[rellimpank]

--I can't help but notice the same people who think Wal-Mart prices are too low think gas prices are too high--

[Fury]

--I can't help but notice the same people who think Wal-Mart prices are too low think gas prices are too high--

Walmart is subject to the same quality-price-value equation that all other folks are subject to.

I often find that buying a quality product, regardless of where it is made and where it is sold, is worth the initial cost, if at all possible

[Old_Mil]

--I can't help but notice the same people who think Wal-Mart prices are too low think gas prices are too high--

When you say "gas prices are too high", it begs the question "too high in relation to what?" Clearly, from one angle gas prices are set by a variety of market conditions and are supported at a level that the international market will support. There are some stupid government tricks that come into play to raise such prices beyond a purely market price (taxes, restrictions on refineries by environmentalists, etc) but the price is still essentially market driven.

From another perspective, however, gas prices are "too high." That perspective is one of "gas prices are too high for Americans to maintain our standard of living." If current trends continue, gas prices will remain too high for the kid in high school to go cruising in a Mustang on a Saturday night. They will be too high for a family to drive to the lake on a weekend and spend that weekend on their motorboat. They will be too high for commuters to live in a quality suburb and deal with that 40 mile round trip commute on a daily basis.

When two unlike systems have enough complex interactions for a long enough period of time, equilibrium is the inevitable result. Economics is not immune to this rule.

The dilution of the middle class standard of living is a cause of concern for many in America and is the motive behind books/articles such as this.

[Labyrinthos]

--I can't help but notice the same people who think Wal-Mart prices are too low think gas prices are too high--

I think Walmart proces are too low and that gas prices ought to be a lot higher if we really want an alternative to buying oil from our enemies.

[dogbyte12]

But isn't Wal-Mart a bamboozlement for certain products. I look at people in their 80's, who are still using the high quality, attractive toasters, blenders, stoves from the 50's that they bought, and then you have Wal-Mart goods.

Instead of being offered a $50 toaster that lasts a lifetime, made by skilled workers, we get one for $12.99 that lasts 3 years. People think they are "saving" but after the 4th toaster, they are behind and they bought foreign crap instead of domestic.

That is what Wal-Mart means to me. America in the 50's and 60's made high quality, "pricy" things. But they really weren't so pricy. First came the Japanese, then other countries importing CRAP for low prices, and we changed our model. But they actually made crap better than we did, so we lost both ways. Japan turned away from crap into high end electronics. We lagged. They turned into affordable, high quality fuel efficient cars, and we created the Pinto.

Wal-Mart didn't start the trend, they just nationalized it, and sped up the process. Wal-Mart is good in the short run, but not the long run. Yes, we can fill up our landfills with all the crap from Wal-Mart, rinse and repeat, or we can manufacture goods that the growing middle and upper classes throughout the world want to have creating wealth and jobs here that are not greeter or checker or stocker. The choice is ours.