I wrote a post a few months ago lamenting the demise of 23rd Street books, which was evicted from its storefront for nonpayment of rent. Well, it turns out the owner has been evicted from her apartment too, and is now living on the streets, sitting with one of those “will work for food” signs in front of her (vacant) former store.
There may be more to this story than meets the eye. As bad as a business bankruptcy is, it seems hard to believe this educated person had no fallback to homelessness–relatives, friends, food stamps, selling her furniture, flipping burgers,whatever. However, her personal tragedy illustrates what a wrong road we continue to travel as a country and as a culture.
First of all, a neighborhood bookstore should not go out of business. Sure, we have Powell’s, but a small neighborhood store serves vital purposes, too, as I outlined in my previous blog. We need more books for sale, not less, especially an outlet for small local presses. Lots of authors gave readings at the store, and like Music Millenium it served as a community center, a reason for people to walk down to 23rd Ave and maybe go out for a snack afterwards.
Secondly, and more globally, despite our allegedly capitalist economic structure, our society does absolutely nothing to support small business owners and self employed people, be they artists, writers, tradespeople, or anyone else with an entrepreneurial, independent spirit and a skill/product to offer. Health insurance comes through employers, and the bigger the corporate employer (or labor union) the better the policy. Self-employed people cannot get unemployment benefits should their business go under. The tax code is slanted against small business owners and the self employed, who pay a disproportionate amount of workmens comp taxes etc and receive less deductions.
If Portland can even consider spending sixty million dollars to support a millionaire’s dream of major league soccer, can’t they provide microloans for people running their own businesses? Sort of an industrialized world’s version of Heifer International’s buying Third World families a goat? (come to think of it, they could provide loans for goats, too, and urban farms)? Couldn’t they provide rent relief for businesses struggling to survive in a recessionary environment? Big corporations certainly get their tax breaks and TARP funds. Can’t the government provide basic safety net benefits to EVERYONE, regardless of their employer?
Republicans and far too many Democrats protect the interests of big corporations. Left-leaning Democrats think of the government as big mommy, saving us from our lower impulses, whether it be spending money we don’t have or eating too much fatty food. Nobody rewards the self-reliant individual, when THESE ARE THE PEOPLE WHO BUILT THIS COUNTRY and continue to provide most of its energy and creativity.
