What Should We Think About Chain Stores?

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Are chain stores good or bad? According to Prof. Art Carden, there are reasons to both like and dislike chain stores. The reasons to like chain stores include their ability to lower prices, increase variety, and reduce uncertainty. However, chain stores also do things to dislike such as pursuing special government privileges like subsidies and eminent domain.

Essentially, when chain stores respond to the incentives of the market, they create wealth for society. On the other hand, when chains stores respond to the incentives of the political process, they often produce detrimental effects for society.

Category:

Education

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• chain stores
• economics
• economist
• choice
• capitalism
• rent-seeking
• corporatism
• incentives
• think
• good
• bad
• pros
• cons
• corporation
• corporations
• big business
• chains
• walmart
• eminent domain
• lobbying
• learn liberty
• liberty
• video
• freedom

[greenfish13]

I love chain stores, you always know exactly what a Wal mart has when uou're away from home.

[Anonymous77513]

the reason for the Occupy wall street protests is because people hate banks responding to incentives from the government that come at the expense of the people. they tried hating the game so they are going to hate the player.

[TheSmackerlacker]

@VegasBilgeRat People are willing to buy cocaine too. Does that have a benefit?

[VegasBilgeRat]

@TheSmackerlacker The benefit is simple. If I want a delicious cold soda, I trade my hard earned money for a mutually agreed upon reasonable price. If people are willing to buy something, it has a benefit. Whether or not you agree with that doesn't stop it from being true.

[KeroroGunsouTX]

Part of the problem with this argument is the assumption that lower costs is ultimately "better" for the economy. Lower costs increases consumption, but does not necessarily create increased value to our lives. Additionally, anyone who really supports the free market should oppose corporate entities completely. Corporations are not products of the free market, they are products of just another form of government "regulation". An abstract entity cannot "own" property or ideas.

[sniperontheroof123]

@TheSmackerlacker a quick google search of "artificial sweetener" will tell anyone all about the potential dangers of diet coke, and looking up "sugar obesity" will tell you about the potential dangers about the regular kind.

Ignorance usually isn't the reason why people engage in harmful behaviors, virtually all smokers are aware of lung cancer, its common sense that junk food will make you fat. There's nothing misleading about the amount of sugar in a Coke; it's written on the back of the can

[TheSmackerlacker]

@sniperontheroof123 @sniperontheroof123 I'm not going to argue that people should not be allowed to drink coke, but I will argue that they have the right to know that what they're drinking is addictive, concentrated poison, which most people do not.

You can't argue that someone freely chose to drink Coke, which is extremely harmful, and thus is solely responsible for that harm, when the fact that it is harmful was hidden from them.

[TheSmackerlacker]

No one ever addresses the real problem with free markets. Take soda. Soda products are primarily sugar, salt and caffeine (not counting water).

The salt is there because it causes you to retain water, making you thirsty.

The caffeine is there because it causes you to evacuate water, making you thirsty.

The sugar is there to cover the taste of the salt and caffeine.

Consuming so much sugar makes you fat, causing you to crave sugary beverages.

How does this "benefit everyone"? I don't see it.

[KittenKoder]

Downtown Seattle is the perfect example of what happens when chain stores are pushed out of the area. It's not pretty.

[rmcdaniel423]

2:12-2:26

"Capitalism is about choice. Gov't intervention is the use of force. When a business uses gov't subsidies and eminent domain to run its business, that's NOT capitalism. That's NOT the free market.  That's STEALING."

(worth repeating...so I repeated it)