Democrats have helped created pockets of poverty within their big cities, and certainly foster them and keep them going, creating a pocket of guaranteed voters. Having stores which cater to them is now a Bad Thing
Dollar stores are everywhere. That’s a problem for poor Americans
As dollar stores sweep across America, they are facing growing scrutiny from opponents who argue that discount chains stifle local competition and limit poor communities’ access to healthy food.
Dollar stores have never been more popular. Yet a wave of cities and towns have passed laws curbing the expansion of Dollar General (DG) and Dollar Tree (DLTR), which bought Family Dollar in 2015. The companies are the two largest dollar store operators in the country, combining for more than 30,000 stores throughout the United States, up from under 20,000 a decade ago. By comparison, Walmart(WMT), America’s largest retailer, has 4,700 US stores. (there’s a pretty big difference in the size of the stores)
Advocates of tighter controls on dollar stores say the big chains intentionally cluster multiple stores in low-income areas. That strategy discourages supermarkets from opening and it threatens existing mom-and-pop grocers, critics say.
“The business model for these stores is built on saturation,” said Julia McCarthy, senior policy associate at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest and a critic of dollar stores. “When you have so many dollar stores in one neighborhood, there’s no incentive for a full-service grocery store to come in.”
Opponents also express concerns that dollar stores don’t offer fresh produce. Dollar General and its dollar store rivals mostly sell snacks, drinks, canned foods and vegetables, household supplies and personal care products at rock-bottom prices.
It’s always something with this crowd, some reason to complain. Supermarkets often avoid these areas because of “breakage”, meaning theft, and the lower profits which makes them, get this, unprofitable. So, the option? Government restrictions
But lawmakers around the country are pushing back.
Last week, the city council in Birmingham, Alabama, unanimously approved legislation that would prohibit new dollar stores from opening within a mile of their existing locations.
“While dollar stores proliferated across our community, healthy food options dried up,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin told CNN Business. The new measure will help Birmingham attract and retain grocers in the city’s food deserts, he said.
Why doesn’t Woodfin and his buddies on the city council build their own grocery store? What’s that you say, they do not want to lose money? The food desert thing is cute, something that was pimped by Obama and his wife Michelle. And is silly. In my area, they closed a Kroger because it was losing so much money from the lower income people in the area using food stamps and the theft. Despite a WalMart super center with an incredible produce section being across the street, as well as 2 Food Lions being a half mile down the road both way, this area was now called a “food desert.”
Anyhow, the hating goes on and on. Pick a target, isolate it, destroy it.
The oh-so-concerned-about-the-poor left are just so worried that the poor don’t take the choices the left assign them. “(O)ur community, healthy food options dried up,” said Mayor Woodfin? Did he ever consider the possibility that poor people can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods?
People who don’t have to watch every penny — Mr Woodfin’s annual salary is $107,973 — sometimes fail to understand the concerns of those who do. When you have a six-figure income, you don’t have to worry about whether the fresh organically grown broccoli is more expensive than the frozen stuff, but people who don’t make that kind of money, well they do have to worry. When you make six figures and are politically connected, you can go to Gianmarco’s or Satterfield’s in Birmingham, and not worry about the bill . . . if you have to pay it at all.
But for some people, taking the kids out to eat means Burger King or McDonald’s, because that’s all they can afford. Yet the people taking governing decisions just don’t seem to understand that.
I know plenty of well-to-do people who shop at dollar stores. Having a six-figure income (okay, that’s a middle school teacher in CA) doesn’t stop frugal people from wanting to save money, especially when they want to buy cheap stuff for kids and parties and vacations, etc. When I go into a dollar store it is a pretty diverse blend of people shopping there. Selling stuff for a dollar means low margins and the stores need low rents to thrive. So of course they have to place themselves in lower rent areas.
The crap they sell for a dollar is usually worth a dollar or less. There isn’t any magic there, just low operating costs and no-frills build-out. Maybe the grocery stores should set up a dollar section or something. Who cares? Its not any politician’s business where people want to shop. Leftist politicians always want to “help” the poor and minorities by making life too expensive for them to afford, the offering them free stuff paid for by other people. This is more of the same.