#Lower Downtown

[rabbitcruiser]

Downtown Denver (No. 8)

LoDo (Lower Downtown) is an unofficial neighborhood in Denver, and is one of the oldest places of settlement in the city.  It is a mixed-use historic district, known for its nightlife, and serves as an example of success in urban reinvestment and revitalization.  The current population is approximately 21,145.

Prior to European exploration of the area, Native Americans, particularly the Arapaho tribe, established encampments along the South Platte River near or in what is now LoDo. In 1858, after the discovery of gold in the river, General William Larimer founded Denver by putting down cottonwood logs in the center of a square mile plot that would eventually be the current LoDo neighborhood, making LoDo both the original city of Denver, as well as its oldest neighborhood. Then, like now, LoDo was a bustling and sometimes wild area known for its saloons and brothels. During the Sand Creek Massacre, it was LoDo where the heads of the slaughtered Arapaho tribe were paraded in victory.

Source: Wikipedia  

[ingoodtastedenver]

How to Have a #LoDoLove Denver Staycation

When the IGTD Team was growing up in Denver, LoDo wasn’t “LoDo.” To put it bluntly, lower downtown was dark and dingy with dilapidated viaducts and crumbling buildings, unloved and forgotten. But then visionaries like Dana Crawford and John Hickenlooper and others saw a better future for the district, paying homage to Denver’s old west history, raising the area to a vibrant example of…

[rickchung]

Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines x Vancouver Art Gallery x Downtown.

VAG's exhbition is the first solely dedicated to the rich five-decade history of artists' zines produced in North America since the 1970s—incuding from Vancouver's Western Front. Chart the self-expression of this underground art making across generations through the documentation of different subcultures from queer arts to feminist politics.

"Maggie TV": a single-channel video on clear Sony television, wire, epoxy-covered paper stars, beads, and mixed media by New York-based artist Maggie Lee (2017).

Collection on display until Sept. 22.

[nyandreasphotography]

Downtown Manhattan Skyline (sunset) - New York City by Andreas Komodromos

[criscabo]

I post a really stunning view of Downtown New York from Staten Island.. the amazing Freedom Tower stands magnificent over the horizon 💯🗽

[thorsenmark]

A Distant View of Chicago from Indiana Dunes National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in a view across the blue waters of Lake Michigan with the skyline of Chicago off in the distance. This was while walking along the Dune Succession Trail in Indiana Dunes National Park.

[realglockstar]

Ben Doctor SS24

[fagrackham]

i get rambunctious abt architecture

[thomasinxoxo]

took this in the uber

[thejoyofviolentmovement]

Photography: Illumination NYC's Illumination Light Art Festival 5/3/24

Photography: Illumination NYC's Illumination Light Art Festival 5/3/24 @IlluminationNY @bpca_ny @BFPLny @_WTCOfficial @MTA @PATHTrain

Photography: Illumination NYC’s Illumination Light Art Festival 5/3/24 Illumination NYC‘s mission is to unite people of all ages through light-based installations and technical wonders. They aim to fill a void in the Lower Manhattan community cultural calendar by welcoming local artists and curating unique visual experiences to the neighboring public — intended to be appreciated at…

[rabbitcruiser]

Elegance

What do you think about my pic?    

[magaligomezphotography]

El Hombre Araña en Lower Manhattan

Hola, Hombre Araña!

Scroll down for English version Ni el viento de 23 grados Fahrenheit ni el cielo pálido de frío le impidieron a este super héroe estar por un buen rato en el cruce de Chambers y Centre Street de Manhattan saludando a los niños y a quien se encontrara a su paso. Me imagino que ese traje del Hombre Araña debe estar lo suficientemente cálido para soportar las bajas temperaturas de febrero en Nueva…

[rickchung]

Copy Machine Manifestos: Artists Who Make Zines x Vancouver Art Gallery x Downtown.

VAG's exhbition is the first solely dedicated to the rich five-decade history of artists' zines produced in North America since the 1970s—incuding from Vancouver's Western Front. Chart the self-expression of this underground art making across generations through the documentation of different subcultures from queer arts to feminist politics.

"Maggie TV": a single-channel video on clear Sony television, wire, epoxy-covered paper stars, beads, and mixed media by New York-based artist Maggie Lee (2017).

Collection on display until Sept. 22.

[thehistoricbluemoonhote]

The Historic Blue Moon Hotel

Website: https://www.bluemoon-nyc.com

Address: 100 Orchard Street, New York City, NY 10002, USA

The Historic Blue Moon Hotel in NYC, an award-winning 1879 establishment, offers a unique blend of history and luxury. Nestled in the vibrant Lower East Side, it provides an immersive experience with its artful decor and museum-like ambiance. The hotel features beautifully restored rooms, each with a balcony, offering stunning city views. Guests can enjoy modern amenities like free Wi-Fi, large bathtubs, and handcrafted Italian cuisine at the on-site Trattoria. Ideal for both short and extended stays, the Blue Moon Hotel promises a memorable stay in the heart of New York City.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BlueMoonHotelNYC

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bluemoonhotel

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bluemoonhistoric/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bluemoonhotel7282

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/randysettenbrino/

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[mostlysignssomeportents]

The one weird monopoly trick that gave us Walmart and Amazon and killed Main Street

I'm coming to BURNING MAN! On TUESDAY (Aug 27) at 1PM, I'm giving a talk called "DISENSHITTIFY OR DIE!" at PALENQUE NORTE (7&E). On WEDNESDAY (Aug 28) at NOON, I'm doing a "Talking Caterpillar" Q&A at LIMINAL LABS (830&C).

Walmart didn't just happen. The rise of Walmart – and Amazon, its online successor – was the result of a specific policy choice, the decision by the Reagan administration not to enforce a key antitrust law. Walmart may have been founded by Sam Walton, but its success (and the demise of the American Main Street) are down to Reaganomics.

The law that Reagan neutered? The Robinson-Patman Act, a very boring-sounding law that makes it illegal for powerful companies (like Walmart) to demand preferential pricing from their suppliers (farmers, packaged goods makers, meat producers, etc). The idea here is straightforward. A company like Walmart is a powerful buyer (a "monopsonist" – compare with "monopolist," a powerful seller). That means that they can demand deep discounts from suppliers. Smaller stores – the mom and pop store on your Main Street – don't have the clout to demand those discounts. Worse, because those buyers are weak, the sellers – packaged goods companies, agribusiness cartels, Big Meat – can actually charge them more to make up for the losses they're taking in selling below cost to Walmart.

Reagan ordered his antitrust cops to stop enforcing Robinson-Patman, which was a huge giveaway to big business. Of course, that's not how Reagan framed it: He called Robinson-Patman a declaration of "war on low prices," because it prevented big companies from using their buying power to squeeze huge discounts. Reagan's court sorcerers/economists asserted that if Walmart could get goods at lower prices, they would sell goods at lower prices.

Which was true…up to a point. Because preferential discounting (offering better discounts to bigger customers) creates a structural advantage over smaller businesses, it meant that big box stores would eventually eliminate virtually all of their smaller competitors. That's exactly what happened: downtowns withered, suburban big boxes grew. Spending that would have formerly stayed in the community was whisked away to corporate headquarters. These corporate HQs were inevitably located in "onshore-offshore" tax haven states, meaning they were barely taxed at the state level. That left plenty of money in these big companies' coffers to spend on funny accountants who'd help them avoid federal taxes, too. That's another structural advantage the big box stores had over the mom-and-pops: not only did they get their inventory at below-cost discounts, they didn't have to pay tax on the profits, either.

MBA programs actually teach this as a strategy to pursue: they usually refer to Amazon's "flywheel" where lower prices bring in more customers which allows them to demand even lower prices:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaSwWYemLek

You might have heard about rural and inner-city "food deserts," where all the independent grocery stores have shuttered, leaving behind nothing but dollar stores? These are the direct product of the decision not to enforce Robinson-Patman. Dollar stores target working class neighborhoods with functional, beloved local grocers. They open multiple dollar stores nearby (nearly all the dollar stores you see are owned by one of two conglomerates, no matter what the sign over the door says). They price goods below cost and pay for high levels of staffing, draining business off the community grocery store until it collapses. Then, all the dollar stores except one close and the remaining store fires most of its staff (working at a dollar store is incredibly dangerous, thanks to low staffing levels that make them easy targets for armed robbers). Then, they jack up prices, selling goods in "cheater" sizes that are smaller than the normal retail packaging, and which are only made available to large dollar store conglomerates:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/27/walmarts-jackals/#cheater-sizes

Writing in The American Prospect, Max M Miller and Bryce Tuttle1 – a current and a former staffer for FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya – write about the long shadow cast by Reagan's decision to put Robinson-Patman in mothballs:

https://prospect.org/economy/2024-08-13-stopping-excessive-market-power-monopoly/

They tell the story of Robinson-Patman's origins in 1936, when A&P was using preferential discounts to destroy the independent grocery sector and endanger the American food system. A&P didn't just demand preferential discounts from its suppliers; it also charged them a fortune to be displayed on its shelves, an early version of Amazon's $38b/year payola system:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/#relentless-payola

They point out that Robinson-Patman didn't really need to be enacted; America already had an antitrust law that banned this conduct: section 2 of the the Clayton Act, which was passed in 1914. But for decades, the US courts refused to interpret the Clayton Act according to its plain meaning, with judges tying themselves in knots to insist that the law couldn't possibly mean what it said. Robinson-Patman was one of a series of antitrust laws that Congress passed in a bid to explain in words so small even federal judges could understand them that the purpose of American antitrust law was to keep corporations weak:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/04/14/aiming-at-dollars/#not-men

Both the Clayton Act and Robinson-Patman reject the argument that it's OK to let monopolies form and come to dominate critical sectors of the American economy based on the theoretical possibility that this will lead to lower prices. They reject this idea first as a legal matter. We don't let giant corporations victimize small businesses and their suppliers just because that might help someone else.

Beyond this, there's the realpolitik of monopoly. Yes, companies could pass lower costs on to customers, but will they? Look at Amazon: the company takes $0.45-$0.51 out of every dollar that its sellers earn, and requires them to offer their lowest price on Amazon. No one has a 45-51% margin, so every seller jacks up their prices on Amazon, but you don't notice it, because Amazon forces them to jack up prices everywhere else:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/01/managerial-discretion/#junk-fees

The Robinson-Patman Act did important work, and its absence led to many of the horribles we're living through today. This week on his Peoples & Things podcast, Lee Vinsel talked with Benjamin Waterhouse about his new book, One Day I’ll Work for Myself: The Dream and Delusion That Conquered America:

https://athenaeum.vt.domains/peoplesandthings/2024/08/12/78-benjamin-c-waterhouse-on-one-day-ill-work-for-myself-the-dream-and-delusion-that-conquered-america/

Towards the end of the discussion, Vinsel and Waterhouse turn to Robinson-Patman, its author, Wright Patman, and the politics of small business in America. They point out – correctly – that Wright Patman was something of a creep, a "Dixiecrat" (southern Democrat) who was either an ideological segregationist or someone who didn't mind supporting segregation irrespective of his beliefs.

That's a valid critique of Wright Patman, but it's got little bearing on the substance and history of the law that bears his name, the Robinson-Patman Act. Vinsel and Waterhouse get into that as well, and while they made some good points that I wholeheartedly agreed with, I fiercely disagree with the conclusion they drew from these points.

Vinsel and Waterhouse point out (again, correctly) that small businesses have a long history of supporting reactionary causes and attacking workers' rights – associations of small businesses, small women-owned business, and small minority-owned businesses were all in on opposition to minimum wages and other key labor causes.

But while this is all true, that doesn't make Robinson-Patman a reactionary law, or bad for workers. The point of protecting small businesses from the predatory practices of large firms is to maintain an American economy where business can't trump workers or government. Large companies are literally ungovernable: they have gigantic war-chests they can spend lobbying governments and corrupting the political process, and concentrated sectors find it comparatively easy to come together to decide on a single lobbying position and then make it reality.

As Vinsel and Waterhouse discuss, US big business has traditionally hated small business. They recount a notorious and telling anaecdote about the editor of the Chamber of Commerce magazine asking his boss if he could include coverage of small businesses, given the many small business owners who belonged to the Chamber, only to be told, "Over my dead body." Why did – why does – big business hate small business so much? Because small businesses wreck the game. If they are included in hearings, notices of inquiry, or just given a vote on what the Chamber of Commerce will lobby for with their membership dollars, they will ask for things that break with the big business lobbying consensus.

That's why we should like small business. Not because small business owners are incapable of being petty tyrants, but because whatever else, they will be petty. They won't be able to hire million-dollar-a-month union-busting law-firms, they won't be able to bribe Congress to pass favorable laws, they can't capture their regulators with juicy offers of sweet jobs after their government service ends.

Vinsel and Waterhouse point out that many large firms emerged during the era in which Robinson-Patman was in force, but that misunderstands the purpose of Robinson-Patman: it wasn't designed to prevent any large businesses from emerging. There are some capital-intensive sectors (say, chip fabrication) where the minimum size for doing anything is pretty damned big.

As Miller and Tuttle write:

The goal of RPA was not to create a permanent Jeffersonian agrarian republic of exclusively small businesses. It was to preserve a diverse economy of big and small businesses. Congress recognized that the needs of communities and people—whether in their role as consumers, business owners, or workers—are varied and diverse. A handful of large chains would never be able to meet all those needs in every community, especially if they are granted pricing power.

The fight against monopoly is only secondarily a fight between small businesses and giant ones. It's foundationally a fight about whether corporations should have so much power that they are too big to fail, too big to jail, and too big to care.

Community voting for SXSW is live! If you wanna hear RIDA QADRI and me talk about how GIG WORKERS can DISENSHITTIFY their jobs with INTEROPERABILITY, VOTE FOR THIS ONE!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/08/14/the-price-is-wright/#enforcement-priorities

[thorsenmark]

A Distant View of Chicago from Indiana Dunes National Park by Mark Stevens Via Flickr: A setting looking to the northwest while taking in a view across the blue waters of Lake Michigan with the skyline of Chicago off in the distance. This was while walking along the Dune Succession Trail in Indiana Dunes National Park.