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Corporations define shareholder greed where the bulk of the profits go out of state and all we get in return are minimum wage earners, a cookie cutter homogenized product and a store that you can find in Anywhere, USA.
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This certainly is true with many large companies such as Walmart, but there are many good corporate citizens that pay far more than minimum wage, give generous employee benefits, tuition reimbursements and good quality of life. Take Whole Foods for example. An employee is far better off working for Whole Foods than working for the local grocery co-op. And while it's true that much of Whole Food's profits go to out-of-state shareholders, the company buys and sells local goods and donates money to local charities. The same can be said of Starbucks. I don't go there because I am a Stumptown fan, but the average Starbucks employee is far, far better off working for the coffee giant than working for the average local coffee house. (excluding Stumptown of course which is a notable exception, an anomoly even, that offers fantastic wages and benefits) Starbucks employees are provided with health care, tuitition reimbursement, and a living wage. Safeway and Fred Meyers are also good examples. Both are union and employees have the opportunity to earn a living wage. The list is long.
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You want real diversity? Well, that is the locally owned store that is a reflection of that individual’s creativity. These are stores you won’t find anywhere else except for where they’re located and the bulk of the profits remain right here.
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This is absolutely true. I support local products as much as I can. But I am college-educated with a professional salary--as are the majority of the forumers. Not everyone is so lucky. And I know for a fact that a lot of people are looking forward to Safeway's entrance into the Pearl.