BACK THE INDIES! BREAK THE CHAINS! #2

Last Thursday - August 26, 2004 - the California Senate passed a bill forbidding local officials from allowing horrid superstores like Wal-Mart or Costco, unless they do detailed impact studies on small businesses and taxpayers. This report comes to us from the Sacramento Bee.

It is sad that the California government has to step in, and force the local cities and counties to get off their duffs and stop the spread of these chains. But alas, inertia is one of the risks of being in a bureaucracy, however big or small the size. True, critics will claim this is the state government running roughshod over the cities' authority in their own matters. Yet, this situation would not have happened if the state, counties and cities were more vigilant in banning or hampering the existence of the chains and superstores in the first place.

Distributism believes in protecting the mom-and-pop stores and co-operatives from both big government and big business. If Governor Schwarzenegger signs this bill, this will be a benefit to both small businesses and competition in his state.

We'll see what happens.