I received a message recently from the Phantom Stranger, whose storied career hardly need be recounted on these pages.
He has been in Whitewater for a while, and dropped me a line. It’s my pleasure to hear from him.
Here’s what he had to say, with my remarks thereafter in blue.
Nice to see Walgreen’s open: their prices are very competitive with the local WalMart. I’m sure the students will soon discover the cost in savings, compared to Sentry, “the only game in town.” Any update on the East side grocery? We no longer grocery shop in Whitewater: Sentry is so high and marked up. We grocery shop weekly in Fort, or Delavan, or Jefferson, where prices are realistic. Same for gas—cheaper a few miles out of town.
He went on to note that he felt higher prices were like the actions of Robber Barons.
Adams replies:
The Phantom Stranger’s not alone in these views – many in the city share them. What’s different about Whitewater is the conviction that it’s wrong – almost a betrayal – to hold views that might be critical of a local business. There is very much a my-city-right-or-wrong view that grips Whitewater.
As you can guess, I do not share it. The world is filled with cities, and businesses in them; favoring one local enterprise blindly is no more sensible than anyone else abroad slavishly devoted to a place in which they were born.
It’s not a city as place, but the quality of its institutions, how well-ordered it is, that matters.
That’s why someone can hope for new and different businesses to provide competition, to benefit consumers, without betraying one’s city. Quite the contrary – competition improves life here, sometimes considerably.
That’s also the difference between a pro-business and a market outlook – I favor free exchange, without seeking to defend one or another business. I don’t wish any businesses ill (although I have mentioned that I consider Cousins subs unpalatable).
There are efforts to prop up given businesses on both right and left, but neither faction offers a market approach. A conservative offering state support to a business is no more congenial to me than a progressive who restricts free enterprise.
I have no idea if we will have a second grocery; I am sure we will not have one soon.
Like most people, I am surprised at the likely breadth and depth of America’s economic difficulties. They will not abate soon, and we have reason to worry that many small concerns will go under in these difficult times. Perhaps specialty concerns offering unique goods and experiences will have a better chance; the opposite may be true if consumers scale back to traditional expenses only. There’s no way to be sure, community by community.
I do believe, however, that a community with a more competitive set of local, private options (free of government support) offers the best chance to weather hard times.