"The collateral damage is huge," Stephen Cohen, a regional planning professor at the University of California at Berkeley told the Associated Press last week. "We've never had anything like this. This affects the entire economy." He's correct, too. The problem will affect the Christmas trade of major merchandisers and could actually be the death-blow for struggling corporations like K-Mart. On the other hand, what about out local merchants and the average customer? Will they actually be harmed at all? Probably not. Yes, there is a longshoremen's strike on the West Coast. Yes, there is probably billions of dollars of merchandise...
