i can't stand the corporatization of america!

i hate the feeling of everything being one big monopoly. my friend josh drove me home from my race this am, pointing out it was "morgan stanely hospital (something else)"--great, put yr brand name on a hospital. i hope their dollars are helping people but most of the time, it's not.

supposedly, all these monopoly laws are being violated right now. i need to research this, and you should too. good ol' dubya, helping his rich friends out. grrrrr.

for instance, remember when you went to yr local bank and they knew yr name? or went to a local department store? remember alexander's, remember williamsburg saving bank, remember stores that came in "ones"--i.e., NOT a freakin chain store!

my mom is depressed because her fave chain store--lord and taylor, which do sell fur :( but have great bargains and she gets insane deals--my formal gown for my cousin's wedding was $4. yup! anyway, it was bought by the parent company of macy's, and my mom was reminiscing for a&s, sterns, all those stores. and it's like, now there's no choice. buy our chain crap or go naked. i do like macy's, though. but i hate this acquisition.

m&a sucks.

i need to tell that to the need person that comes to my library with a research request on that.

my job deals with research for and on banks. (note: this is my job, not my career!) so i am learning about how more and more banks are being taken over, and they're building tons of chains, laying off people, etc. saying it's for the good of the customers, but really, they care abt profit, their pockets and the shareholders (even if the top layer is skimmed off for the good of the rich stealing bankers). it annoys me. i hate the williamsburg savings bank, then it was taken over by republic, now it's hsbc. i still haven't forgiven hsbc for giving me ugly blue checks when i had nice checks. and i didn't have $$$ to get nice ones again.

and greenpoint (my other bank acct; my first one is the trip $$$ (i've always kept it for long-term savings), and the greenpoint one is the one i use to pay my bills with) was just acquired by northfork. booo. they changed my online banking, and they just suck.

i'm totally negative to this walmartization of america.

that's why i try to shop in independent stores when possible, buying my organic yogurt from the garden as opposed to chain stores c town or keyfood. and the employees at the latter two stores are friendly--at the garden, they smile hello at me, if they see me in the neighborhood or in the store. it's a community.

and frankly, chain stores, you aren't forming community!