A reporter weighed in about customers (this AM) from a mall with 520 stores [View all]

[SoCalDem]

FIVE HUNDRED & TWENTY STORES???

and this is ONE mall...and probably within not too many miles there are OTHER malls, not quite as big, but sheez....

THIS is what's "wrong" with our economy.

Let's say you are from xxxxxx,XX and it has 50K people, and there is a mall near you...and/or a Walmart/KMart...Malls are often achored by or located near other BIG BOX stores like Staples/BestBuy/Sportmart/Lowes?Home Depot, etc.... 520 stores is a LOT of stores, and the needs were probably met by many fewer stores before the Big Boxes/malls came along.

The money spent in those places does NOT stay in the community (except for the low wages paid to local workers, and often a pittance paid in sales taxes). What people often miss in the fine print of the reports that pre-date the arrival of said malls/companies, is that fact that these companies are often demanding (and getting) tax-holidays for a very long time, because they are promising jobs jobs jobs.

In times-past, stores were locally owned & run, and yet everyone managed to have shoes, dresses, pants, office supplies, car repairs, books, food..you name it.

The money was divvied up at the LOCAL banks as merchants deposited checks & cash from their sales and paid out the wages necessary to cash those checks.. It was a CIRCLE..a closed circle.

It's now a funnel..with locals tossing money into the top as they buy stuff made elsewhere, and the money goes OUTSIDE the community..

The locals get cheaper stuff (maybe), but they also get higher taxes (someone's gotta pay for the running of the community), and they may get wages from working at those places, but they probably also see lots of closed up businesses that used to provide the things they needed. Every empty business/building is a LOSS in taxes paid to the community, in addition to the blighted look that could drive down interest in people who might think about relocating there.

And when the tax holiday ends, the BIG BOXES often just pull up stakes and move to the next town, leaving another big empty spot... Why do they do it? Because they know that their customers will follow them..They almost have to follow them because the local places that kept money within the community have been put out of business, and will not be returning.