To enlarge a picture please click it. A radio surpriseOn Tuesday afternoon this week I tuned in to The Panel, a Radio New Zealand programe in which presenter Maurice Chapman and two invitees 'chew the fat' about sundry topics.
Sunday closure a huge success storyChapman also added into his introductory spiel, the story of the huge American fast food chain Chick-fil-A. I've not been to the US except for a couple of brief stopovers, so I went internet searching again.
And catch this significant comment: 'While Cathy’s original reason may have been based purely on his Christian faith, analysts say that the decision to close on Sunday is also a brilliant business decision. “Initially people might think, well, they’re going to do less sales because they closed one day every week,” Kalinowski Equity Research's founder Mark Kalinowski told the website Business Insider. “But, there are a lot of benefits to being closed on Sundays.” Giving employees and franchisees (referred to as operators at Chick-fil-A) at least one day off a week allows them to relax and return rejuvenated to their jobs, Kalinowski says. And, for customers, the knowledge that they can’t get Chick-fil-A on Sundays helps drive them to visit the chain when it is open.' The real questionHowever, the Europe picture and the American story were just devices to introduce the issue and provoke the panelists Fatumata Bah and Tim Watkin. The real point Chapman put, but in my words, was: "Would a Sunday shopping ban be a good thing?" Should we have a quiet day on Sunday? We used to in the bad old days. Why not now? The panelist played with it. One recalled Friday night shopping being the big thing before weekend trading. The other said more time at home would be nice. But both, when asked if a Sunday ban could or should happen in New Zealand, dismissed the notion on the grounds that we New Zealanders are too addicted to our present habits to either want to, or be able to, change. But for a minute or two let's take the idea moreseriously. More to it
Curbing climate changeThose taking steps to prevent climate change often argue that we should shop less, because everything we buy has an 'emission count' often based on how it was made and how it travelled. Clothing, for instance, some calulate, has 3%. So buying clothes less often (Can we deny fashion?) reduces emissions. Small, yes but everything adds up. More generally, as this National Geographic headliner pleads: 'The things we buy, eat, and use have a big impact on the climate—so it’s time to learn to consume a whole lot less.' Give it a goSo what about bringing in Sunday closing, not only give ourselves a 'day off' but also to reduce our carbon emissions? Hopefully we'd shop less because there would be fewer hours to do it in. And who is 'we'? Any city, district or country, but in my case New Zealand. At the very suggestion would there be an outcry? Luddites! Repression! Get real! Maybe there would. Maybe there wouldn't. I'm certainly in favour of giving it a go. ########## John McInnes Friday 2 August 2019 References: to open a link click on the red text. RNZ The Panel Tuesday 30 July 2019 National Geographic 4 minute read 11 June 2019 Offer – particularly to readers outside New Zealand. If you would like to receive an email each time a new post is uploaded to this blog, please send an email, with 'free subscribe' in the subject line, to >[email protected]<. This will save you from having to calculate when 'after 4 pm New Zealand time' is in your local time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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