A 'commentator' on a radio news programme this morning 'commentating' on the apparent demise of 'Blockbuster' stores suggested that the fact that three* 'High Street Stores' have been forced to close in the past week - with the cost of thousands of jobs - is not really that much of a problem. It just means - apparently - that we will now have different shops in our High Streets - and if these shops are of the pound shop varieties or similar, well that's OK because they will still provide jobs.
Sadly this commentator did not point out that these newer stores usually employ part time workers, and on basic minimum wages. Indeed one of these type of stores was involved in a scandal not long ago by helping the government give work experience to the unemployed at no cost to the store chain and no wages to the unemployed.
High Streets/shopping areas change. Other Half and I were remiscing yesterday how when we first lived in our village [40+ years ago] the local store owner delivered groceries for free on a Friday evening via his bicycle with the big carrier thing on the front. Now I go online, order groceries from one of the large Superstores 3 or 4 miles away, pay the delivery charge and have the shopping delivered to a time of my choosing any day that I wish. Not really conducive to ecological harmony as the same lorries whip up and down our little road delivering to various houses on several times a week. But modern life and all that....
I am not against change. The function of High Street shops change with differing demands of residents and consumers. With the growth of out of town shopping malls grew predictions of the decline of local shops and of course this happened in many areas. And those who cannot or do not want to experience the Out of Town Shopping Mall inevitable suffer. Online shopping has of course taken up a lot of the slack especially now that so many 'online shops' offer free postage even for small purchases. [Apparently 'free' - we all appreciate that the postage is factored into the overheads when prices are set, don't we?]
But here's the rub. We are hearing that large online retailers like Amazon who are not paying income tax in the way that they morally should are probably responsible for the demise of some of those High Street shops like HMV and Blockbuster. We should of course boycott such retailers. But when you live in a little village like mine which has never had a book shop, record shop, don't drive and - to be honest - are a bit lazy, what is easier than clicking on 'buy it now' on the friendly lap top? Especially when it will be popped through the letterbox in a day or two and due to the said tax paying proclivities of the retailer the item is a couple of pounds cheaper than an independent retailer would charge even supposing one could be found. And that is without paying car parking charges and fuel costs if Other Half takes me to the nearest town with a book/record shop - and that book/record shop has the book/record shop has the item in stock because they are struggling with stock because online retailers are undercutting them?
And because these big online retailers are not paying their fair share of taxes the government claim they cannot afford to pay increased benefits to the unemployed which will now include those from the shops which have probably just closed due to the price cutting from the big online retailers......
Re-reading this, to quote a bit of Bob Dylan [on another subject, but any excuse after all]:
So now as I'm leavin'
I'm weary as Hell
The confusion I'm feelin'
Ain't no tongue can tell
The words fill my head
And fall to the floor**
And again, to quote a radio commentator this morning, about 17,000 jobs have been lost 'on the High Street' since Comet's went into receivership just before Christmas. If this had been from a factory closure there would have been far more 'fuss' about it. Please let us all protest about so many lost jobs.
* Jessops, HMV, Blockbuster
** With God On Our Side
Postcard of Eltham High Street c1910 above published courtesy of http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/greenwich/assets/galleries/eltham/high-street-1910 http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/greenwich/assets/galleries/eltham/high-street-1910
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