Big Bad Wal-Mart is Coming … Watch Out

Posted on by Maurice Harris

An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today discusses Wal-Mart’s decision to expand some of its discount stores to Supercenters, which include a full-service grocery, and to challenge the local grocery industry. Whenever Wal-Mart opens a new store or expands to challenge a new market, it causes consternation in some, because of their views on Wal-Mart’s business practices. This is happening in the St. Louis area, where some people — especially those who are employed at Dierbergs, Schnucks, and Shop ‘n Save — fear that Wal-Mart, whose workers are not unionized, will spur job cuts at other area stores with unionized workforces:

"The impact of Wal-Mart Supercenters on the local grocery industry is
an insidious attack on the region’s economy," Jim Dougherty, president
of Local 655 of the United Food & Commercial Workers, said Monday.
"Over the years, we’ve lost several thousand good-paying jobs because
Wal-Mart has siphoned off part of that business."

Yet grocers are taking steps to remain competitive with the coming Supercenters:

Among their moves: upscaling, in which the supermarkets have been
adding in-store gourmet coffee bars with Wi-Fi access; expanding
take-out food selections and areas; boosting the selection of organic
produce and natural foods; and upgrading wine and liquor departments.

Wal-Mart has been the recipient of both affection and hatred in the many years it has been a widespread chain store. One effect that cannot be denied, though, is the effect its competition has on prices — lowering them across the board when it opens a new store. And as difficult as competition can be for smaller competitors, in most cases this process doesn’t cause all the other grocery owners to shutter their stores.

In a free-market economy, people have the choice of where to shop, and that decision is based on individual tastes and preferences. For example, I go to Target frequently because I have a better shopping
experience there than at Wal-Mart, even though it’s a little more expensive. Businesses have survived competition with Wal-Mart because they have adapted — and continued to make a profit. I’m sure local grocers will do this even with Wal-Mart in town.

It’s the free market at work. Some people even enjoy it.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Backward

Posted on by David Stokes

Last night, University City voted to approve a new driving range facility at Ruth Park. We wrote about this yesterday here at SMI. I was not able to attend the council meeting, as, coincidently enough, the golf tournament I was playing in ran long, but as we shot 11 under as a team, it was well worth it.

As I said yesterday, there are good arguments on both sides, for and against the driving range, but the real disaster is that as part of the vote, the city decided to take control over the golf facility:

Residents who opposed the project extracted some concessions. The council voted Monday in favor of more oversight of the golf course operation and agreed to change it from a privately run operation to a city-run one.

Unbelievable. Cities all across America are selling or leasing their golf courses, including St. Louis, and we move in the other direction. Now the city gets to be responsible for employee pensions and other long-term costs. Just an absolutely terrible decision. U. City would have been much better off working out an agreement for a larger share of the profit if the driving range is a big success, as it well might be. That is very common in public-private partnership agreements, and would have served the city taxpayers well in both the short- and long-term.

Another Change of Schedule

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

There’s big news about the St. Louis Public Schools on the Post-Dispatch website:

As of mid-morning, the start of the new school year began without any glitches, said district spokeswoman Deborah Sistrunk.

Administrators from district headquarters were on hand at many of the schools to assist the principals on opening day, Sistrunk said.

I’m surprised — not that the first day went smoothly, but that the administrators left district headquarters to get a taste of real life in the schools. The district employed 196 administrators in 2006.

The Cost of Enforcing Immigration Laws

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Missouri’s hard-to-enforce policy toward illegal immigrants is in the news again. The St. Joseph News-Press reports on the uphill battle to prevent illegal immigrants from working:

The governor is asking the commission to use a computer database administered through the Department of Homeland Security to ensure the legitimacy of workers at the site. He wants the commission to terminate contracts or tax credits with developers who knowingly allow contractors to use illegal workers.

Proponents of these regulations argue that there’s a cost in unemployment or lower wages when we allow illegal immigrants to work. Even if that’s true (and it’s not clear to me that it is), we should also consider the costs of identifying illegal immigrants and tracking them down.

Ticket Scalping – A Great Idea

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Readers of Show-Me Daily already know that ticket scalping is a good thing. Here is an article in the Post-Dispatch about Gov. Blunt’s proposal to make it legal:

Current state law prohibits individual ticket holders, as well as teams, from reselling their tickets at more than the face value.

California-based Ticketmaster has been pushing for the repeal of ticket scalping laws nationwide so that unused tickets can be sold over the Internet.

Our economy would be completely shut down if everything had to be sold at its “face value.” Imagine what would happen if retail clothing stores couldn’t mark up T-shirts to cover the costs of transportation and rent, or if your valuable antiques had to be sold for the $3 your grandmother once paid for them. In those examples, the number that was once stuck on a product is no longer the market-clearing price. T-shirts and antiques are readily available because their prices are allowed to change. Consumers would benefit if ticket prices could change, too.

Home On the (Driving) Range

Posted on by David Stokes

There is a very interesting, yet controversial, proposal to install a lighted, modern driving range in Ruth Park in University City. The Post-Dispatch has a good article on it here. As a U. City resident who has played Ruth Park many times, I am going to try to get to the city council meeting tonight to listen to the debate and see the vote.

There are many good arguments for the driving range: 1) There really is a need in the mid-county area for one; 2) It would absolutely make money for the city; 3) It is just improving an existing driving range — one of those small ones where you hit and collect your own balls. 

There is really, to my mind, just one argument against it, but it’s a good one: Would you want to live right next door to a lighted driving range operating at night?  So, no doubt there is a little bit of NIMBY involved, but I can certainly understand the homeowners’ concerns. (For the record, I don’t live near Ruth Park.) People made this investment in their homes with Ruth Park as a 9-hole course, not a nighttime driving range.

My favorite part of the article though, was about the other objections to the proposal:

Some critics also oppose allowing a privately operated business in the public park and question the financial arrangements. Currently, the golf pro operates a private business and gives a return to University City. Officials are considering making him a municipal employee."

I don’t know whether the opposition to a private business in a public park is a knee-jerk anti-business attitude, or opponents reaching for any argument they can use, but it’s just silly. Businesses operate within parks all the time. We can probably all agree that Forest Park is the crown jewel of parks in our area, right? Let’s count the private businesses there: The Boathouse Restaurant, the 27-hole public golf course now operated by a private business that leases the land from the city, Triple A golf club is a semi-private club that has operated in the park for years, and Steinberg Skating Rink is operated by a private company. There are probably several more. The MUNY is a private business, but it might be non-profit, so I don’t know whether that counts. Anyway, there is nothing wrong with private businesses providing services within public parks and paying governments for the right to operate within those parks.

The current business arrangement with the golf course and U. City is a terrific example of innovative government. Operate the golf course like a business and lease the land from the city — sounds good to me. If the money is not there to operate the course without a subsidy, perhaps the potential of making the course fully run as a business, with all the attendent risk and reward, should be considered. Making the golf pro a city employee is a terrible idea — with that comes pension requirements, benefits, etc.  Not a good deal for U. City taxpayers. I have no idea how the council will vote tonight, and as I said, there are good arguments on both sides. I just hope the vote will be based on actual issues and not false arguments. Knowing the councilmembers as I do, I am confident it will be (based on the real issues).

No Excuse Left Behind

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

Thanks, Combest, for linking to an article in the St. Joseph News-Press about the St. Joseph School District’s response to No Child Left Behind:

Several other district subgroups didn’t meet goals this year. Black students, Hispanic students, students eligible for free and reduced-price lunches and non-English-speaking students didn’t meet the goal. If any of those subgroups miss the target again next year, the district could again appear on the “needing improvement” list. […]

Of the district’s overall scores, Cheri Patterson, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment, said, “We are darn proud of those scores. They are good scores.”

The implication is that a few unteachables are causing trouble for everyone. And I agree that 100 percent proficiency is not a realistic goal. But let’s see how good those “good scores” really are. The Post-Dispatch website shows that out of all the different grade levels and subjects, only for 3rd-grade, 5th-grade, and 6th-grade math did more than 50 percent of St. Joseph students achieve proficient or advanced scores. One hundred percent may be too high a bar — but is 50 percent? In fact, at the 3rd-grade level, the Special School District of St. Louis scored higher than St. Joseph in both subjects tested. If a special school district, in which 100 percent of students enrolled have disabilities or challenges, can teach more than half of its 3rd graders to read at their grade level, why can’t St. Joseph?

University City’s Residents Are Teed Off!

Posted on by Maurice Harris

In today’s St. Louis Post-Dispatch, an article discusses University City’s attempts to keep the municipal golf course profitable by adding a driving range. This is upsetting many residents, though, because of concerns that this will negatively impact their quality of life:

The residents, organized as the Ruth Park Preservation Committee, are
telling their neighbors about the project. The committee members say
the plan would harm the quality of life of their peaceful family
neighborhood. They say the driving range would make the neighborhood
less safe and would drastically increase traffic, decrease available
parking, lower property values and shine lights into neighbors’ homes.

The golf course has been funded through a subsidy because it has not been profitable. I understand that University City is trying to turn this around, but doing so at the expense of its citizens is a little unfair, espically when the golf course is zoned in a residential area. If the course cannot be profitable, the city should shut it down and save some of its taxpayers money, which can go toward more important uses, such as police and fire.

A Change of Schedule

Posted on by Sarah Brodsky

A St. Louis Post-Dispatch article reports on a tactic Wentzville students used to protest their high school’s switch from block to single-period scheduling:

Last spring, some district students filled out their MAP tests with gibberish, while others
simply left them blank. They said they wanted to send a message to administrators about their discontent with a new high school schedule. Administrators said it was unknown how many students intentionally failed the tests.

As usual, education requires the cooperation of those being educated. We see this happen again and again, although it’s usually less dramatic. Kids might ignore their homework, skip school, or stay home on the first day of classes.

In this case, the students found a very effective way to get the administration’s attention. MAP test scores aren’t reported to colleges or scholarship organizations. As one student said, "It was the only type of test that would affect the administration and not us."

Private schools don’t usually have this problem, because families choose to send their kids to them. If they don’t like one aspect of the school, such as the class schedule, they can either put up with it or find another school. But in a public school, many students have few other options. If the school adopts a policy they disagree with, they can’t vote with their feet. So, in this case, they voted with their MAP test scores.

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