Okay who can't agree with this sign?

[WillParkinson]

Support local businesses whenever possible.

[peacebird]

1. Enthusiastic K & R!

[lpbk2713]

2. That's what it's all about.

Thanks for posting this.

[Blunt477]

3. Please Support Hard Working Americans Over Corporate Greed

[Renew Deal]

4. I disagree

With the worker in the background putting on makeup in a food prep area.

[GatorLarry]

47. I disagree with your disagreement

It's inconclusive and you're projecting something negative.

I say the worker is on his/her lunch break and eating ice cream.

[phantom power]

5. '$1 spent at a locally owned store is usually spent 6 to 15 times before it leaves the community'

Tim Mitchell in Northwest Earth Institute's Choices for Sustainable Living states, 'A dollar spent at a locally owned store is usually spent 6 to 15 times before it leaves the community. From $1, you create $5 to $14 in value within that community.' That's good news! He also states, 'Spend $1 at a national chain store, and 80% leaves town immediately.' That's bad news.

http://www.blueoregon.com/2005/11/buying_local_an/

[cbayer]

6. That's why I am part of the "No Chains" movement.

We we take long road trips, we make it a point to never sleep or eat in chains. Not only do we support the locals that way, we have a much richer experience.

[dmr]

11. And, lots of delicious food, too!

Good to see ya, cbayer!

[cbayer]

13. Hello girlfriend! Long time, no see.

Yes, and lots and lots of very delicious food.

[longship]

19. Like the local restaurant in a nearby town?

It has a neon sign out front that says, "Eat". That's all. Home made meals at breakfast and lunch. They even have home made pasties -- always a Michigan favorite.

Yummy stuff!

But we have no grocery stores except Walmart and Meiers. One has to drive another 20+ miles north to find an independent grocer.

There is one hardware store left. They stay open because the local farms patronize them because of their unequivocal small engine expertease. There used to be four local hardware stores, but Lowes and Manards have driven the rest into non-existence.

Small towns should never let Walmart into their communities. It's bad for everybody.

[cbayer]

20. Exactly like the local restaurant. The one you are likely to drive right by

to get to the closest McDonalds or IHOP. Great website for this is roadfood.com. They even have a google earth app which is outstanding on road trips.

It's a lot harder when it comes to fuel and other supplies, though, I agree.

If you have local farms, do you not have local products from those farms?

[longship]

33. The independent grocer up the road buys from locals.

They have locally grown meat and vegetables when they can get it. The butcher there is especially good about this. This store is an addition 15-20 mile drive for me so I don't always make that trip for groceries. Regretably, prices are higher as well. But when I can afford it, I make the trip.

[cbayer]

54. Yeah, that's a long way to go, particularly if the prices are higher.

I always make a point of going to a farmer's market when we go over to 'merica on the day before we leave. I grab some of just about everything and am willing to pay more, because that stuff is going to last and not be wasted.

[WillParkinson]

36. We go to one of two local restaurants...

One serves vegan bar food, the other a family owned Italian place. They love to see us. We eat well, we tip well. The servers adore us. (Twenty-five years as a server has taught me manners when it comes to things like this.)

[Tunkamerica]

40. I draw the line at homemade pasties

they need to be sterile

[Dakota Flint]

24. Shoppers of the US unite you have nothing to lose but your chains

[cbayer]

26. Love it!

[OriginalGeek]

52. We love doing that

Every time we go out of town, whether for work or play, we won't eat anywhere we can get at home. Found a lot fantastic food that way.

and a couple not-so-fantastic places but it was still fun. lol

[cbayer]

53. Even if the food is not good, the social scene can be really intriguing.

[midnight]

7. Great sign. Hopefully Ms. Warren can make one that simple to help mom and pops get the

funding that the CEO's have been swimming in for the last decade....

[Whovian]

8. K&R

[SCVDem]

9. Excellent! nt

[MNBrewer]

10. Third vacation homes are people, my friend.

[oldbanjo]

12. I do agree with the sign but in the City

that I live in the Mom and Pop businesses are run by Christians that mark things up 400% and only care about what they can make today and don't worry about tomorrow. And that is the truth.

[LeftofObama]

15. 100% agree with that.

I try to shop locally, but when I see a business with the jesus fish on it, any business with freedom or liberty in the name, I turn and run the other way!

[Curmudgeoness]

23. I always find local businesses to support

by seeing who is advertising in the Democratic newsletters or fundraisers. I will say that some businesses do mark things up too much, but I am willing to pay a small "premium" to support local small businesses. I realize that they do not get the same wholesale prices that places like Walmart get, so they can't price things that low.

But if all you have is the in-your-face Christians where you live, that would be a problem. And huge mark-ups are a problem. Keep looking.

[JI7]

32. are they able to sell stuff ? i might still buy from them

since they would spend it on stuff like food , clothes etc.

while the big corps would not just buy a vacation home but give money to politicians who cut needed services while giving themselves more welfare.

[Bozita]

14. Gonna show that sign to a few local small business owners!

[tclambert]

16. "Walmart smash!"

"Ugh! Must crush small business! Make mom and pop work for minimum wage! Make them go on food stamps! Walmart . . . SMASH!"

[mcdeavitt]

17. Exactly!

I've had this hanging from my mirror in my barbershop for the past year. Its amazing how here in the "red zone" of Arizona so many of the RWN completely agree with this sentiment. Yet every election they head blindly down to the polls and chalk one up for more corporate welfare.

[slackmaster]

18. I agree with that sign and I practice it daily

Every single day.

I get my coffee at Rebecca's (sole proprietorship) coffee shop instead of Starbucks.

I dine at the Turf Supper Club rather than Stuart Anderson's.

I patronize some family-owned Italian restaurants, never Olive Garden.

[HangOnKids]

22. Turf Supper Club Is The Bomb!

My little sis loves the joint, and she takes me every time I visit SD. Man the drinks are STRONG!!!!! Stuart Anderson's is still in business? YUCK!

[moondust]

21. Yes!

[grahamhgreen]

25. Yes, say NO TO COSTLY TRADE AGREEMENTS LIKE Obama's TPP.

[TahitiNut]

27. I also like to know where the business does ITS buying.

I ALWAYS give my business to owner-operated establishments when at all possible. I also do my best to determine who THEY do business with. Sadly, such a sign is no guarantee ... since hypocrisy is so pervasive.

[MindandSoul]

28. This is GREAT! So true. . .it should be on every window on Mainstreet, USA!

[JohnnyRingo]

29. My bumper sticker says...

"Support Your Local Economy"

I bought it in a boutique type store in Geneva-On-The-Lake on the North Shore of Ohio, and I try to live up to it.

[Bibliovore]

30. "Our customers are our shareholders"?

I agree with all of it except maybe that line -- unless the customers actually have shares in the business (co-op members do, though I've never seen a co-op called a mom-and-pop business), it seems a nice but inaccurate sentiment.

[coalition_unwilling]

31. Would probably be better to use the word 'stakeholders' rather than

'shareholders'; the latter, as you note, both denotes and connotes something other than what the author intends, methinks.

[uncle ray]

50. the author probably intends most people to understand a metaphor.

[Warpy]

34. The same goes for hole in the wall family restaurants

rather than big chains. If you want to give the CEOs of Applebee's, Olive Garden and Papa John's a black eye, go to the competition running little ethnic restaurants or even diners.

You won't be sorry. Often the food is a hell of a lot better, especially when it's pizza!

[NYC_SKP]

35. like. nt

[TxVietVet]

37. k&r

[lexw]

38. AWE------SOME!!!!!!

[tecelote]

39. Your Vote Counts!

Where your money goes is more important than who we elect.

Because, a healthy community will naturally elect better representatives.

[merrily]

42. If the elective process were natural, you would be correct.

Who gets to fun in a primary is determined by things other than the self interest of voters.

[Resonance_Chamber]

41. I ALWAYS Support Local LIBERAL and PROGRESSIVES businesses

I vote 365 days a year multiple times a day with my wallet it is one of the better ways an individual can make a real difference.

[merrily]

43. Broke my heart to see a placard in the windows of my local stores supporting Romney this year.

Most of them usually just go about their business, but placards abounded this year.

Fortunately, some of my favorite lunch places remained placard-less.

[merrily]

44. I would prefer to support a local business.

However, the people behind the complaint desk in Target, the cashier at the supermarket chain, etc. have kids they need to support, too.

And many of them cannot even dream of paying for dance lessons or college tuition.

So, while size does matter, it is not the only criterion.

[tecelote]

45. Imagine what would happen if everyone that shopped at Walmart started shopping locally!

We reap what we sow.

[CTyankee]

46. We support our local restaurants. Two fabulous Turkish restaurants nearby and

a superb pizza place (even by New Haven standards, which are pretty damn high) and they have free delivery in our neighborhood.

When I visit my daughter in Boston we go to Legal Seafoods. Even tho they have expanded with several restaurants, they are still family owned.

[santamargarita]

48. So true

[RB TexLa]

49. Yeah, because the employees, shareholders and suppliers of big companys don't deserve

dance lessons, team jerseys, or food for their children. Or deserve to pay a mortgage or for college. The person putting this sign up sounds like they feel they are as Sarah Palin put it "the real Americans."

[Odin2005]

51. AMEN!

[Marinedem]

55. Looks like a coke machine in the background.

All I'm saying is, unless these folks are making their own soda, ketchup, cups, etc, you're still supporting big corporations. That's just the nature of things. The only venue I can really think of that is an exception might be a farmer's market.

I should also point out that at one point, Mcdonalds, Walmart, and others started out in the same boat as this business. How many stores can this person expand to before he/she is seen as no different from any other chain? It is a rare person indeed that has the ability to grow, but turns to him/herself and says "I have enough". Greed is the true human condition, and corporations are proof, not exceptions.

I support local/small businesses as well, I just don't delude myself into thinking that the BK down the street is any less important to its employees than the locally owned frozen custard stand is to its employees. Business is not black and white.

[Deep13]

56. The owners are the shareholders, but I agree with the sentiment.

Except that small companies are usually supplied by big companies, so somewhere a CEO is still feathering his nest.