Home of the Banger Burger

Writers block is a son of a gun. You have this grand idea that you are going to write about something that all sorts of people will find interesting, but you haven't the slightest idea what topic to cover. Even now I was just sitting here thinking, what the heck should I write about? And then it hit me. I realized where I was, and knew instantly what I should write about.

It makes perfect sense; it is a business built on an original idea, a one-and-only style, and a menu where you really do get your Bang for your Buck.

I first was introduced to this homely place when I visited College Station during a pass-through of a trip to see family in New York. I stopped to pick up my brother in College Station, and we prepared to embark. But first, he took me to this restaurant where he and his local friends liked to get a Banger Burger, some unique Texas Brews, or a plate of Old Army Fries. All the while, the back of the restaurant is bustling with washers, driers, and people clicking away on their computers using the Free WiFi they now offer.

In my many excursions here, I have become a personal fan of their Patty Melt. The Patty Melt has long been my favorite of mine, since I first started having them when I was a Maintenance Worker employed at the Historic Stagecoach Inn, in Salado TX. As an employee, I used to order a Patty Melt every day, without fail. It was just something I liked, and there was no questioning it.

However, four years later when I stumbled upon Harvey Washbangers, it was the first place that offered a Patty Melt that I thought was worth giving a shot and seeing if it topped off my old stomping grounds; and it did. My usual Patty Melt would consist of a light layer of Mayo (Not a fan, but it did the trick), mustard (also in a light layer), and sauteed mushrooms with Swiss Cheese. Harvey's version of this burger did not include mustard, but was a personal optional since they provide mustard and ketchup bottles, no mushrooms (a bummer at first), and no mayo (A major plus). Well, I gave it a shot. What I had been missing that truly makes a Patty Melt the best sandwich on earth is something I had been missing, something rather obvious.

Thousand Island dressing. I had never had this on a Patty Melt before, but when I came to Harvey's and tried it, I was thoroughly impressed. Im no sandwich connoisseur, but I know a good Patty Melt when I taste it, and they do one helluva job.

Other menu items not to be taken lightly is their Ol' Army Fries. Their description from their online menu @ http://washbangers.com/menu tells you just enough to get your taste buds running out of your mouth and down Texas Ave. "A Harvey’s original – fresh cut fries covered in cracked pepper gravy, taco seasoned beef, melted Mexican cheeses, and sliced jalapeños."

Also on their menu is, as properly described, an Aggieland classic that has been named after the business; The Banger Burger; "a 1/3 lb. fresh beef patty, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and mayo on a grilled sourdough bun." 

Their full menu is available at the link posted above, but does not include seasonal specials such as the White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake, a desert that incited a dramatic controversy when a friend of mine scarfed the last of mine down when I turned my back for just a moment. Revenge is yet to be taken for this intolerable deed! Additionally they offer another fantastic dessert that is a personal favorite, Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, which is available on their menu at the previously stated link. This is one darn good pie that I have a hard time finishing, as they are so generously cut and such a belly-filling treat. 

Finally, another personal favorite that I have a hard time turning down is their Reuben Burger. This is not to be mistaken for a Reuben Sandwich. This Reuben Burger is served with sauerkraut on salted corned beef with cheese, onions, and a rye bread bun. This son-of-a-gun Oktoberfest Special is a meal fit for a king, and is one juicy, tasty-fine burger.

Among their Texas Micro-Brews served are "Fireman's #4, Live Oak's Smoaktoberfest, Stash IPA, Bellows Amber Ale, Pedernales Brewing Co's Hefe, and No Label's Black Wit-O Anise infused black Witbier." 

 Their latest and greatest brews, burgers, and specials can be found as they come and go on tap. Simply click the following link to go to their FaceBook page, Like them, and stay tuned for their updates. 

Their specials include 

From 6pm till close.

• Monday – 45¢ Wings
• Tuesday – Texas Microbrew bottles are $1 off.
• Wednesday – Happy Hour all night.
• Thursday – Texas Tap Night, where all Texas Regional taps are a $1 off (New Republic, Fireman’s 4, Live Oak, Shiner)*

*Subject to change as we change the taps from time to time.

(Found at http://washbangers.com/specials)

For those of you unable to open an extra tab and find your way to Google Maps, geographically impaired, or otherwise expecting me to drop breadcrumbs to their doorstep, Im sorry. It would be a waste of a darn-good bun that could be better used on one of their awesome burgers! But I will post their address on here, so you can get there as fast as you can! 

Harvey Washbangers

1802 Texas Ave S

College Station, TX

Call 

(979) 696-6756

So if you are in Aggieland and you dont know what else to do, or you have your significant other is nagging at you to do some laundry but you would rather be drinking a beer and watching the game, come to Harvey Washbangers and do both! You can watch the game on any of their number of televisions, click away on WiFi, or just hang out at the bar and talk to their chill-as-can-be staff!

References and Sources from

http://washbangers.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Washbangers?ref=ts&fref=ts

The author is, unfortunately, not affiliated with Harvey Washbangers in any fashion, besides being a regular customer and a bench-warming burger biter!

GDP versus GPI: Examining Economic Stability and Strength

One of the best ways to reference GDP is that is reports all that is produced from a country, but it does not record all that is spent in the process of producing the said goods. The costs of actually producing a good are just as important as the value of the product. A simple input to output ratio shows this. For a potential investor, if more money is spent producing the good than revenue is earned selling the goods produced, this would not a be a lucrative investment opportunity. On the other hand, if twice as much output value were to be coming out of the input, then this would look like a very healthy investment.

On the other hand, if one is a wise investor, face value is not something that is acceptable for an investment, especially not long turn. Sure, its true you could invest your money and possibly double or double and a half your initial input into a company. However, money goes as fast as it comes, and long term investments sustain a higher rate of return. Therefore, the intelligent investor will look into the past of the firm. Under GDP, one would see that this company has $3.6million of input, and produces $7.2million dollars of output in produced goods. This looks good, no? Well, if one inquired into the history, one might find that the said firm once had an input of $1.8million and an output of $5.8million ten years ago. Again, at this face value one would think “Their output level has increased! See!? It was a grand investment!” Not so fast there, because the input level was doubled over ten years, but the output level only increased by just barely more than quarter of the initial output level. So what does that mean? It would be safe to say that over a long period of time, the level of output will be less than the level of input. Under the same marginal formulas, one could expect in ten more years an increase to $7.2million in input expenditures, and an output level of roughly $8.9million.

This is why the GDP is not the lucrative method of examining a corporates value – because it does not show how the company has improved. Even so, GPI not only calculates how much the company value is, but how far it has come, its growth rate, the value of assets and puts a value on more than just input and output – It puts a value on reputation, standards of the workplace and living when in reference to countries. 

On Market Structures

One of the leading companies in the whole food supermarket industry would be H-E-B. Among some of its competitors are Wal Mart, Target, and a short list of others. These companies seek to provide varieties of products to a consumer base so wide and so broad that it does not alienate individuals from shopping there due to the content. The market structure of these companies is an Oligopoly. There are indeed many companies that compete is the whole food market, from Brookshire Brothers to mom and pop shops like Baumanns, a locally owned, non-chain whole food marketer. However, in circumstances like my home town, Baumanns was closed within the first week of the opening of H-E-B, as is the case among many places where supermarkets spring up. The market structure varies from location to location and is determined largely by geography. In Central and South Texas, that market structure is pure competition. This is clearly shown because in places like San Antonio and Austin, the market share domination is vastly different than places such as Houston or Corpus Christi.

In San Antonio, for example, H-E-B dominates 64% of the market share. Just the same, H-E-B has about 60% market share in Austin, TX ("Shooping Centers Today", 2005). In the Houston area, ICSC similarly reports the following; “Right now HEB is duking it out with Wal-Mart for Houston market share and has raised its stake there from 10 percent to 14 percent over a five-year span, behind Wal-Mart’s 24 percent and leader Kroger’s 27 percent, according to Trade Dimensions.” What this inherently indicates is that in areas like Austin and San Antonio, H-E-B is a market dominator, but not a monopolize. Other businesses like Wal Mart continue to work in the market very competitively. If H-E-B is giving Wal Mart a run for their money in the most literal sense possible, it is clear that companies like Brookshire Brothers and other small whole food companies are in for a rough ride when it comes to competing with the big dogs.

These companies have a multitude of products in dozens of different classifications from groceries to auto parts, and from electronics to clothes. In the current market structure, each of these companies takes a unique approach to a similar market and tunes is strategies to outpace its competitors in one area, while inadvertently falling slightly shorter in another area. Through this, each is able to see substantial profit whilst also being kept in line by the competition. Because there is legitimate local competition, it is clear that this is not a monopoly, but seeing as the dominion of the market shares is so polarized by region, as a whole it cannot be considered an oligopoly.

The strategies of these different competitors varies accordingly, and take unique angles on the market. Continued from Shopping Centers Today; “Low price points, varied formats and a customized product mix coupled with broad selections of private-brand products that outsell many national brands, give the edge in south central Texas to the privately held firm, which operates as H.E. Butt Grocery Co. Their private-label products are just incredible,” said David J. Livingston, managing partner of DJL Research, a retail consulting firm in Pewaukee, Wis. “The people who work there really come up with great ideas and unique ways to merchandise their stores. Management listens to its front-line people, not Wall Street (Shopping Centers Today, 2005).” This market strategy of H-E-B differs from Wal-Mart, who takes a national approach to marketing. While H-E-B tends to move with the fluidity of local and regional trends, its competitors tend to follow national trends. This seems to be because H-E-B is a locally run, locally produced company, whereas companies like Wal-Mart import their products form mass production factories overseas, and universal productivity is their main way of keeping prices down.

H-E-B also has a few other tricks up its sleeve, also reported to us by ICSC. Firstly, H-E-B does not deal with the struggle of unions, which drive many factoring prices sky high and prevent them from accessing certain avenues of marketing. Additionally, they are excellent at the game of real estate. For in-line tenants, H-E-B is a most loved company. The company is now associated with value added, and whenever there is a store nearby, high premiums are paid on property. The marketing strategy of real estate happens to be a very unique and successful one. Additionally, it takes a more pre-emptive take on real estate and store location. San Antonio Metropolitan, for example, has been spreading at record paces. If one were to look at its Northern location in comparison to a few decades ago, they would not recognize the developed and vastly spreading frontier of this booming city. The southern end of the city, on the other hand, has been slower to take off. However, a mere 15 miles outside one of the busiest intersections of highway 410 and Rigsby Avenue is a little town of La Vernia, where the opening of a new H-E-B has drawn a large customer base from the surrounding county where the nearest Wal Mart or H-E-B from San Antonio was previously 45 minutes south of town.

The strategy of moving in pre-emptively is one that many companies wont take, and it was followed by the construction of Subway, Whataburger, Cowboy Liquors, and many other chain businesses. With the value-added factor and the following it has created, this has proven to be a successful move by HEB. The president himself commented that two of the dozen and a half new stores would be located in vastly low populated and country cultured areas where there is not a large customer base, but rather a large potential for growth (Kaplan, 2005). This may prove to be a major financial move in the long run when the metropolitan of San Antonio starts moving southward into a territory already accessed and harvested by H-E-B. Trying to ease the grip of local customer loyalty will prove difficult for customers in the long run.

H-E-B marketing is the contortionist of the whole foods market. Their stores contrast and tailor their shelves to fit every different situation that they may come across. From the ethnicity of the local population to the climate and culture of the town, H-E-B has proved able to market to specific groups. They do so more direct than selling some T-Shirts that resemble local sports teams, but changing their entire grocery stocks to the ethnic food preference. Even down to the environment of their stores to the atmosphere of the location, H-E-B marketing truly is a benchmark. When asked how H-E-B has tailored itself to Houston, President Craig Boyan stated the following: “We've had to reinvent ourselves often here. We started in Houston as H-E-B Pantry stores. We weren't relevant for all of Houston. Now you see Central Market, Mi Tienda, Gulfgate and Beechnut. We want to make our stores really resonate with our customers and make each store different in every neighborhood (Kaplan, 2005).”

He continued to elaborate on the Mi Tienda format of stores that are specifically made to suit Hispanic families. President Boyan elaborated as such; “We love the Mi Tienda format. H-E-B Houston president Scott McClelland led a team that studied Hispanic stores around the world and in places like East L.A. and wanted to make it a celebration of Hispanic culture and food. It's a great store and one of our more exciting concepts. But we're studying it and talking to customers to keep improving it, and we hope to have more (Kaplan, 2005).” In this day and age where everything is produced at one level and it is thrown onto a truck, shipped and sold on shelves in record speeds, it becomes increasingly difficult to find a company that takes the time to examine such factors in quite as much detail.

If I were to recommend strategies to H-E-B I would insist that they also consider local markets such as mom-and-pop gift shops and such. For many small towns that they move into, smaller stores produce products that cannot be mass produced of that are specific to that store. A way of supporting local shops that do not compete with its supermarket production, they can market locally produced products like textiles in their storefronts and in small sections of their stores. This promotes a thriving local economy to guarantee the survival of the local money circulation and also creates a loyalty with other industries as well as the other businesses loyal customers will be drawn in as well.

Shooping centers today. (2005, May). Retrieved from http://www.icsc.org/srch/sct/sct0505/cover_story_3.php

Kaplan, D. (2010, January 23). Chron. Retrieved from http://www.chron.com/business/article/Q-A-H-E-B-s-new-president-is-bullish-on-Houston-1597418.php

Globalization and the Common Good of Society

The common good is seen as the socio-political advantage for the majority in a specific community. However, the “good” for all can be anything but common. The contrast in values between varying cultures makes it difficult to universally define a moral good, so to broadly propose a system benefiting the majority, we must base the “good” on the basic human needs shared by all: Food, shelter, water etc. The role of human dignity in the common good is one that differs between states, some argue that the right to life encompasses the rights to human decencies, such as the freedom to exercise any religion publicly and institutionally. The thought driving the aspect of dignity is that by allowing freedom to practice cultures of their choosing, people will come together and form a community, one that employs a sense of duty; a responsibility to the larger framework of society. While the idea of the common good is one of hypothetical clarity, the governance of this system is one that often results in the peoples’ forfeit of their individual autonomy.

The allocation of resources and policy towards the benefit of the common good should be conducted in such a fashion that it nourishes and harvests the best out of society. In John Locke’s political philosophy, he states that in order to understand society, we must understand a situation that necessitates society, and create a simulation where there is an absence of such a society. From here, we are introduced into what is referred to as mans State of Nature, a political philosophy that states man is own his own, to protect and defend his own (Stanford, 2005). His rights extend as far as he can reach, and end where another becomes powerful enough to stop him. In order to acquire objective gains, Locke indicates that men will band together to take from another. This action will push the victimized party to band together to protect mutual assets. However, in this there are certain rights that must be surrendered. No longer can one man freely exercise his powers to take all that he can, because he might use this to undermine the society that has just been created by their mutual agreement. In this, we have what become the predecessors to laws, doctrine, and social norms that indicate how one should act as a part of that society. In return, one is guaranteed protection from others. This is the basic form of society.

In this, we develop the situation where the success of such models grow into different forms of societal models, and vary due to multiculturalism. The side effect of this is that there often become certain factors that prevent one from fully contributing to society, and therefore they are not entitled or have a limited access to the same benefits of that society because of either institutional or abstract barriers that prevent them from this assistance. At first, it becomes very clear that man must band together to protect their supplies of food, their shelters that they use as homes, and that they acquire properties, distribute them, and protect them. However, in this we also see specializations, and we see the development of markets in societies, which leads to social classes. In the process of social classes, we begin to see a muddled transformation of what the society truly intends to accomplish.

Here is where we see the role of government becoming an integral part of achieving a goodness to assist in the victims of social oppression. Ethical Altruism is a position that holds that we have a moral obligation to do what is in the benefit of others (Britannica, 2012). It is the opposite of selfishness and holds that our greatest benefit is the benefit of others. From this position we extract that our greatest progression and our most important duty is to provide for the common good of others. This position calls for us to reevaluate the traditional mindset that we must act in our own self-interest and holds that the barriers of society that once protected us are now so constraining that they are constrictive upon others to a degree that is considered oppression.

Globalization seeks to reduce these barriers that stand in the way of social progress. Richard Fisher of the New York times expresses this in an article he writes in which he states “Nations can no longer sit within their borders and pursue policies incompatible with an increasingly integrated world economy. The types of services, manufacturing and entrepreneurship that generate national wealth are more mobile than ever, and they will forsake countries that shackle business and labor with unnecessary burdens (Fisher, 2006).” This altruistic position taken into account with our new formed economy forces us to ask how we shall use globalization for the common good? This is answered by the inherently obvious statement that our future generations are quantitatively increasing and that our future as a global society depends on resources that grow scarcer, in certain areas, with specific uses, and a large quantity demand. No longer can an egoist position be taken where nations choose to economically pursue their own interest. We must look to specialization, free trade, and the comparative advantage to reduce the opportunity cost of goods in order to maximize resources. The common good demands that as stewards of resources we must embrace globalization through free trade. This will allow us to not only maximize our use of resources, but to ensure that other societies are able to gain access to goods and services that we as well as third party societies can provide in order to enhance the progress and living standards of others.

According to Kent T. Saunders of Anderson University, “Global organizations are needed to ensure that globalization is a source of peace rather than conflict and that markets are used for the benefit of all and the exploitation of no one. There currently exist many global organizations that are designed to promote economic growth and help in times of need (e.g. World Bank, International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization). The World Bank is “a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world” with the ‘mission of global poverty reduction and the improvement of living standards’ (Saunders, 2007).” What he intends to say in this writing is that our best form of tackling these societal barriers would be through the use of international organizations that set ethical standards to assist in the measuring system of how we, on a global level, can use the market to achieve its purpose of success and corporate growth, and harbor an environment that is equally conducive to our charitable intent of achieving this common good.

            Dr. Kamran Mofid writes in the Journal of Globalization for the Common Good, “We view the problem and challenge of globalisation not only from an economic point of view, but also from ethical, spiritual and theological perspectives. Globalisation for the common good is predicated on a global economy of sharing and community, grounded in an economic value system whose aim is generosity and the promotion of a just distribution of the world’s goods, services, natural resources, and wealth (Mofid, 2005).” It is here that we see affirmation in that this is a struggle not only in how markets work, and not simply who is to be burdened with this task, but how we are to do it. By what means, what goals, and to what extent we are called to enhance this common good.

            Therefore, in conclusive analysis we have seen that contrasting cultures and varying resources invariably split nations apart just as much as the rules and laws that each other different societies form from the beginning of the development of societies. It is in this that we see where our most prominent flaw is relevant, and that our use of resources, allocation of goodness, and intentions of progress are so similar that our difference disappear before our eyes in the light of social progress. Globalization shows us the answer to solving the common good by sharing and moving in a direction of communal intertwinement that embraces the comparative advantage in markets, as well as the charitable heart of human kind. This is done through the reduction of social barriers and the implementation of international organizations as some of the more prominent and widely supported methods.

"Locke's Political Philosophy." (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Stanford University, 9 Nov. 2005. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/locke-political/>.

"Altruism".  Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.

Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 8 May. 2012

<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/17855/altruism>.

Fisher, Richard W., and W. M. Cox. "The Good in Globalization." The New York Times. The New York Times, 9 Apr. 2006. Web. 8 May 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/09/opinion/09iht-edcox.html>.

Saunders, Kent T. "Globalization and the Common Good." Diss. Anderson University, 2007. Print.

Mofid, Kamran. "Journal of Globalization for the Common Good." Journal of Globalization for the Common Good. Purdue University, Apr. 2005. Web. 10 May 2012. <http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu/cca/jgcg/jgcj-about-us.htm>.

(Posted by Original Author)