Happy to Be Wrong on Two Fronts

I was happy to be wrong about my Iowa prediction over the weekend. Somehow, Iowa's defense grew a pass rush and kept the Wisconsin offense bottled up most of the day, allowing Iowa's uneven offense enough opportunity to score and stay ahead. A pleasant surprise. Now Iowa faces Minnesota at home to close the regular season. That game is looking better. Of the two, it appeared on paper to be the easier win. At 6-4 now, 7-4 would be that much better, with a sunnier bowl and better recruiting. I'll comment more at the end of the week.

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I'd be just as happy to be wrong about the following analysis too. I had a conversation about Walmart the other day with a friend. Sam Walton's megashopper has been under fire for many years, from companies that complain about its unfriendly pricing stratgey, to advocacy groups that complain about Walmart's low wages and healthcare for employees. There are many reasons to hate Walmart, it seems.

There are also two reasons to love Walmart: availability (they are everywhere) and price. These two reasons to love Walmart have been beating the reasons to hate the company.

Here's the bottom line: Walmart is a classic example of free enterprise and capitalism. Walmart (apparantly) gives people what they want, at a price they will pay. But American consumers always have the last say. If you as a consumer decide Walmart is the evil empire, STOP SHOPPING THERE! If your neighbors make that choice too, eventually Walmart will sag. This is classic supply and demand. As long as shoppers demand cheap goods a block away, Walmart wins (demand fuels supply). If enough shoppers decide that service is more important than price, or quality more important than price, or expertice more important than convenience, or social responsibility more important than ________________, Walmart will respond by going away or changing its practices (demand dries up, supply must alter).

I could write for a long time about America's economic problems. In a nutshell, our economy is a mess and is better positioned to get far worse than it is to improve. Good paying manufacturing and white collar jobs are moving out, low paying service jobs are taking over (how many fast food outlets and mall stores do we need?). That is a recipe for disaster. But there's so much more that is problematic .... More on those things another day.