Middlemen often make prices lower. I live in New England. The history here is simple. It cost less and was easier to grow grain in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Most farmers who wanted to grow grain went to far away, (and it was far away), Pennsylvania and Ohio, to grow grain. That was the cause of one of the first great exoduses of people from New England. Those who chose to stay and compete couldn't, they were undersold by middlemen who bought grain in Pennsylvania and sold it here. The same was true of local crafts. Uniform good quality factory produced iron work put local blacksmiths our of the tool making business and turned them into mechanics. We built factories which produced cloth and tools to be sold by middlemen to the Farmers in far off lands, (like Pennsylvania and Ohio). Farmers markets sell fresh food in season, (but they won't sell you bread made with local grain),Your model falls down when you examine it critically. Wal Mart survives because a widget made in China and shipped here costs less to sell here than a Widget made here, no matter how much better it is. There's no other reason. They are the biggest damned middleman there is and they make prices lower.
Shel Belinkoff wrote: > To this I would have to say "Nonsense." Since this discussion centers, at > least somewhat, around food, let's use that as an example. In many parts > of the US, and certainly in my area, there are many Farmer's Markets, where > produce and other food and craft items are sold directly to the consumer by > those who produce the goods. Not only does the system work well, but it's > growing to encompass many more markets in many more communities throughout > the country. > > These "open air" markets have been seen in Europe and other countries for > hundreds of years, and seem to have worked quite well for many people, both > producer and consumer alike. > > The "middleman" not needed in all situations, although in some scenarios > the middleman can be valuable in getting goods moved from the source to the > consumer. It just depends on the products and the situation. Nonetheless, > for many products and in many situations the middleman is just another > source for increasing the price of a commodity and slowing down the > transfer of the goods. > > And yes, without middlemen there would only be producers and consumers. > You say that as though it were a bad thing. Is there something wrong with > having only a producer and a consumer? > > Shel > > > >> [Original Message] >> From: P. J. Alling >> > > >> In terms of a machine middle men are the lubrication that makes the >> system work. Like oil or graphite in a machine. Societies without them >> soon create them. By the way the retailer, if not the producer, is a >> middleman. Without middlemen there would be only producers and consumers. >> > > > > -- Entropy Seminar: The results of a five yeer studee ntu the sekend lw uf thurmodynamiks aand itz inevibl fxt hon shewb rt nslpn raq liot. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
