jerrymoos@sbcglobal.net writes: Frontline on PBS had a show a few weeks ago about Wal-Mart, now the world's largest company, which epitomizes the triumph of Marketers over Manufacturers and how Wal-Mart forces their suppliers to relocate to China to drive production cost ever lower and Wal-Mart's margins ever higher. Bruce's description of the bike business is exactly what is being done to all US businesses by companies like Wal-Mart. It isn't WalMart that is doing that. It is us, the consumers! We demand the lowest price. When was the last time any of us tried to get someone to discount their product--including custom frames? I see it all the time when selling used stuff to listmembers. Greed, avarice, it causes people to do things like creating a spot for someone with vision like Sam Walton, the founder of WalMart to fill the vacuum by giving the consumer what they want. And, read Sam's book. He didn't exactly start off as a millionaire. Jerry knows about WalMart better than most because he was raised in Arkansas where it started. The second store was in my wife's hometown. The people were thrilled when a WalMart opened and the consumer still is. It is the small businessman who gets killed, just like what Bruce was talking about with the ever cheaper bikes from Taiwan and China (note, there is a difference). Lou Deeter, Orlando FL
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