How to buy black 2013 !!!

Ok, if you read the blog, you know we try to buy Black when ever we can. But there are few black businesses.  So we have developed some other strategies around employing black people, supporting black communities,  supporting progressive causes and treating employee fairly.

If you read Our Black Year, you realize how hard it is to support black business even in a wealthy, segregated black area like Chicago.

I recently had to buy a computer software package (Microsoft Access) for a job I am doing. Obviously, nobody black wrote Microsoft Access and yet I had to have the package.  The going price was $110.  So we can assume the all in cost to Microsoft is about $25.00 (R&D, software development, overhead). Microsoft probably keeps $100 dollars ($75 dollars) profit and flips the office supply store $10 dollars to carry the product.

So, I had to decided where to buy the product and what I would pay.
Here is the prce menu.
Microsoft $110 - Electronic Download
Staples $109
Office Max $109

So, I decided, I would do the next best thing.  I would buy it from the place that employed the most black people.  So that not microsoft.  Instead it's a place like best buy, staples or office depot.

Staples founder has criticized Obama and Staples was run by Bain Capital -- probably internally very conservative.

Meanwhile Office Depot (OD) sponsored lady gaga. OD has a "diversity",a "community involvement," and a women in business" button on it's home page - probably relatively moderate

Office Max - No information found but did merge with office depot. A conservatice strategy that usually reduces competition and lays people off. OM has a "Environmental" button on webpage.  Conservative

So I ended up buying the software from Office Deport.  I then check to see if their is a store near by since a retail business creates more jobs and found one.  So I made the purchase at the local retail store for $110 and taxes.

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