Local Markets
There is a certain allure to farmers’ markets, souks, bazaars, and similar public marketplaces where one can get lost, use all of one’s senses, and experience the local culture. These markets exist in almost every culture, and are often the main places where chefs go for inspiration, tourists go for the complete cultural experience, and locals go to find their preferred foods and small consumer goods.
Sadly, the age of the automobile in some places has resulted in large supermarkets becoming the more practical choice, at the expense of culture, character, and inspiration. While the ULT and other New Physiocratic policies might reverse some of this change (partly by increasing density in urban areas), there is also an opportunity to use these Local Markets as a means to keep prices low and boost purchasing power for Basic Essentials.The New Physiocrats envision a law ensuring that every community or district that meets certain population or density criteria has space allocated for their own Local Market. These structures would be built to the highest standards of beauty and quality in the official regional architectural style. Each market must be large, multi-floored, and divided into three parts: The Farmers’ Market, the Patrons’ Market, and the Artisans’ Market. These would be owned by regional branches of the Agricultural Bank, the Consumers Bank, and the Cultural Bank respectively. There would be pre-cut allotted sizes for each shop, and no owner could operate more than one shop. The Farmers’ Market and Patrons’ Market would be limited to selling local food, while the Artisans’ Market would be limited to selling goods that are manufactured on site (cottage industry).
The nexus of consumer-owned retail space (with incentives to minimize prices) and farmer-owned retail space (vertical integration with no middleman), combined with an abundance of retail space and competition, and would drive quality high and prices low.
The Effort to Support Purchasing Power would determine the number, location, and size of these markets, forward looking to ensure ample retail space (and therefore competition) for the foreseeable future. The mandate of this agency, as the name suggests, would be to keep prices low.The Cultural Bank, owned by Artisans involved in cottage industry, would use these spaces to guarantee their craft. This would be a core element to the Effort to Maintain Tradition.
With the rent collected from these spaces collected by (and funding) their respective banks, the rent is essentially returning to the owners and supporting their sectors. As the structures themselves would be created by the Effort to Support Purchasing Power and the Effort to Maintain Tradition, the upfront costs to the retail businesses would be zero. The [upward] effect that these markets would have on land prices in the area would then increase ULT revenues, meaning these projects would pay for themselves.
