Posted on 05/31/2017 7:07:46 PM PDT by markomalley
Didn't have all that in my little rural hometown.
Yeah. Increased costs = higher prices.
Taxes and regulation are much more onerous in the USA than they are in the rest of the world. American industry and workers in America can outproduce the rest of the world given the same level of taxation and regulation. We have, however a much higher level thus higher prices for things made in America. There was no conspiracy by banks or corporations to go overseas for cheaper labor. Our government, or some would say, WE, did it to us. We have become a bureaucratic despotism that is strangling our own business and forcing it out of the country. Take the taxes and the regulation off of American industry and see it come flooding back. Labor in Indonesia is cheaper per hour but American labor is cheaper per unit of output which is where the bottom line is affected.
Taxes and regulation are much more onerous in the USA than they are in the rest of the world. American industry and workers in America can outproduce the rest of the world given the same level of taxation and regulation. We have, however a much higher level thus higher prices for things made in America. There was no conspiracy by banks or corporations to go overseas for cheaper labor. Our government, or some would say, WE, did it to us. We have become a bureaucratic despotism that is strangling our own business and forcing it out of the country. Take the taxes and the regulation off of American industry and see it come flooding back. Labor in Indonesia is cheaper per hour but American labor is cheaper per unit of output which is where the bottom line is affected.
I thought most of them had already closed years ago.
Haven’t malls always been about shopping for stuff that no one really needs (or at least a high percentage of that)?
The mall is/was a place where older people could get out of the house and take a healthy walk during the colder season. Where can they go if the malls close?
Embracing the trans and the pedophiles to sell kiddy sexualized products did not help (we know they embrace Kinsey to sell their crap)
Malls are indeed a wasteland
Our mall loved it when it got to host the local gun shows. They said it brought in lots of traffic. Plus I didn’t have to drive 20+ miles...
Translation - Come in and have dinner with a couple of drinks and then go out an impulse buy. Sorry, I am not going to a mall to experience that lifestyle.
“buying paint on line is not yet feasible”...funny that you mention this...the other week I ordered a 5 gallon can of Thompson deck sealant on line from Home Depot (free shipping and lazy). The delivery guy dropped it off right in front of the garage door so that my wife could drive into with her gas-guzzling SUV when she came home from work. Don’t think you could have put a bigger crimp in the can with out actually holing it.
Labor costs have gotten too high.
House homeless Veterans too. Lets turn the UN building into such a Shelter with cafeteria, health care, assisted living facility. Crime riddled mall in old neighborhood is being torn down....need I say what kind of area it had become? You were NOT SAFE even driving through that area in the day time unarmed.
Why should I shop in a crime riddled place with inadequate security and you won’t let me carry my Gun? Or you don’t carry any clothing, shoes in my size or style, I don’t wear Street Walker crap at my age 68, I need decent clothes and a Church dress or two or usable products? Then you have the cheap Chinese made crap that falls apart with 1 washing. I get better clothes from the Salvation Army. If I wanted rags I could keep using OLD clothes and not ever buy new ones. I still repair rips, tears, fix hems, cuffs, darn socks where the heel wears out. Hubby is 78 and he’s not changing his clothing style, past cargo pants and nice Polo shirts or T’s for around the house. Even picky about his shoes then older people have to be.
Even grocery stores have shifted away from providing regular size products, into Gigantic ones. 2 People can’t use up before they expire. I don’t need humongous boxes of any product except TP. And then the prices for smaller items has gone up and the size gone down. My motto is no sale, no coupon it sits on your shelf, if it is not a staple. I’m prepped to a certain degree, as we have ice, T Storms, damage power outages, 1 which many of Memphis and surrounds are still going through since Memorial Day. Approaching $20 M in damages. Looks like a Twister touched down not Straight Line Wind.
Thankful no loss of life so far. Just lots of damage and power outages. Power generators flying off shelves in every store that sells them. Most don’t even know how to safely use them or will read the manual. We’ve had 1 for years for that reason.
In short, we're pretty much reduced to two thriving malls: Arden Fair and Westfield Roseville Galleria. And both have major "tentpole" tenant stores, namely Nordstrom and Apple Store, to keep them going.
As someone noted upthread for their area, the two upscale malls around here are doing fine. And a couple of the new ‘outdoor’ style in the outer suburbs away from the ‘urban’ customers and rapid transit seem to be prospering.
Perhaps I should have said that any such conspiracy would be irrelevant in an unhampered market but that is another discussion.
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