Wednesday, November 29, 2006

So Much for Free Enterprise

San Diego city council has voted to ban Walmart from building Supercenters in the city. I'm getting so sick of Walmart bashing. Looks like the people of San Diego will have less options for cheap prices and more jobs.
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9 comments:

Ron said...

Ditto!

blue voting...blue city...blue state.

29/11/06 5:10 PM
Carole Turner said...

yikes! I aint gonna touch this one this time :-)

29/11/06 7:39 PM
Gered Lambert said...

Shame on Walmart! Excelling in an open market and besting the competition with innovation and hard work! Starting from a nothing little store in Arkansas and growing to the most successful retailer in the world over a long period of time.

Something must be done! We cannot reward excellence!

30/11/06 8:02 PM
Dionne said...

Wal-mart bashing has become so politically correct and I'm getting sick of it too. I happen to love Wal-mart.

1/12/06 1:07 PM
Cajun Tiger said...

The only reason libs "hate" Walmart is because Walmart doesn't have unions, so the unions force their bought and paid for officials to do everything possible to punish Walmart no matter how much it hurts the people they are the alleged supporters of, the poor and the workers. Union money carries a big stick and Walmart is its biggest target.

1/12/06 11:45 PM
Ian McGibboney said...

This past summer, I drove through north Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. Along the way (I think it was in the TX panhandle), we passed through a little quaint town. It had a bunch of clean vintage buildings, including bakeries, service stations, restaurants and general stores. The place was straight out of a 1950s postcard, except that virtually everything in the town was abandoned. And yet, we saw people all over the place. "What is going on?" I thought to myself. On our way out of town, toward the interstate, we saw a Wal-Mart Supercenter. It was bustling.

And THAT's why I don't shop at Wal-Mart.

4/12/06 11:49 AM
Cajun Tiger said...

Ian...and that is your right. However, millions do shop at Walmart and THAT'S why they are the #1 retailer.

4/12/06 12:33 PM
Ian McGibboney said...

Wal-Mart does offer almost unbelievably low prices...but at a huge cost. Wal-Mart is able to offer these prices both through sheer volume and corporate intimidation. One example I read about was Vlasic, which was bullied by Wal-Mart into offering larger quantities (i.e., bulk jars instead of smaller servings). This was so cost-ineffective for Vlasic that they almost went bankrupt. But they relented, because Wal-Mart threatened to drop the company's products alotgether if they didn't comply.

Also consider that one of the most economically devastating things that can happen is that a Wal-Mart opens in a small town, wipes out local merchants and then goes out of business. It happens all the time, and it wrecks small-town economies. At the same time, however, it barely hurts Wal-Mart's bottom line. That isn't free-market captialism; that's scorched-earth policy.

Even when Wal-Marts stay open, the effect is a gradual decline in competition over time. Not to mention the lowered bar of worker benefits, which rivals must match (lower) in order to stay competitive. Wal-Mart's roots may be humble, but I don't think even Sam Walton would approve of the current economic disparity between his legacy and everything else.

So remember this: when you're paying those "low" prices, you're making up the difference in other ways. Enjoy your few extra cents.

5/12/06 11:16 AM
Cajun Tiger said...

If Walmart unionized, they would quickly go from the enemy to the best friend of the libs. Would probably even start passing legislation to give them special treatment so that they could increase union membership even more.

6/12/06 5:23 PM

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