Deadly Dollar

​It seems innocent and harmless. A low cost retailer that sells low cost commodity goods. A compelling place to get more goods for those struggling to make ends meet. Good, right?

​Those struggling to make ends meet? Why is that such a 'thing' and why is their growth so pervasive?

Well, that's a different Economic blog. Let's focus on where low-cost retailers are growing and whether it is a good thing or a band-aid solution that is actually harming people?  First, some facts: 

"Two companies, Dollar Tree (which acquired Family Dollar in 2015) and Dollar General, have expanded their footprint from just under 20,000 stores in 2010 to nearly 30,000 stores in 2018". 

Most of these new stores are in urban and rural neighborhoods where residents don’t often have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. In 2015, in fact, Dollar Tree and Dollar General represented two-thirds of all new stores in “food deserts,” defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as low-income areas where a third or more of residents live far from a full-service grocery store." (Source)

Wow, that's bad.  That is so not MAGA!  Low Income areas that don't get the proper nutrition, and Grocery Stores nowhere in site... people eating unhealthy processed foods from Dollar Stores, what could possibly make that worse?

In the Recovery community, when talking about stress and anxiety, you often hear the slogan "There's nothing in Life that Alcohol can't Make Worse". 

Yes, you guessed it. Family Dollar announces plans to sell alcohol   

So you have a Retail thing that shouldn't be a thing ... a massive chain of Retailers supporting financial struggling that should not exist.  Now leveraging the stress of the financially (and mentally stressed) weak - for sales growth to sell mind-numbing addictive drugs. Drugs the people really can't afford to use, but feel compelled to use to escape their mental pain. 

The drugs cause lack of sleep and loss of productivity, add mental stress to the mentally stressed and further degrade opportunities... a death spiral that kills tens of thousands every year... in MAGA land.

To quote Han Solo,  "I have a bad feeling about this." Yes, an understatement. 

MAGA This is not. Financially in fact it hurts us ALL eventually.  For every $1 in Booze Tax Revenue there are over $10 in Soft Costs that we all pay: Incarceration costs, Social Services, "Free" Legal, Higher Insurance, Higher Hospital costs, Property Taxes, Car Taxes and more.  

So think about it. The Alcohol Industry and Retailers make a lot of money, and we all pay well over $1000 a Year PER Taxpayer to support them making profits. As Ross Perot said - "a great sucking sound" and this will just make it worse. 

Care to share. Stay Educated and Healthy - Less is more!

Peter Faulk, Founder 
#soberworldorg