Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday when people are encouraged to support and shop with local and small businesses, was created by American Express.
They started it in 2010 amidst the recession. The recession happened because of predatory loans from mortgage companies, banks, and credit companies. AmEx itself is a part of the credit and loan culture that leads to recessions.
By pulling on the heartstrings of consumers and using small businesses as bait, AmEx managed to find a way to continue to profit even during a recession.
Small businesses are charged a variety of merchant fees for each transaction, and often additional fees such as monthly and annual fees on top of that.
All credit cards are predatory, but AmEx has particularly high fees even compared to other credit cards.
AmEx profits from the merchants. Consumers also rack up credit during these transactions. AmEx profits from the consumers.
It’s a win-win for AmEx.
Capitalists never have benevolent motives.
So how can we support small and local businesses without also continuously supporting credit companies?
Cash. Use cash for small and local.
The US Empire’s loan and credit systems were built to ensure commerce for enslavement and colonization. It is so embedded in the fabric of colonial finance that you need debt and credit to be able to gain access to many areas of life. So using cash is becoming more difficult.
Banks also profit from fees and interest from the funds you store in their institutions.
Banks, loans, and credit companies
prey on poor and low-income communities, making it difficult to hold cash.
But if and when you are able, using cash to support small and local businesses can help those businesses out. Using cash can also help with budgeting and allow for more privacy.
Empire’s economy is a trap that depends on us to run it for them.
We have to strengthen our own economies on our own.
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