Tell that to the former owners of the corner grocery stores that no longer are. The supermarket that Walmart represents is what put them out of business...the "sam walton" of the nation now own what these people once did...and tell it to the thousands of walmart employees who replaced the corner store owners and now work for a far poorer wage...economic progression, I understand, but still a good example of the economic pie.
How does this, in any way, suggest the existence of an "economic pie" that is zero sum in nature?
If you want to discuss the pros and cons of large businesses versus small, we can have that discussion. But Walmart created a business opportunity and continues to innovate and grow and provide jobs for unskilled workers who are paid fair value for their work -- in many cases, for people who would otherwise be unemployed. They provide better prices for consumers, and anywhere you see a Walmart store there is an entire community of OTHER BUSINESSES that have grown up around them, businesses which employ other workers (also at low wages, since that's what retail work has always paid).
It is not a re-slicing of any "economic pie". It is commerce, and it grows the entire economy.
Let me see if I understand what your position is:
Let's suppose we have GNP today of 15 trillion. If you were to discount that figure for (a) Population growth and (b) Inflation, could you arrive at GNP for 20, 30, 50, or 100 years ago?
The answer, of course, is NO. Because the "pie" has grown over all those years. And a "pie" that grows is no pie at all. |
