Quality of Life

[mmonroe]

Do you guys feel that certain stores lower the quality of life in an area?

For example, do you think pawn shops, liquor stores or gun shops, lower the quality of life in an area.

[LIL_WAYNE_4_PREZIDENT08]

They gotta go somehwere

[blangtang]

i think those types of businesses are helpful to the people that frequent them.

quality of life is increased for the people who utilize such businesses.

preferences vary. YMMV

[Karried]

For example, do you think pawn shops, liquor stores or gun shops, lower the quality of life in an area.

Are you kidding? I always need a good buzz before I buy a gun at the pawn shop and head to the shooting range ... lol

It all depends on how one defines quality of life I suppose.

[Toadrax]

According to http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf The Econmist uses these nine factors to measure Quality of Life.

Health: Life expectancy at birth (in years.) Source: US Census Bureau

Family life: Divorce rate (per 1,000 population), converted into index of 1 (lowest divorce rates) to 5 (highest). Sources: UN; Euromonitor

Community life: Dummy variable taking value 1 if country has either high rate of church attendance or trade-union membership; zero otherwise. Source: World Values Survey

Material well being: GDP per person, at PPP in $. Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

Political stability and security: Political stability and security ratings. Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

Climate and geography: Latitude, to distinguish between warmer and colder climes. Source: CIA World Factbook

Job security: Unemployment rate (%.) Source: Economist Intelligence Unit

Political freedom: Average of indexes of political and civil liberties. Scale of 1 (completely free) to 7 (unfree). Source: Freedom House

Gender equality: measured using ratio of average male and female earnings. Source: UNDP Human Development Report

It is a multifaceted argument because you have to look at each type of store and consider its impact on each factor. If you notice though, the Economist puts more weight on Political freedom and civil liberties than it does on things like Health. I agree with that.

Who cares if you live to be 200 if you spent 200 years being oppressed and have no freedom?

[andy157]

Are you kidding? I always need a good buzz before I buy a gun at the pawn shop and head to the shooting range ... lol

It all depends on how one defines quality of life I suppose.

Your exactly right. Although to fully utilize these businesses to enhance ones quality of life, I suggest that you buy a gun, get buzzed, rob the pawn shop, then take the kids to Six Flags. Talk about your quality of life. Thats living.

[mmonroe]

Well what i'm trying to get at is that I believe certain types of business' bring in certain types of people. To someone, a pawnshop may be a place to make a quick buck, while another sees it as a place to get things that you might not normally find in a thrift store. Some may see a liquor store as a place to get wine for a dinner, some see it as a place to get a fix. Gun shops, some see it as a responsible place to practice their shooting skills [i.e. officers and professional marksman.] and some may see it as an outlet to get a gun to hurt someone.

[Toadrax]

Flip your argument around...

Would the quality of life be improved if those stores were removed?

We already know for a fact what happens when liquor stores are banned.

[PennyQuilts]

All I know is that the parents of many of my clients who have substance abuse problems are in and out of the pawn shops selling junk (their junk and other people's junk) to buy drugs and that they are frequently so drugged up that they can't hold a job so they have to buy lottery tickets in hopes of hitting the big one. The smart ones are on disability (they never explain why but prescription drugs are constantly being sought to treat "back pain") and they are rarely married or have more than two children with the same parent. And they tend to have other children with other people but aren't paying for any of them.

As for the people who lawfully buy guns with the intent to go out and hurt people - say what? Sigh. By that logic, we should equate chefs with ax murderers simply because both use a blade.

Toad - are you refering to prohibition when you talk about liquor stores being banned? Yeah, you ended up with bootleggers, the equivalent of dealers.

QOL for people living on the edge is what it is. Highs and lows, for the most part. Too much drama to really get much of a foothold on life.

[mmonroe]

Out of curiosity, is there a pawnshop in Edmond?

[Toadrax]

Google Maps is your friend

[bornhere]

Pawn shops absolutely lower the quality of life in an area. I speak as someone who's lost two bicycles, a lawn mower and numerous weedeaters and power tools to theives. Do you think all those bikes and mowers lined up in front of the shops were pawned by owners who needed quick cash?

Why do you think the PD has a special pawn shop detail?

These shops are basically fencing operations. It's pathetic that they're allowed to continue, but their owners — basically the same bunch of people behind the payday loan companies — have too much pull at the capitol for them to ever be reined in.

[OKCMallen]

Chicken or the egg- is the area such that a pawn shop will open there, or is a pawn shop so powerful culturally as to decrease the quality of life in an area? Like most things in life, it's probably a mixture of both, but look- poor people have to live somewhere. Pawn shops cater to poor people. Just like you don't find Dollar General in Carriage Plaza in Norman.

[angel27]

I don't know about all that but I just wish we could clean up 23rd beteen Western and Broadway. I think its criminal everytime I see the beautiful old buildings such as was Katheryn Lipes that is now filled with all that junk showing through all those glass windows. The city has done a lot of work in the area and Classen median is shaping up beautifully with their cement zen gardens. My quality of life is rather enhanced by Byrons being where it is - probably because I know its near but don't frequent it often. I wish some cool businesses would buy into our wonderful old buildings... and I guess they are, slowly. Cheevers is making great progress on the old gas station. The Prohibition Club is new and near. I noticed an enticing yarn store has taken up residence in the building in Red Cup Square. Just wish we could rectify the 23rd street strip.. and my quality of life would be even more improved. Would rather have yarn stores than pawn or gun shops tho.

[jbrown84]

I feel you angel. It's getting there.

[mmonroe]

I notice things like pawn shops, when I drive through moore, i don't think i've ever seen a pawn shop, there may be one, i'm not saying there isn't, but it's just not prominent. Same with norman and edmond. Never seen a pawnshop there. Same as above.

[solitude]

I don't know if you'd label it "quality of life" or not, but I think pawn shops blight a neighborhood and my pet peeve: Check Cashing and Payday Loan outfits! They all rip-off those least able to pay the obscenely high interest rates.

[mmonroe]

A problem I see, we don't have a way for those who need it, to stop going to those institutions and we can't stop those institutions from setting up shop.

[PennyQuilts]

As long as the pawners think pawning crap is an option they aren't going to build a new mousetrap for their financial situation. The fact that they get pennies instead of dollars doesn't really occur to them. Pawning grandma's sewing machine is like getting free money.

[Toadrax]

I notice things like pawn shops, when I drive through moore, i don't think i've ever seen a pawn shop, there may be one, i'm not saying there isn't, but it's just not prominent. Same with norman and edmond. Never seen a pawnshop there. Same as above.

Cash America Pawn. 9328 S Shields Blvd, Moore, OK
Pawn Shop. 427 S Telephone Rd, Moore, OK
Cash Now Pawn. 920 SW 4th St, Moore, OK
Ron's Pawn Shop. 10513 S Sunnylane Rd, Oklahoma City, OK

EZ Pawn: Norman. 2321 W Main St, Norman, OK
Ed's Pawn Shop. 122 W Main St, Norman, OK
B & R Pawn Shop. 1210 N Flood Ave, Norman, OK

Pitchford's Pawnshop and Car Audio. 806 W Edmond Rd, Edmond, OK
Classic Pawn. 1319 S Broadway # D, Edmond, OK
Check Into Cash Advance Payday Loan Center. 21 W 15th St, Edmond, OK

If you don't see it, it doesn't exist. :P

As long as the pawners think pawning crap is an option they aren't going to build a new mousetrap for their financial situation. The fact that they get pennies instead of dollars doesn't really occur to them. Pawning grandma's sewing machine is like getting free money.

Or maybe your car breaks down and you are going to lose your job if you are unable to get it repaired?

Maybe you can not afford a new sewing machine because you had to get a job at Taco Bell when the factory was shut down.

[Karried]

Check Into Cash Advance Payday Loan Center. 21 W 15th St, Edmond, OK

I think this is just a Paycheck Advance ... not a pawn shop carrying merchandise ( If I'm thinking of the right place that is).

[Toadrax]

Google has them listed under "Category: Pawn Broker & Shops", so I don't know. I haven't been there.

EDIT: of course on second thought it is obvious why a cash advance place would want to be advertised in the same space as pawn shops.. so you are probably right.

[Kerry]

Let us not forget auto part stores. If I need auto parts, quick cash, pawn a ring, a bottle of whisky, or anything along those line I don't mind driving a long way from my house to do it.

[Karried]

Might as well add in Storage Facilities with Huge Red Roofs and Junk Yards

[PennyQuilts]

Or maybe your car breaks down and you are going to lose your job if you are unable to get it repaired?

Maybe you can not afford a new sewing machine because you had to get a job at Taco Bell when the factory was shut down.

That is called "living on the edge." If you are living that close to the edge you are doomed, anyway. It is one thing to live that close when you are twenty years old and working to either learn a trade or get an education. It is another thing when you are 32 years old with a wife and 2 - 4 kids.