.

libertybrewcity
08-14-2010, 06:41 PM
I will never trust a big corporation for my food again. Since I have been buying from small companies, local, organics, etc my health has improved...no lie.

If the label says Kraft or Heinz on it, even if it says made with organic ingrediants, I still avoid it.

Local is also fresher. Cost is not always what's on the pricetag. There are other factors.

That is interesting that you have noticeable improvements in health. Imagine if everyone in the US stopped drinking soda or avoided corn syrup, and fat too. I have to take the chances with eating from Safeway for now, but once I get some income I'll probably hit up one of those food delivery things.(can't remember the name off hand)

libertybrewcity
08-14-2010, 06:42 PM
Depends. Local bookstores and such have better prices and staff. National chains have better prices on many things I use regularly. Overall, I shop local when I can.

Amazon is mighty cheap sometimes:) You're probably talking about a barnes n noble or borders though.

acptulsa
08-14-2010, 06:52 PM
I used to have strong feelings about buying local. I wouldn't do it. Of course, back then my brother was a truck driver.

In all seriousness, though, we need to think about this because we all want to have decent paying jobs, and paying a little more for something made closer to home is important to maintaining the American standard of living.

That said, please take the above with this very grain of salt--this is an important point:


I think its a good mix. I think it's good to support local but I think it's detrimental to consistently buy inferior products - you send the wrong message. Like GM: if they didn't milk their brand equity/loyalty and people bought better cars outside of Detroit, they may have cleaned up their act years ago.

We don't do our society any favors by encouraging sloth among our own. We still have to make headway in a global market, no matter how much local buying we do.

ChaosControl
08-14-2010, 07:03 PM
Yes, although at the moment I unfortunately don't buy many things local as I would like.

james1906
08-14-2010, 07:05 PM
Unless it's something culturally specific (ie my sake set from Japan, my coffee pot from Jordan), I prefer to buy domestic.