Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Two faces of Wal-Mart
These two stories illustrate why both liberals and conservatives need to consider their automatic ideological reactions to Wal-Mart.
1) Liberals have to take note of the retail giant's decision to offer generic prescription drugs at a rock-bottom affordable price. If the pilot program is successful and Wal-Mart takes it national, this would obviate the need for drug reimportation from Canada. This is the virtue that comes with the ability to set prices by being able to order in massive bulk quantities.
2) On the other hand, the average conservatives might want to temper any tendency to gloat considering this story: Wal-Mart is threatening studios if they follow Disney's lead and start license movie downloads to Apple for use in Ipods. The chain is sending a powerful message to other movie studios considering the same idea that there will be "serious ramifications."
To me, this shows the downside of "big business" dominance. Should Wal-Mart want to maximize its profits? Yes. However, it shouldn't be at the potential harm to consumer choice. By engaging in a sort of economic blackmail, Wal-Mart is helping to strangle a new form of entertainment distribution. That's not something that anyone who champions the idea of a free market should support.
Technorati Tags: Wal-Mart, retail
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1) Liberals have to take note of the retail giant's decision to offer generic prescription drugs at a rock-bottom affordable price. If the pilot program is successful and Wal-Mart takes it national, this would obviate the need for drug reimportation from Canada. This is the virtue that comes with the ability to set prices by being able to order in massive bulk quantities.
2) On the other hand, the average conservatives might want to temper any tendency to gloat considering this story: Wal-Mart is threatening studios if they follow Disney's lead and start license movie downloads to Apple for use in Ipods. The chain is sending a powerful message to other movie studios considering the same idea that there will be "serious ramifications."
To me, this shows the downside of "big business" dominance. Should Wal-Mart want to maximize its profits? Yes. However, it shouldn't be at the potential harm to consumer choice. By engaging in a sort of economic blackmail, Wal-Mart is helping to strangle a new form of entertainment distribution. That's not something that anyone who champions the idea of a free market should support.
Technorati Tags: Wal-Mart, retail
