Economics: What a monopoly isn't.

[DBTrek]

If Wal-Mart is all-powerful how did little startup a few years back called Amazon wind up crushing them?

America does have anti-trust laws.

That's not an answer.
Nor does it answer where all-powerful A&P groceries is today (a Walmart of the past you don't even know about because you think everything you're seeing is brand new)

[PartyOf5]

You guys going to enter a market you know that you are going to lose? Doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the big predator has a territory, you stay out of that territory.

We have a Walmart in our town. A Meijers just opened less than a mile away. How is Walmart a monopoly?

We have a McDonalds in our town. we also have a Burger King, Arby's, Taco Bell, Panda, Subway, Cousins, Noodles, etc....

Just admit that you liberals hate successful companies not named Apple. You and GCFs arguments have nothing to do with monopolies.

[Speaker to Animals]

Walmart and Amazon are nowhere near monopolies.

Maybe ten years out, they will be the two major parties of an online retailing oligopoly, but that's not really a bad situation like a monopoly.


Terrible examples here.

[jediuser598]

I never said Walmart was a monopoly.

[jediuser598]

If Wal-Mart is all-powerful how did little startup a few years back called Amazon wind up crushing them?

America does have anti-trust laws.

That's not an answer.
Nor does it answer where all-powerful A&P groceries is today (a Walmart of the past you don't even know about because you think everything you're seeing is brand new)

Where did I say Walmart was all powerful, or a monopoly?

[nmoore63]

You guys going to enter a market you know that you are going to lose? Doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the big predator has a territory, you stay out of that territory.

Dude.
I live beating the big guys.

[jediuser598]

You guys going to enter a market you know that you are going to lose? Doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the big predator has a territory, you stay out of that territory.

Dude.
I live beating the big guys.

It's going to be hard to talk economics if we're counting anecdotes.

[DBTrek]

I never said Walmart was a monopoly.

No, but you seem to think it's to big, too advantaged, and too connected to be taken down. Yet Amazon is taking it down as we speak. The A&P Grocery store, which lasted 156 years and was the largest US retailer of any kind in 1965, isn't even known by your generation.

There's probably a few takeaways you could gather from that. Namely, huge businesses also become noncompetitive and die. Walmart was slow to selling online (they're killing themselves trying to catch up now), and it's costing them. In fifty years there may be no Walmarts, and some other upstart company may have Amazon on the ropes. That's the nature of commerce.

That doesn't mean that Walmart (and Amazon) aren't reaping unfair benefits from governments. They are, and they shouldn't be. Lots of businesses are (and shouldn't be) reaping benefits from the government. And every time it happens the economy is becoming a little more inefficient, our quality of life is suffering for it, and the ma & pa businesses are suffering for it. That's a good argument for government not using their power and influence to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. But it's a poor argument for not having any giant retailers.

[jediuser598]

I never said Walmart was a monopoly.

No, but you seem to think it's to big, too advantaged, and too connected to be taken down. Yet Amazon is taking it down as we speak. The A&P Grocery store, which lasted 156 years and was the largest US retailer of any kind in 1965, isn't even known by your generation.

There's probably a few takeaways you could gather from that. Namely, huge businesses also become noncompetitive and die. Walmart was slow to selling online (they're killing themselves trying to catch up now), and it's costing them. In fifty years there may be no Walmarts, and some other upstart company may have Amazon on the ropes. That's the nature of commerce.

That doesn't mean that Walmart (and Amazon) aren't reaping unfair benefits from governments. They are, and they shouldn't be. Lots of businesses are (and shouldn't be) reaping benefits from the government. And every time it happens the economy is becoming a little more inefficient, our quality of life is suffering for it, and the ma & pa businesses are suffering for it. That's a good argument for government not using their power and influence to pick winners and losers in the marketplace. But it's a poor argument for not having any giant retailers.

Nope. Except for a few times where it acted wrongly (not paying its employees, and expecting them to work off the clock) it got where it did pretty legitimately. It does what it does better than its competition and serves communities that its competition ignored. Walmart is very efficient. I do wish they would treat their employees better, but hey, that's why I don't work there.

[Speaker to Animals]

You guys going to enter a market you know that you are going to lose? Doesn't take a genius to figure out that if the big predator has a territory, you stay out of that territory.

Dude.
I live beating the big guys.

But do you have the super fly commercial?