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September 2002 Open Breed Issue |
CONTENTS Ride
The West West Nile Virus Encephalitis Want To Trail Ride Close To Home?
Gallop Pole
REAL ESTATE Baxter
Black
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Small town businessmen live in fear of Wal-mart, the grim reaper. Independent little fish are devoured without a ripple. But now even the bigger fish are being swallowed as the giant shark's appetite grows more voracious. Safeway, Krogers, A & P, Albertsons, and their supermarket brethren are in a life and death struggle to survive Wal-Mart's entry into the food business. It is becoming Sam Walton's version of the Garden of Eden. One stop shopping, the only place in town. Average quality, cheap price, everything you need. You can do your banking there, get gas, photos developed, birthday cakes made, fast food, appliances, electronics, CD's, prescriptions, tools, potted plants; I don't know about haircuts, drivers license renewal or dentistry, but can it be far off? Once Wal-Mart becomes omnipotent, there will be no need for towns to have other businesses. No one could compete. Someday small towns will simply be built around the mega Wal-Mart complex. It would cover several city blocks. The Big Wal would own towns the way coal mines used to own communities. It would be the nightmare version of the `company store.' The Big Wal management would become the benevolent city council. Everyone in town would be an employee, would live in company housing, get company insurance, go to the company hospital, go to the company church and attend company school. It would be so convenient, so Orwellian. Out of deference to the founder, communities would be renamed. Waltonton, D.C., Walburg, Sam's Town, New Walton, Walton City, Walton Springs, the United States of Walton. A Utopian world, Wally World, but wait... Although it is possible to imagine the aforementioned scenario, I suspect in 25 years Wal-Mart will not be the influential megolith it is today. It will be replaced by service and technology beyond our imagination right now. We might not need tires, cloth, banks, barbers, blue suede shoes, televisions, prescriptions or gasoline. After all, who had a cellular phone, microwave popcorn or an $800 per month prescription drug bill 25 years ago? Sam Walton is no different than Henry Ford, Bill Gates, Microsoft or McDonalds. They had a better idea that put millions of people out of work.
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