How many other retail stores have left your local market since the first Wal-Mart opened there?

Where I live we have lost about 14 other stores since Wal-Mart first opened here in 1987. One was a locally-owned regional chain store that had been in bussiness for at least 35 years.

And over the past few years the product and brand selection at Wal-Mart has declined, while the prices have gone up.

You will shop at Wal-Mart ... you will be assimilated .... resistance is futile ....

flaja: that is what those Wal-Marts are doing; next best thing to monopolies!

You might also be interested in reading this thread too!

I noticed a claim on this thread that Progressives (which I am not) complain about Wal-Mart (as I do) because of Wal-Mart's support for conservative values.

But,

Establishing a monopoly is a libertarian, not a conservative, value;

Treating employees like wage slaves is a libertarian, not a conservative, value;

Using the free market to destroy small town America is a libertarian, not a conservative value-

And living off the taxpayers is a socialist, not a conservative value.

That is patently false, and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Establishing a monopoly is NOT a Libertarian value.

Treating employees like a wage slave is NOT a Libertarian value.

Using the Free Market to destroy small town Americs is NOT a libertarian value.

I challenge you to show, through example, and use logic to prove your scurulous attack here. You can not in any way back up your premesis.

I have not encountered a single libertarian who is willing to say anything bad about Wal-Mart. Such is their attachment to the dog-eat-dog free market.

Oh, so you are stating that one is guilty through omission today? If one does not castigate another, then that person is the other's ally. I like that.

I am sure that you will have an interesting life to live. Fortunately, I do not share your idea of logic here.

I still expect you to provide something, other than your suspicions, that clearly show Libertarians to be as callous as you propose.

Well, first you left your local retailers to go shop at Walmart, then your retail stores left your local market. MARK

This might help you two with Libertarian values.

Thank you Grizz. However, I fail to see where you are making a point about the Libgertarians being of "negative" values. Again, if you are going to step in here and insert your learned opinion, you should be willing and able to get specific here.

Actually, prior to the demise of these other stores, I did not shop at Wal-Mart as often as I did these other stores. Furthermore, when the first Wal-Mart opened here, I was not aware of Wal-Mart's record.

Can you identify a single libertarian office holder or candidate, or regular internet board poster that is in favor of regulatory bodies such as the FDA, SEC, FTC, or who supports anti-trust laws that could have been and should have been applied to Wal-Mart?

They are not opposed to what these agencies are "supposed" to be doing. What they are opposed to is the beurocracy and money wasted on top heavy agencies that do little other than attempt to justify their own existence via overregulation.

Apparenatly you are all for a HUGE State, right?

And as for "anti-trust" laws, they do apply to Wal-Mart already. it is just that Wal-Mart is not violating any of them.

I suspect that you are a possibly a dedicated Collectivist?

Statement of the National Libertarian Party’s platform http://www.lp.org/issues/platform_all.shtml:

“End governmental interference in consumer affairs by eliminating the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Food and Drug Administration and other ineffective governmental organizations. Repeal laws mandating use of safety equipment such as seat belts or crash helmets, which can be more effectively driven by consumer action in the marketplace.”

The Libertarian Party does not merely express a dissatisfaction with government bureaucracy. It calls for the outright end to government regulation.

I have encountered many libertarians in the course of participating in various internet message boards over the past few years. Even when I meet one that says he is not a party member, he won’t say that he is opposed to the Party’s platform. Every libertarian I have met has given me the impression that libertarians won’t settle for anything less than absolute laissez faire capitalism. But, anyone who believes absolute laissez capitalism is a conservative goal, knows nothing about conservatism. Conservative opposition to unregulated capitalism goes all the way back to Edmund Burke, the generally acknowledged founder of modern conservatism.



What do you call huge?



Restraining trade is not in violation of anti-trust laws? Back in the 1990s I happened to see an episode of Phil Donahue's pre-Oprah TV show. His guest was the owner of a Western Auto type store in a small town. The local Wal-Mart's retail price on bicycles was lower than this man's wholesale price. It was actually cheaper for him to buy bicycles from Wal-Mart and try to resell them than it was for him to buy from wholesalers. The first anti-trust laws came about in an effort to stop similar business practices on the part of companies like Standard Oil.



A what?

uh oh .... here it comes...

Nah, waste of time here, right now. Besides, you are clearly like the dog, salivating at the very light, that is turned on. I don't need to repeat myself. You are clearly a result of successful "stimulus-Response" application.

Who says that repetition does not work?