Big boxing: banning bargains.Do POLITICIANS stick up for the little guy or suck up to suck up to Verb Informal to flatter (a person in authority) in order to get something, such as praise or promotion big corporations? In the nation's largest brawl over big-box retailers, California pols are anxious to prove they're in the little guy's corner. Wal-Mart wants to open 40 supercenters in the Golden State, but many local officials worry that the retail giant's grocery prices are too low. They say that Wal-Mart will squash smaller businesses and that its non-union jobs will depress wages. From the Bay Area to Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , several cities have banned big-box retailers; others are pondering bans. But a recent analysis by the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. County Economic Development Corporation suggests that competition actually helps the little guy. It reports that Wal-Mart would bring jobs to communities that need them, and that lower grocery prices would bolster buying power Buying Power The money an investor has available to buy securities. In a margin account, the buying power is the total cash held in the brokerage account plus maximum margin available. Also referred to as "Excess Equity. . Critics dismiss the study as self-interested--Wal-Mart funded it--but it's not the first to associate the superstore with economic benefits: A 2001 study by two economists at Marshall University found that Wal-Mart increased local employment rates and wages. Of course, the world's largest retailer is only a part-time supporter of free markets. In Arvada, Colorado, local officials hungry for sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. revenues want to confiscate To expropriate private property for public use without compensating the owner under the authority of the Police Power of the government. To seize property. When property is confiscated it is transferred from private to public use, usually for reasons such as and drain a privately owned lake and erect a Wal-Mart. The dispute between landowners and government officials has grown so heated that the state Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case. Instead of booting David or banning Goliath, perhaps politicians should just let everyone play fair? |
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