Unintended Consequences.

Mom and Pop have a small store in your village neighbourhood: say, a bakery. They likely live nearby, and have enriched the local economy with their investments in the home, possibly another rented location or two, possibly the shop they operate from. They live and spend locally. They know the people of the neighbourhood. They are, most likely, family-oriented. Not perfect, but at least family-oriented.

Mom and Pop retire, and the activity is taken over by a chain. The chain offers absolutely constant quality standards, and everybody knows their products are high quality and good value for money.

However, the shop will now – from the 24 years old manager down – be manned by very young people. They will have blue hairs, or rings in improbable places. They will be gone in three months, replaced by other part-time students possibly believing they are bi-quadri-penta curious. The quality will still be excellent, but something will slowly be broken in your community. The young servers will commute to their place of work. They will have no investments or roots in the place. They will soon change jobs and be substituted for someone just like them. They will not know anyone, they will not care for the place, and possibly consider it a den of dangerous, rayciss White Supremacists.

Meanwhile, the locals get accustomed to the blue hair, the strange rings, and the turnover. They are more receptive to the next chain, and the next one after that. They appreciate the predictable quality and good prices.

What they are not noticing is the unintended consequence of this convenience: the constant transfer of money from their village to a 20 miles distant university city, or the subtle but constant subversion of values they gave for granted. At some point, blue hair becomes normal even as the real estate prices slowly begin to go down, driven by the lack of money staying local. The haemorrhage of money causes the influx of younger, poorer people. More blue hairs, more tattoos. Criminality, never an issue before, starts popping up.

At some point, the dollar store shows up, attracted by the sinking shop rentals. You know how this goes on.

Big chains prevalently employing students are the vehicle of a massive transfer of wealth from conservative to “progressive” places and people. They are, also, the carriers of societal germs threatening conservative values.

Please keep this in mind, next time you are tempted to buy from one of those chains.