wrote in message
...

If I were purely politically oriented, I'd not buy from HD. But when MY
budget is tested on a product or a project, I'll shop for best price (
period).

Shopping for the best price is a political choice, though that may not
be readily apparent. There are lots of folks who'd rather you didn't,
and lots of places where you can't.

I am probably more thrifty than most people. Still, I realize that the
price on the shelf tag or sticker isn't the only consideration. Plants from
a big box store aren't necessarily the bargain that they appear to be.
Often they have wilted over and over again. Items may be dumbed down,
look-alike products that are cheaper than what you might find for a little
more elsewhere. Sometimes the help you get from knowledgeable sales people
adds value to the product. From a political standpoint, you have to
consider if the money you pay for an item will eventually be used against
you or contrary to your values. Will you buy cheap now and then use tax
dollars to clean up a toxic waste site left by that company. Will you buy
cheap now and pay for the food stamps of the poorly paid employees? Will
you buy cheap now because the store receives generous tax breaks when the
established store in town goes broke and stops paying taxes. Will the
store ship all the profits back to a distant headquarters, or worse, will it
ship jobs overseas. Knowing that the top guy at HD earns $22 million
dollars sort of disturbs me when I see people working in the stores who are
obviously a paycheck away from being homeless. Knowing that a chunk of the
money goes to a political movement that is unpinned by a philosophy of cheap
labor also troubles me. Given that knowledge, I will shop elsewhere when I
can. I'm not suggesting that anyone else should follow, nor am I ignoring
the fact that people of other political conviction make purchase decisions
using the same logic. The religious right has avoided Disney products for
years. Others mount boycotts against media outlets like CBS. Political
shopping isn't a practice owned by any particular group.