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Consumer
Economics in Nevada County It’s a hard world to work and live in. Maybe it’s always been tough, but when I was young I dreamed of a tremendously-improved planet: high literacy, no wars, and a great standard of living for everyone. That’s not the way things have turned out. Even the simple process of buying "stuff" is tougher. If fact, the situation is worse than ever. Scott (in the column next door) and I set out to explore what really steamed us about day-to-day consumer economics in Nevada County. So let’s take a look at consumer life, from the worldwide level down to Mill Street. To do this, I must first communicate to you the Five Great Premises: Premise 1: We are part of a global economy. This place just looks rural, folks. In reality, the parts in your car were made in six countries. Your strawberries were grown in Chile. Your long distance company is worldwide. Sounds good, huh? Well, it generally isn’t. Premise 2: This is the age of frantic global consolidation. It’s also the age of greed. This useless madness afflicting Corporation Earth works only to our disadvantage You get a slightly cheaper car because the laborers who made the parts work for $1 a day. You get strawberries out of season, but they still use DDT in some countries. You think your long distance rates will go down, but they don’t (no, selling off-peak minutes for five cents doesn’t count). And surely you don’t think the Sprint/MCI Worldcom merger currently in the news will produce "increased competition" and lower rates? Premise 3: Deregulation gets you nothing. Deregulating the airlines produced price-fixing. Deregulating cable companies is a bigger joke. Only one cable company serves a geography, and the rates rise much faster than the cost of living. And, I have yet to see a bank merger that was particularly helpful for the people of Nevada County. Premise 4: Technology can be useful, but it can also be exploited to your detriment. On one hand, you can buy a book online from Amazon.com. Cool. On the other hand, the chain supermarkets have "clubs" or "rewards" programs, where EVERY purchase you make is tied to your name in a computer. Then, through a magic process called data mining, you can receive lots more junk mail and phone calls at dinner, exploiting what is known about your buying habits. Not cool. Premise 5: Advertising is worse than ever. I’m astounded by the ability of national advertising to hide the prices, hide the terms, and make misleading comparisons. The worst offenders are on TV, but direct mail and magazines are right up there. By comparison, the K-Mart or Radio Shack inserts in The Union are honest and straightforward. The pranks of multi-national corporations are our biggest challenge. The pressure to be mindless consumers is constant, and it comes from sources outside the county. But what about our local merchants? They are criticized for having high prices, limited selection, and a low level of service. Well, it’s not fair to paint them all with the same brush. Plus, higher prices and limited inventory come with the territory. A small retailer in Nevada County is never going to compete effectively against a big box store in Placer County. We should recognize this when we move here. Will local merchants be driven out of business by massive assaults from big corporations? Not if they follow these rules:
And as consumers, let’s exercise the greatest caution in a world where the three most important words are "Buy, buy, buy!" Barry Schoenborn is a technical writer, and an eleven-year resident of Nevada County. You can write to him at barry@wvswrite.com. The opinions of columnists are not necessarily those of The Union. |