Wow what a crappy week over at WM.

To get themselves some decent PR, they hired former Ambassador and civil rights advocate Andrew Young to head up a "pro Wal mart" group, promoting its diverse workforce, equal opportunity hiring, yada yada yada.

So Andrew is being interviewed by some newspaper this week and is asked "What do you think when people say that Wal Mart puts small stores out of business?".

Andrew replied with words to the effect "Hey I am glad those stores are out of business.  First it was the Jews ripping us off, then the Koreans, and now it is the A-rabs."  Go Wal mart!!!  This is the biggest gaffe by a civil rights activist since Jesse Jackson's "Hymietown" incident.

Needless to say, Wal Mart dropped him like a bad habit and issued a statement condemning his remarks.

I will bet there is SOMEBODY over at WM HQ who is glad the week is done.

Who's Andrew Young now?

People will still shop at Wal-Mart, they can't resist that smiling face...

Who's Andrew Young now?



If it's the same person I'm thinking of, it's the former mayor of Atlanta.

If this is true (which I find hard to believe of Andy Young, if it's the same Andy Young), it certainly is unfortunate, but needs to be put in context.  For decades, ghetto residents were over charged by absentee small business owners who, because of inadequate public transportation, they had to patronize.  Real estate agents "red lined" neighborhoods as either white or black.  Car dealers offered (and offer) better deals to white men than black men, who get better deals than white women, who get better deals than black women.  And these facts of life still holds true.  So it's no wonder that black people and hispanics are bitter with the way they are tyreated in the marketrplace. 

The remarks, if made, were unfortunate though. 

If this is true (which I find hard to believe of Andy Young, if it's the same Andy Young), it certainly is unfortunate, but needs to be put in context.  For decades, ghetto residents were over charged by absentee small business owners who, because of inadequate public transportation, they had to patronize.  Real estate agents "red lined" neighborhoods as either white or black.  Car dealers offered (and offer) better deals to white men than black men, who get better deals than white women, who get better deals than black women.   And these facts of life still holds true.  So it's no wonder that black people and hispanics are bitter with the way they are tyreated in the marketrplace. 

The remarks, if made, were unfortunate though. 


Yep, it was the Andrew Young.  Ambassador to the United Nations, Mayor of Atlanta, aide to MLK, the whole bit.  Awarded the Presidential Medal of freedom in 1981 by Reagan.

Here's his direct quote when asked if he is bothered that Wal Mart drives small stores out of business:

"Well, I think they should; they ran the 'mom and pop' stores out of my neighborhood, ... But you see, those are the people who have been overcharging us selling us stale bread and bad meat and wilted vegetables. And they sold out and moved to Florida. I think they've ripped off our communities enough. First it was Jews, then it was Koreans and now it's Arabs; very few black people own these stores"

It would appear from these remarks that either (a) Black people must not overcharge when they own neighborhood stores or (b) even if they do overcharge it is not a big deal if Wal-Mart drives the stores out of business because few of them are owned by blacks anyway.  Not sure which interpretation is any better.

Naw, your just having us on, pulling our leg, throwing a spoof!  C'mon!  He didn't really say that did he!  Did he....?
???

...Looks like he did!  On top that, WalMart just had their worst quarter in over ten years or something.  Better pass the hat for the Walton family, times are gonna be tough!

This ranks up there with some of the most politically tin-eared statements in recent history.  Jackson's "Hymietown" is a good one (I always say  he meant it as a compliment), but I prefer Reagan's first Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt, in reference to his coal-leasing commission:

"We have every kind of mix you can have.  I have a black, I have a woman, two Jews and a cripple."
--James Watt, September 21, 1983

Don Carlos, I completely understand your point.  I don't know if anyone else here can or will.  I've noticed the same phenomenon ever since I became economically aware.  Unfortunately, what Mr. Young said was stil DU-U-U-U-UMB!!!

Maybe Young and Mel Gibson should collaborate with Spike Lee on "Do The Right Thing II"!
;D

...Looks like he did!  On top that, WalMart just had their worst quarter in over ten years or something.  Better pass the hat for the Walton family, times are gonna be tough!

This ranks up there with some of the most politically tin-eared statements in recent history.  Jackson's "Hymietown" is a good one (I always say  he meant it as a compliment), but I prefer Reagan's first Secretary of the Interior, James G. Watt, in reference to his coal-leasing commission:

"We have every kind of mix you can have.  I have a black, I have a woman, two Jews and a cripple."
--James Watt, September 21, 1983

Don Carlos, I completely understand your point.  I don't know if anyone else here can or will.  I've noticed the same phenomenon ever since I became economically aware.  Unfortunately, what Mr. Young said was stil DU-U-U-U-UMB!!!

Maybe Young and Mel Gibson should collaborate with Spike Lee on "Do The Right Thing II"!
;D



What's so dumb about it? It's the truth and the truth hurts. It's obscene the countless times I've witnessed the overcharging of bad products on my neighbors as a child, teen, and young adult. Can you not say anything about someone without being classified an anti-semite? Yes, many of these shopkeepers were Jewish, Asian or Arabic. What's sad is how others are not looking at the genuine issue and slapping other crap on it to avoid it. No one is saying the entire Jewish/Asian/Arabic population is that way; rather, the shopkeepers who happened to be from these groups that are exploited these majority black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Max, I hope you were being funny by placing Mr. Young and Mr. Lee with Gibson. Do the Right Thing was a great movie that needed to be done.

What's so dumb about it? It's the truth and the truth hurts. It's obscene the countless times I've witnessed the overcharging of bad products on my neighbors as a child, teen, and young adult. Can you not say anything about someone without being classified an anti-semite? Yes, many of these shopkeepers were Jewish, Asian or Arabic. What's sad is how others are not looking at the genuine issue and slapping other crap on it to avoid it. No one is saying the entire Jewish/Asian/Arabic population is that way; rather, the shopkeepers who happened to be from these groups that are exploited these majority black and Hispanic neighborhoods.

Max, I hope you were being funny by placing Mr. Young and Mr. Lee with Gibson. Do the Right Thing was a great movie that needed to be done.

I've been scorned for saying so, but DO THE RIGHT THING was indeed a great movie!
The detractors are hardcore leftists who think Spike is a sell-out.
What I always remember about DTRT was was frustration rising to a critical level and preventable disaster occurring because no party had the will to be reasonable.  It was all pride and outrage.
What would it hurt Sal to hang some pictures of black people on the his pizzeria wall?
Why couldn't Buggin' Out and Radio Raheem take a chill pill and shut their traps?
Why did Mookie throw the garbage can through the window?
There was one out---Mayor (Ossie Davis): "Let's everybody go home before somebody gets hurt!"  But it was too late!

I said I agreed with Don Carlos.  I agree with you too about the terrible redlining and price-gouging in poor neighborhoods.  But even if I extend Mr. Young the credit as much credit as I possibly can, the best I can call his statment is IMPOLITIC.  I still say it was just plain dumb, whether it was true or not.  Blunt and insulting language doesn't work.  Sorry.  New York City is "hymie town" in a lot of ways.  All the Reverend did by using the word "hymie" was give Jackson-haters ammo for the next twenty-five f**king years!
Mr. Young's remarks about Jewish and Asian shop proprietors only serve the blame game.  The white power establishment will use them to say that poor blacks are lazy whiners with no entrepeneurial work ethic, not like the Jews, the Arabs, and the Indians.  Keep the residents of poor neighborhoods and small businessmen at odds with eachother, that's a great distraction from the real injustices perpetuated on Capitol Hill and Wall Street.
And how is it again that Wal-Mart is the answer for poor urban neighborhoods?  Really.  Maybe it is.  Maybe I'm just not seeing it.

I've been scorned for saying so, but DO THE RIGHT THING was indeed a great movie!
The detractors are hardcore leftists who think Spike is a sell-out.
What I always remember about DTRT was was frustration rising to a critical level and preventable disaster occurring because no party had the will to be reasonable.  It was all pride and outrage.
What would it hurt Sal to hang some pictures of black people on the his pizzeria wall?
Why couldn't Buggin' Out and Radio Raheem take a chill pill and shut their traps?
Why did Mookie throw the garbage can through the window?
There was one out---Mayor (Ossie Davis): "Let's everybody go home before somebody gets hurt!"  But it was too late!

I said I agreed with Don Carlos.  I agree with you too about the terrible redlining and price-gouging in poor neighborhoods.  But even if I extend Mr. Young the credit as much credit as I possibly can, the best I can call his statment is IMPOLITIC.  I still say it was just plain dumb, whether it was true or not.  Blunt and insulting language doesn't work.  Sorry.  New York City is "hymie town" in a lot of ways.  All the Reverend did by using the word "hymie" was give Jackson-haters ammo for the next twenty-five f**king years!
Mr. Young's remarks about Jewish and Asian shop proprietors only serve the blame game.  The white power establishment will use them to say that poor blacks are lazy whiners with no entrepeneurial work ethic, not like the Jews, the Arabs, and the Indians.  Keep the residents of poor neighborhoods and small businessmen at odds with eachother, that's a great distraction from the real injustices perpetuated on Capitol Hill and Wall Street.
And how is it again that Wal-Mart is the answer for poor urban neighborhoods?  Really.  Maybe it is.  Maybe I'm just not seeing it.


Mookie threw the can out of frustration. Yes, I also agree that Sal could've taken down the pics. They had no meaning to the residents of the neighborhood. Buggin' Out was a troublemaker and Radio Raheem was just rude. Hell, I was pissed that he was blaring the radio!

The funny thing is that many of the Arab and Indian shopkeepers that the white establishment commend so greatly are rarely storeowners in the suburbs. Unless it's an ethnic restaurant nearby, I have yet to see any of these shopkeepers in these areas - it's hilarious. Commend them for their work ethic as long as they don't own stores in their neck of the words (sorry, 7-11s and the Quickie Mart don't count, lol).

Will Walmart help? I really don't know. But something has to be available.

Mookie threw the can out of frustration. Yes, I also agree that Sal could've taken down the pics. They had no meaning to the residents of the neighborhood. Buggin' Out was a troublemaker and Radio Raheem was just rude. Hell, I was pissed that he was blaring the radio!

The funny thing is that many of the Arab and Indian shopkeepers that the white establishment commend so greatly are rarely storeowners in the suburbs. Unless it's an ethnic restaurant nearby, I have yet to see any of these shopkeepers in these areas - it's hilarious. Commend them for their work ethic as long as they don't own stores in their neck of the words (sorry, 7-11s and the Quickie Mart don't count, lol).

Will Walmart help? I really don't know. But something has to be available.

It doesn't have to be available.  Residents of poor neighborhoods contended with not only price gouging but limited nutritional options as well.  The Quickie-Mart does not have the same kind of produce and dairy section as the Super Safeway in the suburbs.  I've been to convenience stores in poor neighborhoods where you had your pick of pork rinds and fortified wines, but nary an apple or a loaf of whole wheat bread in sight!  I'm not trying to make gross ethnic stereotypes, that's just what I saw.  The Right always argues that "those people" are too delinquent to deserve Safeway.  Why should an investory start a huge supermarket if it's just gonna get held up and looted.  Again, the Repugs don't address the root causes of poverty.  Oh, wait a minute, they do.  "Those people" are spoiled by the Democrat party welfare benefits and the liberal justice system so they think they are above the law, they have no work ethic, and the teachers unions public schools don't teach them no manners.  It's just like some of those right-wingers were saying after Katrina.  That's what they deserve for not staying in school and learning job skills.  That was the extent of Bill O'Reilly's analysis.  I heard others say things like, "Why should a cruise ship pick those people up?  They'd just wreck it, like those people wrecked the Superdome!"   When the chips are down the Repubs and the right-wingers prove themselves no further along than they were forty years ago.  As a certain south'n senator declared during the Watts riots:
Them's just niggruhs!
--Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC)

It doesn't have to be available.  Residents of poor neighborhoods contended with not only price gouging but limited nutritional options as well.  The Quickie-Mart does not have the same kind of produce and dairy section as the Super Safeway in the suburbs.  I've been to convenience stores in poor neighborhoods where you had your pick of pork rinds and fortified wines, but nary an apple or a loaf of whole wheat bread in sight!  I'm not trying to make gross ethnic stereotypes, that's just what I saw.  The Right always argues that "those people" are too delinquent to deserve Safeway.  Why should an investory start a huge supermarket if it's just gonna get held up and looted. 
Where do you suggest they put one?  There's not a large enough space in ANY "poor neighborhood" to put a "Super Safeway"....heck, there's not large enough spaces available in almost ANY urban "downtown".  Even if there were, when was the last time you looked at commercial space rents in an urban area.....especially a space large enough to house a "regular" grocery store.

AFA the types of foods available, I agree 99%.  If you look at a majority of the choices available, they are the most "shelf-friendly".  There's no way a small shop owner could afford to stay in business if they offered a wide variety of perishable foods that would need to be thrown out if it's not purchased.  I HAVE seen small amounts of produce available, though....admittedly a VERY small amount.

Mookie threw the can out of frustration. Yes, I also agree that Sal could've taken down the pics. They had no meaning to the residents of the neighborhood. Buggin' Out was a troublemaker and Radio Raheem was just rude. Hell, I was pissed that he was blaring the radio!

The funny thing is that many of the Arab and Indian shopkeepers that the white establishment commend so greatly are rarely storeowners in the suburbs. Unless it's an ethnic restaurant nearby, I have yet to see any of these shopkeepers in these areas - it's hilarious. Commend them for their work ethic as long as they don't own stores in their neck of the words (sorry, 7-11s and the Quickie Mart don't count, lol).

Will Walmart help? I really don't know. But something has to be available.
The reason there are few of these stores in the 'burbs is that there ARE major store chains in almost every suburb (at least there are here in Chicago) and there's no way a small business owner can compete with an Aldi's or Target or Safeway or Jewel (Albertson's in other parts of the country).  Add to that the skyrocketing commercial rent prices in many suburbs and there you go.  It's not just Wal-Marts that are the issue.....it's almost EVERY national store chain that's driving away the small business of days past.  I'm not saying that's a good thing, but I also don't have any idea on how to change it.

The reason there are few of these stores in the 'burbs is that there ARE major store chains in almost every suburb (at least there are here in Chicago) and there's no way a small business owner can compete with an Aldi's or Target or Safeway or Jewel (Albertson's in other parts of the country).  Add to that the skyrocketing commercial rent prices in many suburbs and there you go.  It's not just Wal-Marts that are the issue.....it's almost EVERY national store chain that's driving away the small business of days past.  I'm not saying that's a good thing, but I also don't have any idea on how to change it.


To go completely off topic: Aldi's sucks. I hated it. I walked out of there because it sucked so bad.

Okay, I'm done. :P

To go completely off topic: Aldi's sucks. I hated it. I walked out of there because it sucked so bad.

Okay, I'm done. :P
I rarely go there because they CHARGE YOU for carts :o  You're supposed to get the $$ back when you take it back, but the stupid machines by me never seem to work.  The only good thing I get there is milk because it's about 1/2 the price of everywhere else.

I was just driving through the poorer sections of Springfield, Mass., today.  There is plenty of unused property available.  That's the case with most U.S. cities.

There are six factors at work here:
a. the destruction of the blue collar economy.
b. "white flight" from cities.
c. the orientation of American life to the suburb and the automobile.
d. big business controlling the economy instead of the economy controlling big business.
e. the destruction of family businesses by large corporations.
f.  abandonment of the New Deal and Great Society ethos of dealing with problems, and the adoption of the Republican't ethos of pretending problems don't exist.
These problems have been with us for decades.  They will never get any better if we continue to buy into Rush Limbaugh and the Republican'ts "The Way Things Ought To Be" mentality.
A lot of smart people have answers, but the rich people get to shoot down the smart people.

I rarely go there because they CHARGE YOU for carts :o  You're supposed to get the $$ back when you take it back, but the stupid machines by me never seem to work.  The only good thing I get there is milk because it's about 1/2 the price of everywhere else.


Check the Costco. Over this way, it's $1.88 a gallon. We have to buy like five gallons at a time, so you can bet I'm looking for the cheapest prices on that! :P

Check the Costco. Over this way, it's $1.88 a gallon. We have to buy like five gallons at a time, so you can bet I'm looking for the cheapest prices on that! :P


$1.83 :)  It's $1.88 at Food 4 Less sometimes though.

Add to that the skyrocketing commercial rent prices in many suburbs and there you go.  It's not just Wal-Marts that are the issue.....it's almost EVERY national store chain that's driving away the small business of days past.  I'm not saying that's a good thing, but I also don't have any idea on how to change it.


You know, in some other countries, when people felt that private grocery stores were over-charging them or providing inadequate service, they started non-profit grocery stores as a solution, run by either the government or by trade unions as co-operatives.

It's sort of like how credit unions were created when people felt that private banking institutions weren't treating them fairly.

The funny thing is that many of the Arab and Indian shopkeepers that the white establishment commend so greatly are rarely storeowners in the suburbs.

Not where I live.  We have PLENNTY of "Arab" store keepers, mainly at 7-11 and the like.

Of course many of these "Arab" businessmen are not Arab at all but are Pakistani, Iranian, and whatnot.

Not where I live.  We have PLENNTY of "Arab" store keepers, mainly at 7-11 and the like.

Of course many of these "Arab" businessmen are not Arab at all but are Pakistani, Iranian, and whatnot.

I wouldn't wanna do it.  Running a convience store means hauling ass 18 hours a day for a wafer-thin profit margin.  Work, work, work, work, work, and more work!

Not where I live.  We have PLENNTY of "Arab" store keepers, mainly at 7-11 and the like.

Of course many of these "Arab" businessmen are not Arab at all but are Pakistani, Iranian, and whatnot.


So like I wrote they particularly work in the convenience stores like I said. In my posh L.A. suburb, the truth is that unless it's a 7-11 you won't find storekeepers of any middle eastern background nor Asian (unless it's a dry cleaners, nail salon, or food establishment).

Check the Costco. Over this way, it's $1.88 a gallon. We have to buy like five gallons at a time, so you can bet I'm looking for the cheapest prices on that! :P
Unfortunately, the only Costco near me is about 1/2 hour away and I'd waste more $$ on gas than I'd save :-\\  I actually usually buy it at the gas station where it's $2.49/gallon or at Sam's where it's just over $2.


I wouldn't wanna do it.  Running a convience store means hauling ass 18 hours a day for a wafer-thin profit margin.  Work, work, work, work, work, and more work!
Wait.  You wouldn't want to do it, but you expect someone else to?  Do you think they were rolling in cash and not working their behinds off in the past?
So like I wrote they particularly work in the convenience stores like I said. In my posh L.A. suburb, the truth is that unless it's a 7-11 you won't find storekeepers of any middle eastern background nor Asian (unless it's a dry cleaners, nail salon, or food establishment).
I'm now thoroughly confused.  What types of "shops" are you talking about that they used to own that they don't now?  The "corner stores" of yesterday are today's "convenience stores".  I have a friend whose father used to own a "corner grocery" and now has a 7-11 and they actually make more $$ with the 7-11 franchise than they did when they were independent because they get the items at a lower cost than they used to when they were ordering them on their own.

I'm now thoroughly confused.  What types of "shops" are you talking about that they used to own that they don't now?  The "corner stores" of yesterday are today's "convenience stores".  I have a friend whose father used to own a "corner grocery" and now has a 7-11 and they actually make more $$ with the 7-11 franchise than they did when they were independent because they get the items at a lower cost than they used to when they were ordering them on their own.


Yeah, a lot of franchises like gas stations, 7/11s and restaurant chains such as Quizno's allow ordinary Americans who can get a business loan and pony up the franchise fee to operate their individual franchises.  I knew a couple of Quizno's owners in the Salinas Valley, one was a Hindu who owned a couple in Salinas and Gilroy and another was a white family who started one up right next to the grocery store I used to work at.  They worked extremely hard and also hired a few people outside the family to cover shifts, and ultimately were very successful.  I believe the Hindu lady sold her Quizno's franchises to someone else and moved to way Northern CA, but the white folks are still at their Quizno's.  They used to give me 10% discounts too :D

Wait.  You wouldn't want to do it, but you expect someone else to?  Do you think they were rolling in cash and not working their behinds off in the past?I'm now thoroughly confused.  What types of "shops" are you talking about that they used to own that they don't now?  The "corner stores" of yesterday are today's "convenience stores".  I have a friend whose father used to own a "corner grocery" and now has a 7-11 and they actually make more $$ with the 7-11 franchise than they did when they were independent because they get the items at a lower cost than they used to when they were ordering them on their own.

It was a compliment directed at grocers who work hard.  Of course a grocer makes more money as a retail chain franchise, but it's still hard work and worthy of a tip of the hat.
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There are plenty of things I would expect somebody else to do, but I wouldn't want to do myself.  What's so unreasonable about that?  I wouln't want to be a gastroenterologist and spend my career elbow deep in azzh()le! (good though the money is!)
::)

I'm now thoroughly confused.  What types of "shops" are you talking about that they used to own that they don't now?  The "corner stores" of yesterday are today's "convenience stores".  I have a friend whose father used to own a "corner grocery" and now has a 7-11 and they actually make more $$ with the 7-11 franchise than they did when they were independent because they get the items at a lower cost than they used to when they were ordering them on their own.


Convenience stores are not in every neighborhood. Back in my home city, there are definitely more corner stores in each neighborhood than convenience stores. However, where I live now, there are no corner shops - only convenience stores with Pakastani/Indian owners or managers.

I was referring to the Asian/Jewish corner shop owners I grew up with that are still there.

Speaking of convenience grocer stereotypes, here's some trivia, where does this one come from?

My doctor says I hafta take a laxative!
Not in my store you don't!

8)

People are going to go where the things they need are cheaper. That's the bottom line. It's unfortunate that such a b!tch of a company like Wal-Mart is often the cheapest. People go there, including myself. Wish I didn't have to, but c'est la vie.

People are going to go where the things they need are cheaper. That's the bottom line. It's unfortunate that such a b!tch of a company like Wal-Mart is often the cheapest. People go there, including myself. Wish I didn't have to, but c'est la vie.

I have heard the arguments of social and macro-economic costs demonstrating why Wal-Mart really isn't cheaper in the long run.  "I know, I know," I say to these bookish liberals, "but if you're living on 15K a year and you've got four kids, car payments, and a mortgage, a seven-dollar toaster is just a better deal.  That's how it really works!"  In my indigo-blue area of blue Massachusetts, you see a lot of bumper stickers on Volvos that say, "I Don't Shop at Sprawl-Marts!"  I always want to tear the sticker off, shove it in their faces, and say, "Yeah, well, I didn't fuggin' ask!"
::)

I have heard the arguments of social and macro-economic costs demonstrating why Wal-Mart really isn't cheaper in the long run.  "I know, I know," I say to these bookish liberals, "but if you're living on 15K a year and you've got four kids, car payments, and a mortgage, a seven-dollar toaster is just a better deal.  That's how it really works!"  In my indigo-blue area of blue Massachusetts, you see a lot of bumper stickers on Volvos that say, "I Don't Shop at Sprawl-Marts!"  I always want to tear the sticker off, shove it in their faces, and say, "Yeah, well, I didn't fuggin' ask!"
::)


Here in Canada I have remarked more than once that everything is more expensive than in the US, but at Wal-Mart it seems that everything costs about the same. I'm on a super tight budget and as much as I don't want to patronise that store, I just have to.

Here in Canada I have remarked more than once that everything is more expensive than in the US, but at Wal-Mart it seems that everything costs about the same. I'm on a super tight budget and as much as I don't want to patronise that store, I just have to.


Which province?  Some of them have lower PSTs, but the GST is a killer.  It's like you're getting double taxed!

About the Jewish shopkeepers...the Jews used to live in the same poor neighborhoods that blacks and Hispanics now live in. My grandparents and great-grandparents on my mother's side were in the wholesale candy and tobacco business in Newark and Manhattan/the Bronx, respectively. They began as dirt-poor people living in one cockroach-infested room pushing puschcarts around and living hand-to-mouth, then opened stores in their newer neighborhoods, many of which became black and Hispanic later. My paternal grandfather's parents didn't want to give up on the neighborhood, which is why they didn't move their store out of south Newark in the '60s, until they were forced to by the Newark Riots. Ditto with my grandmother's family's candy store in the Bronx...they didn't want to give up on their old neighborhood. They had been in the same position or worse at one point as the new denizens of the neighborhood, and kept faith in it while other whites didn't. The families of these people were all quite pro-civil rights, but their businesses were still destroyed in the race riots of the late '60s and early '70s because they were the closest available white businesses. However, the real fault for the desiccaton of Newark and the Bronx was not the majority of the Jewish population, who kept faith in the old neighborhood until it wasn't safe anymore, but the developers and "urban renewers" and crooked landlords. The Jewish shopkeepers were sort of an easy target, who generally meant well and wanted to keep their lower middle-class existence afloat. It was a dual misunderstanding. I'm not denying that price gouging went on, but the Jewish shopkeepers ended up being targets of hostility against the greater white oppressor. They were people for whom English was their second language who were proud of their businesses, and knew how to do little else but sell candy or groceries or meat. Tabochnik's, a kosher delicatessen a few miles from me, near where my grandmother lives, is being closed for a Staples! Yuck!

I think the answer is more businesses owned by people in these communities. I see this happening alot in New Jersey, where independent businesses still thrive, particularly with West Indian shopkeepers.

Which province?  Some of them have lower PSTs, but the GST is a killer.  It's like you're getting double taxed!


Qu

^ I think the higher baseline prices may have to do with the higher cost of keeping the stores heated for more of the year, the cost of importing goods (Canada has to import a lot) and possibly some tariffs.  But as you say, the taxes do allow you to enjoy certain "freedoms" that the tax-stingy Americans don't get ;)

  But as you say, the taxes do allow you to enjoy certain "freedoms" that the tax-stingy Americans don't get ;)


Depends on your outlook.  Personally I trust MYSELF to spend my money in my own best interest, rather than entrusting the government with my money to buy my "freedom".

By spending the money directly instead of through taxes I don't have to worry about bureaucratic waste, corruption, and the proverbial $600 toilet seat.  :P

Depends on your outlook.  Personally I trust MYSELF to spend my money in my own best interest, rather than entrusting the government with my money to buy my "freedom".

By spending the money directly instead of through taxes I don't have to worry about bureaucratic waste, corruption, and the proverbial $600 toilet seat.  :P


That happened under the self-proclaimed "government is the problem" Reagan administration.
Reagan broke records for government waste!  He and the Bush boys blow all the money on military stuff at the expense of everything else.
"Star Wars" missile defense?  Whatta joke!  Talk about throwing your tax money down the rat hole!  For all the worthless illegal war in Iraq is costing, you could send millions of kids to college, you could build hundreds of new hospitals, you could revitalize our own economic infrastructure...but nooooo!!!!  Any of that would be anathema to GOP kleptocracy. 

Yeah, but the military spending makes us rich white guys feel so macho!  Sure.  It's like the 16-year-old kid with the Corvette.  He goes out and polishes it everyday.  The girls walk by and give him the eye.  They don't know that Corvette's got no engine!
:D

"The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then gets elected and proves it."
P.J. O'Rourke, (1989), Holidays in hell

He meant it as a compliment, you know...

So, you point out how much more money Bush wastes than Clinton ever did, and Johnny Nebraska let's out a big belch, and drawls, "What'r you a commie?," and goes and votes Republican all the f**k over again!
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