AlterNet: Mega Giant Corporations Are Very Bad for America

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.alternet.org/workplace/144716/mega_giant_corporations_are_very_bad_for_america/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=alternet_workplace

By Barry C. Lynn, AlterNet. Posted January 2, 2010.

Wal-Mart delivers at least 30% and sometimes more than 50% of the entire U.S. consumption of products. Why the monopolization of our economy should scare you.

The following is an excerpt from the first chapter of Cornered: The New Monopoly Capitalism and the Economics of Destruction, published by Wiley Press.

Even with a GPS and a good map, I have a hard time finding Diane Cochrane’s home, which is tucked in the crease of a hill a few miles east of Prescott, Arizona. The one-story green frame building sits at the bottom of a steep driveway that drops from a rocky road that cuts off a maze of streets that, as I drive along in my rented Pontiac, seem more like a mad Motocross track than the arteries of a neighborhood.

Yet it is easy to understand why Diane settled here with her husband after they fled the monotony of a Ford assembly line in Ohio. The landscape is a testament to the creativity of both humanity and God. Every one of the hundred or so houses in the community is unique. There are ramblers, chalets, A-frames, ranches, and log cabins. The terrain, meanwhile, seems to change in character almost inch by inch as the roadway drops and twists vertiginously into deep and scrubby ravines, only to crest a moment later to stunning views of a far shimmering horizon.

A few miles down Highway 69, the Wal-Mart Supercenter at the edge of Prescott is a different world. The parking lot alone is the grandest swath of flat space I’ve seen in the last hour of driving. Then there’s the store itself. To fit the big box into the undulating land, the builders had to cut deep into the side of a hill, carving away as much as six or seven stories worth of dirt and rock.

Once I am inside Wal-Mart’s door, it takes me nearly two minutes, striding swiftly, to walk from one end of the store to the other. Along the way I pass twenty-seven checkout lines and what seems like a whole town -- a savings bank, a McDonald’s, a portrait gallery -- tucked under this one roof. I almost wish I’d brought along some music to entertain myself, because there isn’t much new to look at on my stroll. Other than having a rack of cowboy hats, this Supercenter is filled with the exact same collection of products as every other Wal-Mart Supercenter in the United States, be it in Ohio, California, or Virginia. It also has the same empty feeling. When I arrive, it’s early evening and the parking lot is full. Yet the store seems almost vacant, and the few shoppers I do see wander listlessly and almost silently through the aisles.

FULL story at link.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

1. ALL DISNEY DOES IS BUY BUY BUY

[tkmorris]

2. It's an excellent article, thinking of finding the book

I think a lot of people make the mistake of thinking that Walmart is somewhat unique in American business. They aren't. Every industry offers an illusion of competition while in reality it is dominated by 1-3 major players.

[unblock]

3. wal-mart unique in that they are both a monpoly AND a monopsony

most mega corporations are monopolies -- they are control a gargantuan size of of the market in which they SELL, enough control to strongly influence the price at which their product is sold throughout the market.

some mega corporations are monopsonies -- they are control a gargantuan size of of the market in which they BUY, enough control to strongly influence the price at which their supplies are bought throughout the market.

wal-mart is unique in that they can beat up on their customers AND their suppliers. which is HIGHLY lucrative. the fact that they're making money hand over fist in an industry that has always had RAZOR-thin margins shows how much they're taking advantage of their market power.

think about it. they're a store. that's all. a distribution channel. they don't make or produce anything, they don't add value. they just take what other people have produced and make them available in their stores. does that sound like the sort of thing that should make them one of the biggest and richest corporations in the world?

[endless october]

4. agree, k/r