Cheap Isn't Always Good

I believe that best things in life are free. Or so goes the song by Luther Vandross and Janet Jackson. But on the contrary, I think the best things in life comes with a cost. It is bad when an economy is flooded with too many things that are free.


Let's look at large retail stores such as Wal-Mart, for example. On the surface, Wal-Mart and other similar stores seem like a win-win for the American economy. Cheap labor produces cheap products by the mass and this makes things accessible to a large group of people. It seems like an ideal cycle in the economy. But I think this convenience creates a problem in society that limits hundreds of thousands of people to buying and working at places such as Wal-Mart long-term. I don't think many Americans would argue that this is a good thing.

Wal-Mart is bad for America because it puts business owners and manufactures in the United States out of business, or in tough spots, as the PBS special "Is Wal-Mart Good For America" pointed out. Smaller businesses or manufactures have to compete with the stores such as Wal-Mart that stocks their shelves with much from countries where labor is cheaper. When unable to do so, they go out of businesses and their employees loose their jobs. All of the sudden the job market is flooded with people who take jobs at stores like Wal-Mart to survive and then they also can't afford to purchase at more expensive stores, and often don't have enough incentive to pursue careers that allows them to get a better life-style.

The ability to get cheap things is good, but a market flooded with cheap things doesn't lead to a good lifestyle. All this perpetuates the vicious cycle that actually depresses our economy instead of bolstering it. The best things in life aren't free, and hopefully our economy will realize that the many benefits of having large retail stores like Wal-Mart among us comes with a cost we must all guard against.