On the topic of "predatory business practices..." This is something the chain store critics invariably point to as one of the top three "evils" of big retail business (with the others being "poor pay and treatment of employees" and "selling out to China (et. al.)"). After thinking about this a bit, I realized that this is absolutely true, BUT this mindset in business is not limited to just the big chain stores. It is also very common to small business owners as well. The only thing that separates a single proprietor with corporate Wal-Mart is the ABILITY to prey on their smaller competitors, not the absence of desire to do so. This is where the double standard exists. If "Bob's Hardware & Sporting Goods" opens next door to "Bill's Ammo Barn" and puts Bill out of business by offering a better selection, better service, or just better prices, the Wal-Mart haters call it "competition," gives Bill a pat on the back, a sorry about your luck and better luck next time. But if later Wal-Mart does the same thing to Bob a year later, the same people cry foul.

And on the subject of China; had anyone every stopped to think that it might be stores like Wal-Mart that bring about the demise of Communism in China without us having to fire a shot? Bear with me on this. China has become a major producer of goods for the U.S. market. In fact, China's economy has come to depend on us and this, along with the absorbtion of Honk Kong, has caused China's once hard-line Communist leadership to see the value of capitalism and caused a rightward shift in the economics of China as a whole. Perhaps, in time, the Chinese people will see the possibilities of a non-command economy and force further political change. It's a long shot, but stranger things have happened (like the dramatic collapse of Soviet Communism in the late '80's and early '90's). And, as an added side benefit, it'll make the U.S. economy and workforce stronger in the long run because we will be forced to adapt and overcome the challenges of East Asian competition. But we will have to accept that the changes won't be painless, but like the saying goes...that which doesn't kill us...

Mike