Sometimes businesses will sell something for less than its cost. This product is called a loss leader, and its purpose is to lure consumers who wouldn't normally shop there to buy other merchandise from the vendor.
Who doesn't like getting products for a cheaper price? Well, there is the whole backlash created by Black Friday.
The best example of propping up loss leaders, a lot of people boycott Black Friday deals because it's seen as an exploitative and fabricated corporate holiday.
If the goal is to hit 'evil' corporations where it hurts, then why not make these companies lose money by purchasing the loss leaders that you need and nothing else?
It's a matter of self-control and discipline. An alcoholic who stops drinking completely is still an alcoholic. It takes a lot more discipline and willpower to show restraint than it does to stop performing an action cold-turkey.
The truth is swinging in the opposite direction helps these companies just as much as falling for the ploy hook, line, and sinker. If we really want to make a difference with how corporations act it's going to take a lot more thought and planning than just boycotting a sale. Just like we are more likely to break an unsustainable fad diet that we don't like, so to does the fish tail of boycotting corporations end with many simply giving up and swinging even harder in the opposite direction.
We've been shown time and time again that the old tactics do not work. Worker strikes ultimately fail the vast majority of the time these days. While it used to be a viable strategy in the past corporations are so massive and can stay afloat for so long they can wait out individuals who require a paycheck.
This leads into other topics like the massive amount of people who live paycheck to paycheck. Having zero financial buffer bends most citizens over a barrel where they have no choice but to submit to the establishment. Can we blame the people for this? Hardly.
This is a numbers game. Do some research and put resources and policy in the right place and the powers that shouldn't be know exactly what will happen with surprising accuracy.
Maybe, but honestly I believe that the greed and unsustainable nature of this top heavy power structure we've created known as the global economy is going to collapse in on itself like a dying star. It is during these times of uncertainty that we can make real change. I only hope that as many people as possible come to the table prepared and with eyes open.
