Seattle's new mayor elect Katie Wilson lives a car free lifestyle. Very good. Also my thinking on the economics that may not favor government run grocery stores.

Seattle's mayor elect Katie Wilson is said to not own a car as she uses public transit and bicycling for transportation. That sounds like me. It's also said that she and her small family live in a one bedroom apartment. It's good to have role models for lower footprint lifestyles.

Some folks are critical of her ideas; like government owned grocery stores. Yes, some of those ideas might have drawbacks. I've done some Google research to learn a bit more. It does seem like private industry does a good job with grocery stores. Profit margins, in large discount stores, tend to be thin. Lower prices usually come from big chains; the benefits from "economy of scale." Giants like Costco and Winco come to mind.

Yes, there are food deserts in certain neighborhoods and other problems with the fairness of food. Again, I can blame the automobile for some of these problems. Here in Bellingham, I've noticed most of the big grocers are near I-5 with acres of parking; not in denser residential areas where people can easily walk to the store from home.

In some cases, government can help by investing in neighborhood developments. Government can be a landlord attempting to lure a grocery store into an area. There are also alternatives to privately owned stores run for private profit motive. Winco is employee owned. Bellingham has two branches of the Community Food Coop which is a community coop. Some of it's prices are more expensive than the large box stores, but I still find it reasonable enough.

I often shop at the Coop as it's one of the only stores in the downtown area that's easy to get to by bike. Our downtown is becoming more dense with housing, so lots of people live nearby.

Since I'm single and don't cook much, I often eat at the Coop's instore deli. It also serves as a social outlet as many of my friends can be found there, on occasion. That's my lifestyle.

I sometimes call a local radio talk show with perspectives from my lifestyle. While the host of the show is fairly liberal, some of the callers skew more to the right. I remember one caller describing me as that bicyclist who seldom needs to stop for a breath (long winded?) who also likes living in a shoebox. Yes, my small apartment.