I detest the business practices of Wal-Mart as much as any person on this list. And yes Mr. Anderson, I refuse to shop there because I object strongly to how it conducts business.
Wal-Mart is responsible for the some of the best examples one can find of how a company can operate within the strict boundaries of the law (at least, so far as we know) but routinely ignores ethical and moral considerations in its quest for dominant market share. If Wal-Mart chooses to locate in Minneapolis however, it has every right to do so. For example, if Wal-Mart wanted to take over the K-Mart on (blocking) Nicollet it should be allowed to do so. Or, if it wanted to acquire an abandoned property like the Lake Street Sears it should be allowed to do so. But Wal-Mart won't do that. If it comes to Minneapolis, it will dictate exactly how it wants to do things and it will be the Wal-Mart way with no room to negotiate or compromise. Wal-Mart will dictate exactly what the city will do to accommodate Wal-Mart and if it doesn't get everything it wants, it will play hardball and either force the city to capitulate or it will go home. Wal-Mart routinely claims "property rights" for itself while destroying or ignoring the rights of other property owners. No one seems to be now for sure if Wal-Mart is going to try to locate in Minneapolis but if does, I hope that the City Council and Mayor Rybak will insist that Wal-Mart play by our rules and not let this company trample on Minneapolis like it has so many other places. Jim Bernstein Fulton -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Anderson & Turpin Sent: Saturday, November 29, 2003 5:25 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [Mpls] RE: Wal-Mart > Low prices good - high prices bad. > > Victoria Heller > North Oaks" Chuck Holtman wrote: > Market economics 101: social welfare is optimized by the market only when > all costs are internalized in prices. > > If this means the poor need to pay more for products, the answer is not to > make stuff artificially cheaper for everyone by pushing costs off on > exploited workers, communities, and those who breathe the air and drink the > water near factories; it is to work toward a society where there is not such > a vast maldistribution of wealth (and, no, there is no strong correlation > between the accumulation of wealth and the doing of worthwhile things). > Unfortunately, for the past several decades our leaders have been pushing > non-stop in the opposite direction. > Mark Anderson replies: I discussed whether big business is bad for us with a few people on this List a month or two ago. We couldn't resolve it then, or even get very far into the subject, and stay within the domain of Mpls. I'll just let it be known that I think most of your comments are 100% wrong. I agree that one must look at externalized costs as well as internal ones to fully determine the societal value of particular business. Most of the anti-big people seem to think that big companies could only compete if they cheated somehow. But what I learned in economics 101 is that there is indeed such a thing as economies of scale, and thus there are real cost savings when one increases in size. There are also many disadvantages to large size, which is why most commerce today takes place between pretty small firms (the relative value of big vs. small depends on the product or service being sold). What Vicky said in the first place is a succinct description of my position. And even on this very leftist List, I think there's lots of others who agree. Go, Wal-Mart! Or rather, come Wal-Mart, to Mpls! Mark V Anderson Bancroft REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
