What Amazon’s Whole Foods buy really means

News of the recent buyout of Whole Foods by Amazon may seem to have little to do with you and me. But it has everything to do with us. Amazon’s business model promises convenience, no doubt. But it’s convenience at a cost.

Merger by merger, the hope of the American dream feels like it’s slipping away. Mom-and-pop stores, former community hubs, are disappearing. Increased automation threatens much-needed jobs. The sense that we have a say in our world and our communities, that we’re not just faceless consumers of endless products whose profits benefit only a handful is fading. Power of a faraway few concentrates year by year, as our voices and our local needs seem all but forgotten.

But, there is hope. There are signs right here in Santa Fe that everyday people are working to empower our communities and strengthen our local economy.

The group Banking on New Mexico has worked tirelessly to put the concept of a public bank on the radar of our elected officials. A public bank would keep our hard-earned tax dollars right here in Santa Fe, benefiting our families and neighborhoods, rather than the fat cats on Wall Street. As a result of Banking on New Mexico’s grass-roots efforts, the Santa Fe City Council voted to create an official task force to review the feasibility of a public bank.

After seeing the impact of national corporate influence on Santa Fe’s own La Montañita Co-op, its members rallied at the grass-roots level and ultimately voted to replace board members. And while there’s more work to be done, the co-op is back on track with an engaged board and a reinvigorated and empowered membership.

Members in groups from Chainbreaker, Somos Un Pueblo Unido, Earth Care, New Energy Economy, Indivisible, Democratic Socialists and Take Back Our Democracy have formed a multiracial, citywide coalition and launched “Equity Summer.” It’s a grass-roots effort to address the inequality in Santa Fe. Each group is empowering its members to take concrete steps to create a more equitable city.

There are countless other local efforts that deserve equal recognition. The common theme: People from all over Santa Fe are taking action to reclaim local sovereignty despite the concentrating power at the national level that impacts us all.

These Santa Feans have channeled their despair and hopelessness into empowered action, guided by the wisdom, the history and the culture of our various communities. Imperfect and more to learn? Absolutely. But, they know it’s up to each of them now, individually and together, to create change. And they’re doing it. And so must you and I.

We must act — really act — in the face of these big mergers, threatening our local sovereignty. The good news is we know grass-roots democracy works because we’ve seen how regular people like you and me came together against huge odds and reclaimed a local grocery store. And that’s just one example. We can do the same all over Santa Fe. We can do it in the voting booth in local elections. We can do it in our churches and community groups and at fun house parties. We can do it over coffee with friends and talking over the fence to our neighbors. This is exactly how change happens, inch by inch, conversation by conversation, fortified by the satisfaction we get and connections we create as each of us does what we can to create a better city for our families and all of Santa Fe. You and I can do this. Let’s get to work.

There is hope. There are signs right here in Santa Fe that everyday people are working to empower our communities and strengthen our local economy.