American liberals are lashing out hard at Wal-Mart right now. Chicago city council's attempt to mandate giant retailers to pay a "super minimum wage" was just a little episode of their efforts. I was relieved to find out that the mayor vetoed the Big Box Ordinance. There are still sane men standing among us.
On the other hand, I heard some commenter on NPR demanding the break-up of Wal-Mart for its being a monopolist. I couldn't believe my ears. Why is it branded as a monopolist? I haven't seen a single customer being forced into buying at Wal-Mart. Even when mom-and-pop stores are driven out of business by Wal-Mart, people still have a great deal of choices for their grocery shopping. And what do mom-and-pop shops do consumers any good anyway?
People always need an enemy to motivate themselves. Wal-Mart is a huge and easy target. I just hope the critics have studied economics harder in college. That way we will have a more constructive discussion of helping out the poor.
(Picture: www.yoest.org)
No comments:
Post a Comment