There was a time when my sister and I were deliberating where to buy our fast food before going off to the cinemas. The choice was either Jollibee or McDonalds. We ended up with Jollibee in the end. Sure, McDonalds had the better-tasting "fries", as what some people would purport, but the criterion behind the decision was where our money would end up.
If we had chosen McDonalds, a portion of our money would go to paying the salaries of the employees, the cost of the food, venue, and packaging and - of course - the wallet of the franchisee. But a portion of it would also go out of the country, as part of the franchise fee to be paid to the American corporation itself. Contrast this to buying at Jollibee's where the money we would be splurging for some highly unhealthy food would just end up somewhere in Davao and Manila only.
If we had been more strict about our criterion, we would have also considered the presumed "regionality" of the establishment owner. Stretching the idea "Tangkilikin Ang Sariling Atin" further, we would have been better off helping the local Davao economy by patronizing a business wholly owned by a dabawenyo. If this is the case, at least most of the money we would spend would end up somewhere here in Davao.
Stretching the above-mentioned idea even further, I also remember the time when my family was discussing where to eat out. The official choices were either Penong's or Lisa's. In the end, we ended up eating at Lisa's (only because Penong's was always full of customers). I remember remarking to my mother then that, all things being equal, we should choose to patronize the smaller business, which - in this case - was Lisa's. In this small way, we could best support those thriving businesses who aren't as popular but are nevertheless offering good service.
This is also probably why, if given the choice between a karinderya which offers good food and a franchise known for offering good food also, I would always go with the former. That's because the money would just end in the same place ("here") and not fly somewhere else, a fact that - like what every economist would tell you - is a welcome instance for the local economy.
In the end, I'm not saying that this is the best way to go about purchasing stuff. Sure, it's always good to patronize your own products but some products are definitely better when they are imported from outside. What I'm only trying to say is, at least, we should consider in our buying decisions the economic factor implied in the examples above: that is, every time we make a decision to buy, we should be aware of where the money we will be spending is going and we should allow this awareness to lead us to the "right" choice.
If we had chosen McDonalds, a portion of our money would go to paying the salaries of the employees, the cost of the food, venue, and packaging and - of course - the wallet of the franchisee. But a portion of it would also go out of the country, as part of the franchise fee to be paid to the American corporation itself. Contrast this to buying at Jollibee's where the money we would be splurging for some highly unhealthy food would just end up somewhere in Davao and Manila only.
If we had been more strict about our criterion, we would have also considered the presumed "regionality" of the establishment owner. Stretching the idea "Tangkilikin Ang Sariling Atin" further, we would have been better off helping the local Davao economy by patronizing a business wholly owned by a dabawenyo. If this is the case, at least most of the money we would spend would end up somewhere here in Davao.
Stretching the above-mentioned idea even further, I also remember the time when my family was discussing where to eat out. The official choices were either Penong's or Lisa's. In the end, we ended up eating at Lisa's (only because Penong's was always full of customers). I remember remarking to my mother then that, all things being equal, we should choose to patronize the smaller business, which - in this case - was Lisa's. In this small way, we could best support those thriving businesses who aren't as popular but are nevertheless offering good service.
This is also probably why, if given the choice between a karinderya which offers good food and a franchise known for offering good food also, I would always go with the former. That's because the money would just end in the same place ("here") and not fly somewhere else, a fact that - like what every economist would tell you - is a welcome instance for the local economy.
In the end, I'm not saying that this is the best way to go about purchasing stuff. Sure, it's always good to patronize your own products but some products are definitely better when they are imported from outside. What I'm only trying to say is, at least, we should consider in our buying decisions the economic factor implied in the examples above: that is, every time we make a decision to buy, we should be aware of where the money we will be spending is going and we should allow this awareness to lead us to the "right" choice.
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