Consumer Choices (for good not evil)
I was a big Starbucks consumer. Beans and drinks. I wanted rewards on the app and frequented it when traveling. It seemed the best coffee ever.
Then a friend said they preferred local shops that invest in the community. They weren't arguing, just stating intent, it struck me.
I don't buy Starbucks anymore. Don't have the app. I buy Salt City Coffee and Recess Coffee here in Syracuse. Traveling, I try local shops. The coffee is usually better than Starbucks. It tastes less corporate.
My choices are helped by Starbucks' union busting and their CEO riding a corporate jet from California to Seattle weekly. I mean really.
But there's more.
Dad ran a small business serving the community. He sponsored my little league teams, banked in town, joined local service clubs, and earned people's trust as a local business owner investing in the common good.
A new Starbucks opened in that town. It employs a few locals, but most of every dollar spent there funds CEO plane rides, union busting, and who knows what else, all of it far from that small community.
I've grown suspicious of mega-corps. Their basic design frames customers as prey. Starbucks' CEO is interested in my consumption not my wellbeing. The owners of Salt City and Recess are my neighbors and, like Dad did, they care about this community and people such as me who invest in them.
Mega-corps also tend toward bad actions due to fear, greed, and subservience. Starbucks busted unions. Target abandoned DEI. Amazon's and Tesla's CEOs undermine Democracy.
Target is feeling consumer backlash. So afraid of the orange maggot, they forgot the power of offended customers.
Amazon's CEO opposes freedom of the press. There went subscriptions.
Tesla sales and stock are rightly getting killed because their CEO is a Nazi.
Full disclosure, I bought a Tesla in 2021. I wanted the best electric car and that was Tesla. I loved it so much I figured I'd be a Tesla guy for life, but I'll never buy again even if they get rid of the guy who gave the Nazi salute. When people and mega-corps show you who they are, believe them. Then make choices.
I've felt hopeless about the orange maggot and his minions. What can I do?
I can choose, that's what.
I choose local coffee. It tastes better. Stuff I bought from Target and Amazon I choose to buy elsewhere or not buy at all, saving money. I'll choose a Rivian vehicle next and feel a cleaner conscience.
I don't have to surrender. They need me much, much more than I need them and my choices matter more than I might think. Yours might too.