system of economy

              Of course, the news covers big events and rarely senses the slow moving turns in society.  One of them came home to me yesterday.  Capitalism is as a system is running out of the fuel it needs to continue.

               The kiwis I bought yesterday at Costco were soft and mushy.  They were secure in a see though square plastic container but it never occurred to me to open up the box and feel a few of them before picking that box.  Shipped too far, sat in the store too long and this produce was fit for the chickens.  Add to the view of oranges I got a few weeks ago of blue mold, these are telling tales to me.

               As it happened yesterday, my son got a call from Costco offering 50% discount this year to rejoin.  The company has expanded their policy now to accept food stamps in this state.  The family conversation is, it is hard to get out of Costco without spending $100, the three households in this family are finding it better to simply not go shopping there and saving on the household budget.

               The business model that drives large warehouse type retailers if high traffic, impulse buying, low overhead and fast turnover with little mark up. With less traffic because the consumer want to spend less and avoid impulse buying they have cut employees to check produce which in turn has turned off shoppers like me.  My trips to this store dropped last year by 75%.
           
               A few months ago I was in Walmart to get a new watch band, the lady at the department was also in charge of the shoe department which she confess to me that she knew nothing about.  The little reported fact is that there are more farmer's markets in this country than Walmart Stores. The big box model of retailing is not working. 

               The direct connection between the farmer and the consumer is growing at 20% a year.  This model of economy is user friendly and  better for the  planet.  The consumerism of the last 50 years is out of date and the change is happening but the media doesn't report about it yet.  Daily the highlights are of a world gone out of control but I think there is also a world that is moving quietly by citizens that are changing things locally and the media hasn't noticed.  A new sense of community and less is better is the replacement model of the capitalist consumerism model.