Re: Marjorie Taylor Greene "likes" the Mossad-did-it Theory

On Friday, March 5, 2021 at 1:52:27 PM UTC-5, John Corbett wrote:
> On Friday, March 5, 2021 at 9:44:09 AM UTC-5, ajohnstone wrote: 
> > And that there is no even playing field, so who cares, eh?
> Is there supposed to be? Life is inherently unfair. That's why we need 
> wheelchairs.
> > Let the 
> > heavyweight boxer challenge the feather-weight boxer. After all, it is the 
> > same sport and the same rules, isn't it?
> I remember the golfer Sam Snead saying there is no such thing as an even 
> match. One side or the other always had an advantage. He figured, "It 
> might as well be Old Sam.". Major college football teams regularly 
> schedule teams that aren't even in their same class. Both play the game by 
> the same rules yet it is not an even contest. Whether it is sports or 
> business, the idea is to win. It is not the job of the strong to be 
> concerned about the weak. It is up to the weak to get stronger if they 
> want to compete.
> > 
> > As mentioned in the link, suppliers are forced to lower their wages 
> > bill,
> The aren't forced to do anything. They choose to do that as a business 
> strategy.
> > lay off staff or out-source over-seas to meet the low price demands of 
> > Walmart. Sweat-shops in the US or Myanmar, why care? 
> >
> If the people in Myanmar aren't happy with their wages or conditions, it 
> is up to them to do something about it. I'm betting they prefer having 
> those "sweatshop" jobs to not having a job at all. Would those people be 
> better off if companies didn't locate their factories in Myanmar?
> > Walmart signs up businesses for contracts where the company then produces 
> > the material ordered. Walmart then demands a lower price and leverages 
> > another company against them. It is a race to the bottom for the 
> > suppliers.
> Pretty smart of Walmart. Buying from the lowest seller makes sense. 
> Whether it is done an a large scale or a small one, transactions are 
> voluntary agreements between a buyer and a seller at a price that is 
> acceptable to both. If manufacturers don't like the price Walmart is 
> offering for their goods, they don't have to sell to them. Since the do 
> choose to sell to them, they are making the decision it is in their best 
> interest to sell for what Walmart offers.
> > 
> > And the impact is upon all those mom and pop stores that aren't able to 
> > compete. These are eventually put out of business, main street shopping 
> > dries up and small towns shrivel up.
> That's the way it is. People vote with their dollars. The mom and pop 
> stores are largely an anachronism. They started losing that battle many 
> decades ago. There are exceptions. Some small locally owned stores are 
> able to keep a loyal clientele by offering superior service. One such 
> example is a local hardware store in Mt. Vernon, Oh about 15 minutes from 
> where I live. It's one of those old fashioned hardware stores with the 
> creaky wooden floors. I sometimes choose them over Lowe's for several 
> reasons. It's about another 5 minutes to get to Lowe's. When I walk in the 
> door, a sales clerk will usually meet me immediately so I don't have to 
> spend 10-15 minutes looking for it. If I need a handful of screws to 
> complete a project, I don't have to buy a box of 50 or more. The actually 
> sell screws, nuts, bolts, etc. by the piece so if I need 8, I get 8. They 
> charge these items by weight. I'm sure one a per piece basis, I pay a 
> little more but I don't have to buy way more than I need. The Lowe's came 
> to Mt. Vernon about the same time I moved to this area about 20 years ago. 
> The local hardware store is still in business and there are always cars in 
> their parking lot when I go there.

  The problem with your Home Depots and Lowes is that they hammer their 
vendors down so much that they can either provide an inferior product 
(hurting their brand name) or stop selling through these chains. You are 
much better buying a toilet or faucet at a plumbing supply house then at 
one of these places, even if they both say American Standard or Kohler on 
them. The guts are all made from parts that are as cheap as they can make 
them at Lowes and Depot, and if you check the model numbers you`ll find 
they are different for the ones at the plumbing supply house. And this is 
true across the board, if you need gutter or downspout go to a roofing 
supply, they use much higher gauge metal. Also true of nails (particularly 
finish nails, which now a days bend if you look at them) and screw gun 
tips. The higher the heat the better the strength, and heating costs, so 
they make items that *look* like the real thing, but really aren`t. 
Drywall screws these days are crap for the same reason, not as pointy as 
they used to be and they give you metal burr splinters now.

> > Certainly don't apply any government regulation to level things up.
> Absolutely not. It's not the role of government to make things even any 
> more than it is the role of a sports official to call more fouls on the 
> stronger team to make the game more even. Neither sports officials nor 
> governments should decide who the winners and losers are. It is up to the 
> contestants to do that. If one team is much stronger than the other, 
> that's just too damn bad.
> > 
> > I do find the Walmart field to fork logistics approach appealing, 
> > displaying how easy allocation of resources can easily be directed to 
> > where demand is.
> Obviously Walmart has been doing things right for a very long time. Amazon 
> is another company which is thriving although for not as long. The future 
> is not guaranteed. Sears & Roebuck began in the late 19th century and for 
> the early part of 20th century they were probably as strong a company as 
> Amazon is today. You could buy just about anything from Sears, even a 
> house, and many people did. Sears became the retailer of choice for many 
> who lived in small towns and rural America because they would deliver to 
> those places. Not as fast as Amazon of course, but fast for their day. In 
> the last few decades, Sears has lost their way and is hanging on by a 
> thread because they didn't react to the changing marketplace. The same 
> thing might happen to Walmart or Amazon in a hundred years. Right now they 
> are doing things right and Walmart's online shopping is starting to rival 
> Amazon's. If I need a small item, I don't have to drive 15 minutes into 
> town to get it. I just order it online from either Walmart or Amazon and 
> there is a good chance it will arrive the next day. A couple days ago I 
> needed a very special Sharpie. I found it right away on Amazon, ordered 
> it, and it was in my mailbox the next day. I pay $100 a year for prime 
> service which means I don't have to pay shipping charges on any item I buy 
> direct from them. Walmart has eliminated shipping on most items as well. 
> They used to have a minimum order for that but that has been waived. Sears 
> and J.C. Penney's could have have been players in this new way of 
> retailing but they were too complacent and continued to rely on store 
> sales and snail mail catalog orders. Now both a struggling to stay alive.