{"id":79,"date":"2004-06-10T02:03:58","date_gmt":"2004-06-10T08:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/index.php\/2004\/06\/10\/bargaining-universal\/"},"modified":"2006-02-16T02:04:56","modified_gmt":"2006-02-16T08:04:56","slug":"bargaining-universal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2004\/06\/bargaining-universal\/","title":{"rendered":"Bargaining universal"},"content":{"rendered":"
Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock<\/font><\/h6>\n

Thursday, June 10, 2004. <\/font><\/b><\/font>The small business community continues to make itself extinct. It’s so easy to hit Wal-Mart as it’s such a big target (pun intended) but it’s what we truly want.<\/font><\/p>\n

Bargaining is a basic human need as food and sex, if you think about it. Bargaining is also uniquely human. I could mean, but I don’t, that bargaining is the from-day-one haggling. That is not a need, and modern humanity finds it so unpleasant that we’ve moved around it to fixed prices; there’s scholarly theory on that, even.<\/font><\/p>\n

What I mean is the universal need to obtain something for less. This exists in barter and money situations alike. Everyone falls under its spell, not just the poor whose need for frugality is obvious, but also the rich. Sensible rich people, as in those who want to stay rich or become richer, hunt for bargains as that’s how they stay rich.<\/font><\/p>\n

This is also a need like food and sex in that it can become obsessive. Also and more interestingly is that these three basic needs also take in more than the basics. Food and sex, hunger and procreation, often become so much more, mean so much more, than the basic impulse. Food replaces loneliness or food is a reward or a punishment far outside nutrition. Sex is love, sex is control, oh, you name it.<\/font><\/p>\n

Likewise, bargain-hunting is a symbol made real.<\/font><\/p>\n

Back to Wal-Mart. If you can buy a microwave at the typical appliance dealer or for a third less at Wal-Mart, if not the same model then very similar ones (model brands and line numbers often are dissimilar for inventory reasons, if not marketing), a human has to go with Wal-Mart. To do business with the appliance dealer is only an act of charity, and, because bargaining is a basic human drive, patronizing the unique cannot last long. It is short-term. It is doomed.<\/font><\/p>\n

Maybe this is a specious argument. I am not a Wal-Mart shareholder or otherwise its apologist. But the Supercenter concept fills a need, not just for working people but for everybody with a wallet. Arkansas’ own Wal-Mart somehow got to be No. 1 employing a stable yet evolving cluster of buying and selling strategies; Kmart of Michigan and Target of Minnesota were, and are, on its heels.<\/font><\/p>\n

The person who says Wal-Mart is taking away jobs in their town, pointing at the giant’s wages and benefits, really should compare it with the wages, benefits and workers’ rights of Joe’s Old-Time Office Supply and Mom’s Home Appliance Center, not with the pay scale and break room of, say, the Microsoft home office.<\/font><\/p>\n

I’d rather not defend a Big Business like Wal-Mart, but its critics ought to find more worthwhile world problems to analyze. They look hypocritical on this one. -30-<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock Thursday, June 10, 2004. The small business community continues to make itself extinct. It’s so easy to hit Wal-Mart as it’s such a big target (pun intended) but it’s what we truly want. Bargaining is a basic human need as food and sex, if you think about it. Bargaining is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-79","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-american-culture"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":717,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2008\/11\/im-just-saying-im-just-saying\/","url_meta":{"origin":79,"position":0},"title":"I’m just saying, I’m just saying","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2008 Ben S. Pollock An evaluation of the run-off candidates for mayor of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The election is Tuesday the 25th, and early voting is under way. Though not today: The courthouse is closed. Brick never makes endorsements. Still, comments I've avoided should be made. The incumbent Dan Coody\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Body, Home, Street"","block_context":{"text":"Body, Home, Street","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/body-home-street\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":88,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2004\/07\/nyuk-nyuk-nyuk-palahniuk\/","url_meta":{"origin":79,"position":1},"title":"Nyuk nyuk nyuk Palahniuk","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"July 6, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock July 5-6, 2004 July 6, 2004. Addendum to the 7\/5 Brick below: I downloaded the Palahniuk interview and listened to it twice. The NPR reporter did open her piece with a warning that the writer spoke provocatively and that some comments were edited out. Sorry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News, Spin"","block_context":{"text":"News, Spin","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/news-spin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2005\/01\/hear-a-second\/","url_meta":{"origin":79,"position":2},"title":"Hear a second?","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"January 1, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Hear a second for the First? Copyright 2005 Ben S. Pollock Jan. 1, 2005: I won't look back to a year ago in the Brick. I try not to look back on much. There might be too much I might regret. Any regrets are too many. Besides, as cautious as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Technical Difficulties"","block_context":{"text":"Technical Difficulties","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/briefs\/technical-difficulties\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6305,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2019\/03\/guy-unangst\/","url_meta":{"origin":79,"position":3},"title":"Lunch. Free? Sure.","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 31, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Guy Unangst, early 1998, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newsroom, Little Rock. Photo by Sandra Tyler I have one good story about the recently departed editor Guy Unangst but didn\u2019t know it was a story until a new reporter in around 2004 asked me, \u201cDid you have a fistfight with Guy Unangst in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Life Lessons"","block_context":{"text":"Life Lessons","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/life-lessons\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Guy Unangst, early 1998, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette newsroom, Little Rock. Photo by Sandra Wyman","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guy-early-1998.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guy-early-1998.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guy-early-1998.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guy-early-1998.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-content\/uploads\/Guy-early-1998.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":60,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2004\/11\/palahniuk-storyteller\/","url_meta":{"origin":79,"position":4},"title":"Palahniuk, storyteller","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"November 7, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"This dude's a storyteller Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004: This is a book report on \"Diary\" by Chuck Palahniuk. It's not a book review, which I do occasionally for pay. So, it's a report, like back in school, except written by someone who thinks a lot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Course of Words"","block_context":{"text":"The Course of Words","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/course-of-words\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":78,"url":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/2004\/03\/the-passion-of-the-gimmick\/","url_meta":{"origin":79,"position":5},"title":"The Passion of the Gimmick","author":"Ben S. Pollock","date":"March 9, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Copyright 2004 Ben S. Pollock Tuesday, March 9, 2004. \"The Passion of the Christ.\" I have not seen the movie, though it's been out a couple of weeks. I am not curious about it, the way I have been about other movies about Christianity, and so may not see it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "American Culture"","block_context":{"text":"American Culture","link":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/category\/american-culture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/benpollock.com\/brick\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}