Support Local

Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

Many people are making it a point to "shop small" and support local restaurants and businesses that have been impacted by shutdowns and restrictions. That's great, but, it should not be up to us to ensure these businesses are supported through the pandemic! They should be provided for by the local or federal government. Instead, individual citizens are being made to feel guilty and responsible for keeping these businesses afloat.

The same thing happened with pollution and the environment. Yes, every little bit you can do helps, you shouldn't litter, it's good to bring reusable shopping bags to the store, it's good to be efficient with your driving to save gas, etc. But 71% of the emissions that cause global warming have been caused by just 100 companies. Individuals have relatively little to do with the climate crisis, but have been made to think it's due to our cars and plastic bags.

It's not your responsibility to keep businesses from going out of business by supporting them yourself. Instead, individuals and business owners who are impacted by shutdowns and restrictions should demand support from the government.

I had planned to publish this post tomorrow, but it's sounding like a federal aid package may be approved soon (although they've been very close before and it hasn't gone forward, so who knows), but I figured I'd better post this now so my indignation is timely.