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February 17, 2006
economic amnesia
Reading this article about Wal-mart in the New York Times today, I was thinking about all the people who criticize the store's lack of benefits and low wages and those who work to stop Wal-Mart from entering markets where it would no doubt offer a better/cheaper alternatives to local retailers. A lot of their criticism seems to have a familiar ring to it and I realized why, it's the same mindless criticism that is leveled at the US and other capitalist countries for not "sharing the wealth". The typical argument goes, "the US is so wealthy, it's a disgrace that a country with such an astronomical GDP should have millions of people without free health insurance (or free education, free shoes, etc.).
The question they fail to ask is: Why is the US so successful? More to the point: Why are certain individuals in the US able to create wealth, and why are they so much more likely to do so in the US than elsewhere? The answer is simple, individuals (and corporations like Wal-mart) are able to create massive amounts of wealth because they are able to control what they have. The US constitution (despite successful and unsuccessful attempts to dilute it) guarantees individual rights and freedoms and enjoins those interlopers who would seek to force others to conform to their whims. Hence a company like Wal-mart is able to trade freely with workers and customers who voluntarily choose to shop or work at Wal-mart. "But Wal-mart is forcing all the competition out of the market by dumping their prices temporarily until they can establish a monopoly", goes the standard criticism. While there is no hard evidence to support this claim, even if it were true it would not change the fact that Wal-mart must win in a free market by providing a better option to both its workers and its customers, and it must do this in both the short and long-term. One does not build a multi-billion dollar corporation through sleight of hand and shell games.
Ultimately, the second-guessing of a corporation that employs more people than any other company in the United States outside of the Federal government is hurting the very people it's supposed to help: the poor and the underemployed. Those who don't understand economics and the nature of wealth creation should get out of the way and let those who make this country a land of opportunity continue to do what they do without having to constantly defend their right to profit in a free society.
Posted by exaltron at February 17, 2006 11:33 AM
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Comments
We've got a Wal-Mart issue here in my community: the company wants to open a 2nd store, and our short-sighted and WRONG City Planning Board voted down the zoning request. Grrrrr. It's not over yet, though -- the Board's recommendation has to go the City Commission -- and I hope that the City Commission will do the right thing and approve Wal-Mart's plan.
http://www.greaterfalls.com/?p=266
Posted by: david at March 4, 2006 10:41 AM
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