Elitist Local Governments Around The Nation Seek To BAN Dollar Stores
I would bet money that you probably have some sort of dollar store near your house. It may be a Dollar General, Dollar Tree, or Family Dollar, but there is probably one close.
Personally, where I live, there are three Dollar Generals within five minutes from my house. They are everywhere.
But considering all of the dollar stores that are popping up everywhere, should the government have any say in your ability to shop at these stores for food? That’s actually an item of debate today.
Opponents of dollar stores often contradict each other or even themselves.
Critics objected when suburban growth sent stores running for whiter, more affluent suburbs. But dollar stores’ explicit attempts to reverse this trend—to set up affordable retail options in poorer, underserved neighborhoods—are somehow also the target of scorn.
You’ll also hear critics claim dollar stores engage in “predatory” behavior by offering prices that are simultaneously too low (undercutting potential competitors) and also too high (as compared to a per-unit cost at the Costco 15 miles away).
Haters complain retail jobs offered by dollar stores are “low quality and low-wage” but also that dollar stores don’t create enough of these low-quality, undesirable jobs. One is reminded of the Woody Allen line complaining about a restaurant’s “terrible food…and such small portions!” (Fee)
If you’ve been reading my writings long enough, then you know that I’m staunchly against government regulation of goods and services altogether. When you take the government out of the capitalism equation, it will correct itself.
For example, if the store is meeting the needs of a local community and they’re happy to do business there, let it be.
If a store wants to charge $10 per gallon for milk so they can afford to pay their employees $15 per hour and they lose business and have to shut down, let it be.
That is the absolute beauty of the free market. It prevents one company from taking advantage of people, at least in the long term because their business model is not viable.