Last Saturday we took the boat to Old Sacramento with our neighbors, and while walking along Front street we dropped into a kite shop. They sell an eclectic mix of stuff, and among the kites and frisbees they carry a massive catalogue of puzzles. As I'm pondering a purchase, it was brought to my attention that "these are expensive...you should go to Target and see if you can get a better price."
Well, if that's the case, why not just raze Old Sacramento to the fucking ground and install a Target in its stead? How about a WalMart with an indoor McDonalds and a Pick-Up Stix and eliminate all the downtown restaurants? It certainly would be easier (read: cheaper) for the city to manage the permits and licensing of one business rather than sixty. How about a Costco! Wa-hey! Doesn't taking the boat out on a hot afternoon to enjoy the river and a Costco Hot Pocket for lunch sound appealing? I could bring home a five gallon bucket of mayonnaise while I'm at it. Doesn't mayonnaise float?
What are we willing to concede for the sake of saving a few bucks on a puzzle, huh? It's obvious that a mom and pop (literally, the owners are married) kite shop cannot compete with volume, with mass marketing, with the ability to purchase 32,400 puzzles at a crack from a manufacturer in Busan, Korea and receive a deep discount for being such an important customer. Are we really willing to destroy every last independent retailer for warehouse bargains? To save a nickel, but to spend that nickel on even more cheap merchandise?
It turns out my neighbors had the exact same Last Supper puzzle at home already. They were willing to let me start it. I will likely finish it, too. The kite shop didn't get my business that day, but seemingly they should never get my business, or yours, as price is the only arbiter of value in our society.
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