Schadenfreude

Unaware that I was limiting comments to two weeks from my original posting date, I forced all comments beyond 2 weeks to email. Since then I have changed my settings but to no avail, I still could not post comments on "closed" postings.

Here was a response received from Mike Hanes via email regarding my 4/11/05 Walmart blog:

I too enjoy a good deal as your example of getting an oil change for 14 dollars points out. I am also in agreement with you that if we are to hold Walmart responsible for healthcare coverage than we might also need
to hold the small business community to the same responsibility. Efficiency and strong negotiating skills are certainly things that a company ought to not be punished for. There are some things that make Wal-mart a business for concern. The cut-throat capitalism that they practice has lead them to expand from household/auto/Garden/Cosmetics/ect to selling groceries. This upgrade to a "super Walmart" Has led to the denegration of the surrounding environment as the old smaller walmarts are discarded and left empty (still owned by Walmart, wouldn't want competition). When walmart leaves in comes crime and societal problems (i.e. Walmart creates slums through expansionism)

Walmart along with every other big box vendor eventually hurts the consumer as a whole. We like cheap prices because our money goes further in comparision to what we're used to. But this in turn drives wages down so that there become fewer and fewer people who are making as much as was the norm before. What I have seen is that this in turn separates communities further in socio-economic status. People that have the cash will pay more for good service and unique product creating a niche for smaller enterprising vendors. In turn those that can't pay up are relegated to Wal-Mart. This in turn increases the already existing societal divisions that create tension within a community. The affluent shop in one place the less affluent in another. Is this a new thing? I would say that it has always been around but not on such a large scale.

When I see a new Super WalMart while I like cheap prices and convenience I am concerned that those prices have outweighed the costs that are taken in by a community be it how it changes the social dynamics on how
we interact as a community, the environmental toll of building a wal-mart and then moving a mile up the road to create a Super Walmart, The death of unique mom and pop shop, Crime, competition can only be
found in large corporations.

To me this goes against the main thread in American Capitalism which is Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Are our lives better? (Maybe if we measure it in buying power but are there other things that make
life better than the power to be a consumer) Are we a better and happier society because of such big box corporations because WalMart is not the only one out there? Has our liberty or freedoms been increased? (Is
there room in the market for the average individual to jump in and be competitive?) Just a few questions to think about when you get your 14 dollar oil change.


-Sincerely Mike Hanes

Original Blog:

Municipal Socialism and Super Wal-Mart
Walmart is attemping to move into the suburbs of Madison WI but town after town continue to pass licensing reviews for retailers exceeding so many square feet aimed squarely at keeping Super Wal-Marts out of our communities.

Personally I like that I can get an oil change for $13 at the Super Wal-Marts. And since I am mainly a purchaser of goods (not a seller of goods) I see no harm in advancing the goals of a very efficient company. Critics point to the local businesses which will not be able to compete and the low wages and limited health care offered at Wal- Mart. Now I worked for a family run business and many do not offer a living wage and often cannot afford to offer health insurance. Is this a double standard? Hold the large company to certain standards that the small company does not need to meet. Some cities per the Economist are even requiring that Wal Mart provide a "municipal determined" level of health care to it's workers. Big gov't has moved from Wash DC to the cities.

The marketplace is the best place to determine prices and when Wal-Mart cannot hire or keep the good employees they want to keep is when their wages and benefits will increase.

Is it really a bad thing to have a company that is very very good at negotiations in order to bring the best prices to the consumer? I would argue that capitalism needs these kinds of efficiency inequities between firms to grow and prosper. For-profit firms must strive to become more efficient than their competition, however the rules should be the same for all involved. Winners and losers are biproducts of an efficient and healthy capitalistic society.