Is Walmart helping our economy move toward equilibrium, or further away?
Economies normally move toward equilibrium in which no individual can make himself or herself better off by taking a different action. Is this Walmart economy equal? Some items cannot be found at any alternative stores and prices are so much lower than the competitors that consumers are in fact better off shopping at Walmart. Think of all the stores who have been put out of business or are not as strong as they used to be since Walmart came into the picture. Hearts, Hills, and many grocery stores are gone now that Walmart is the "one stop shop." Sure, it's more convenient, but what's wrong with supporting all of the local stores equally? As much as I don't like Walmart for killing off it's competitors, I admit I'm still guilty of taking advantage of the convenience. And that's exactly what they are trying to do.
We've all seen the cute little smiling face flying around the Walmart commercials slashing prices all over the store and their incentive of "Always Low Prices." Well, the reason that these prices are slashed is because they are of lower quality. And who do they think they are by setting prices they will pay to their manufacturers for goods? I understand that they are trying to keep low prices, but I can just as easily go to Kmart and pick up that same item for a few dollars more and it will actually be of a higher quality. This is not part of an economy that is making me equally better off no matter what choice I make.
So I ask: Is Walmart helping our economy move toward equilibrium, or further away?
8 comments:
I think it is helping our economy. People are looking for the lowest prices. Wal-Mart is a good supplier for that. They give low prices. Now while the quality may be worse than that of other companies, people don't seem to care. All we want now is to find the cheapest items of the best quality. It is leading us toward equilibrium because they supply what we demand at a price that mostly works for all of us.
I do not believe that Walmart is helping the economy reach its equilibrium. Yes, it offers lower prices but as it kicks out the competition, walmart will have a lot more control without having to worry about its competition. This will allow walmart to raise its prices because they wont have to worry about losing customers since the customers have no other choice but to shop at walmart.
Wal-Mart is doing nothing better for our economy. Though wal-mart, in most cases, offers the lowest prices at their one stop shop, it is always a zoo (especially on the weekends), making it almost unbearable to even be in the store. Though one would think that a busy store would lead to plenty of staff, it is impossible to get a helping hand at wal-mart, and even waiting in line can cut hours out of one's day. Not only has wal-mart destroyed thousands of small businesses nation-wide,many wal-marts now sell organic food, leaving many traditional farmers deprived of their only income. If the quality of items at wal-mart is bad, would the food be an exception? Can we really trust that organic food from wal-mart is organic? Wal-mart is a dangerous monopoly and we must fight back.
Walmart is not helping our nation reach equilibrium. By undercutting competition, they are attempting to corner the market. Sure this allows people to buy items at lower prices, but it is also causing smaller family-owned businesses to lose a lot of money, and ultimately close.
I believe Wal-Mart is hurting the economy by creating a monopoly, thus eliminating competition. With the lack of competition, prices will slowly increase at the "one stop shop". Wal-mart should specialize and pick a couple sections in which to do business.
My concern with Walmart is their employees. I am a frequent Walmart shopper and it seems like you for as big as Walmart is, there should be more people working there. When you need help with something there is never anyone around. The worst part is when it is time to check-out and there are only two or three lanes open. It seems like they are trying to make up for their low selling prices by minimizing the salary costs.
I dont feel that Walmart is helping our economy. Sure its convient and who hasnt shopped at Walmart before, but they are slowly killing off the small business that once made our communities what they are. These small business thrived on the competition between each other, and Walmart is taking that away by causing a monopoly.
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