[Vision2020] Palouse Monopoly Empire Mall; Gas/Food prices

Sun Apr 22 17:34:26 PDT 2007

Paul,

  I am not talking down to you. I am just typing. Sorry you feel that way, it was not my intent. I am lost as to how people can tell somebody's tone over the internet. All I see words, unless they stick a ! behind it. But even then, I don't know what kind of ! it is.  

  I am too not in such a desperate situation anymore that I MUST shop at a discount grocery store. However, I use to, and I know others that have to. I also am just naturally a frugal person. 

  I do disagree with you that making more money is a function of working hard. There are lots of people that work very hard, but will never be well off. Waitresses, Paramedics, Firefighters, CNAs, Caregivers, Teachers, and many others. People get wealthy because they happen to have a set of skills that produce wealth for somebody or they can invest wealth into something that earns them money. That is all it is.   

  There is a HUGE difference in price between Safeway and a SuperCenter. A 25% difference in price might just be $25 a week, but $100 a month is a big deal to someone only collecting $650 on disability, or even $900 a month on Social Security, or a single mom making $1100 a month working at the Co-Op. 

  No, poor people would not starve if we didn't have a super discount grocery store. However, their already worse living conditions would decline even further in order to pull the resources to afford the food they need. What would you give up to eat? Everything you had if necessary, right? You have to eat. 

  The greater the percentage of resources that have to go to food, the less that goes to restaurants, theaters, services, and retail industries. The more people have to spend on the basics of life, the lower their quality of life. I think it unwise and unkind to ask others that have so little to give up more.

  As to your other question, about fuel consumption, I believe that making 10 stops at small local stores consumes more fuel than a truck just stopping once and unloading the entire at load at one destination at a large store. Naturally, those costs have to be passed on to the customers. 

    Best,

  Donovan 

Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
  Donovan Arnold wrote:     Paul,

  It seems to me you are saying that if people cannot afford a $1 loaf of bread at WinCo they can always go buy a cake at Safeway for $19.95? 
    I think you fail to grasp the concept that for thousands of people on the Palouse WinCo is something they can barely afford now. Safeway is not an option for many anymore than having fresh bread vacuum sealed and Fed Ex'd from Paris for many others.

Ok, it's been a while since I lived from one hoard of Ramen bought at the cheapest price I could find to the next.  That's true.  I have been there, though.  But is Safeway really that much more expensive?  Are we talking your $1 loaf of bread costing $4 at Safeway, or $1.25?  How much cheaper is this magical "discount" store?  I understand it's great for bulk foods, but is it really that much more expensive to get the basics at Safeway or Rosauers?

  I am glad you have the option of spending so freely as to do all your shopping anywhere you want. However, many people only have a $150 budget for food or less and that doesn't buy much at Safeway. Top Ramen gets a little old after your 4000th helping over 5 years.

Well, I am glad you so often feel free to talk down to those of us who happen not to be in the same financial straights that you are.  I have worked my way up the ranks where I work and have been compensated accordingly.  I made myself useful to those above me, and acquired some skills that were needed on my own time.  I make more than some, but not nearly as much as others.  I refuse to feel guilty about it.

I did pay my way through college with no loans, though.  I did my time eating Ramen and saving up to rent a couple of videos to treat myself with once in a while.  And I did this by shopping at Safeway, mostly.  Ramen on sale at Safeway for 10 cents each is still a great deal, even if it's not at a qualified "discount" store.

Just so we're clear, while I do eat out a lot, I mostly live on PBJs and such.  I am a bachelor, after all.  $10 will get me quite a few sandwiches, even at the "expensive" stores.

  Safeway is NOT a super discount store. It is not for the poor and underclasses, it serves primarily the middle and upper middle class neighborhoods surrounding the area. People go there mostly for convenience of location or to avoid the large crowds at WinCo.

If WinCo went the way of the dodo bird, would those who shop at WinCo starve?  I seem to remember a time before WinCo appeared where we did not have mass starvations and famine.  Maybe my "middle class" status blinded me to the facts?

I am curious, like I mentioned before, whether these massive chain stores (even discount ones) are more at risk from rising gas prices than Mom-and-Pop stores.  Presumably, they do more shipping than smaller stores need to do.  If the gas prices are higher in Tuscaloosa, do they average it out over all the stores price-wise?

Paul

  Best,

  Donovan 

Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:
  I could have sworn I bought food at a massive chain store the other day in the other mall.  Anyway, I don't think the Winco retail chain is being overly hurt by UI and WSU student population declines.  Maybe this branch, but I'd like to see some figures first.  I'm also wondering if large supermarket chains, such as Winco, aren't just raising prices all over in an attempt to cover losses in other places.  Anyway, there are alternatives to Winco.  There must be, because I rarely shop there (except to buy the occasional Pocky sticks) and I need food to survive just like everybody else.  I'd be interested to find out if local stores, such as the Co-op, are having to raise their prices more than the big-name stores.  Presumably, this same rise in prices due to gas prices will affect everything that is shipped by truck - not just food.  Walmart is basically built on the idea of massive transportation of goods quickly.  I'd imagine that the rise in gas prices will affect it
 more than most stores.

As for the honey bee problem, I'm hoping that it will work itself out the natural way.  The 40% of bees that are left will breed resistance to whatever it is that is killing them off, and the survivors will flourish because there is now so little competition for them individually.

Also, the Palouse Mall does not have a monopoly.  There is nothing that they are doing that would stop another developer from building their own mall.  If you want to protest the high prices they charge for rental space, don't shop there.  You'll find there are a number of alternatives out there.

Paul

Donovan Arnold wrote:     Food prices are only going to go up even more for several reasons;

  1) The massive extinction of honey bees has created a void in pollination of 1/3 of the US food supply. 60% of honey bees have died, with no cure or solution in the near future.

  2) Increases in fuel prices increase the shipping costs of food. 

  3) Many crops were wiped out this year due in the freakish winter storms. For example, oranges had a massive freeze.

  4) The UI and WSU student populations have decreased, the main income for Winco. With a reduced volume in sales, Winco has to raise prices to cover losses in volume sales.

  5) No competition. With no other discount grocery stores in the area, like say a Super Wal-Mart, Winco can raise its prices with no consequences, everybody has to eat.

  6) The owners of the Palouse Empire Mall are raising their rents. 

  I think it is obvious, Moscow needs competition in the area to curve rising prices. It also needs to do some sting operations on gas price fixing which obviously is going on. 

  Maybe, many of you guys should call Pat Vaughn and ask him to reassess the property value of the Palouse Empire Mall, which is monopoly. Perhaps if the mall can make such huge increases in their leases, the value of the only active retail mall on the Palouse is much higher than what the County Assessor has it listed as. 

  If I had the time, and a personal interest at stake, like so many of you do, I would contest the taxable value of the Palouse Empire Mall. It is clear that it has a really high value since it is able to charge so much for its lease spaces and has no real competition. Moscow is probably losing $100,000s in tax revenue that could go to things like finding a new space for the public bus to park on the west side of town, and to give property tax breaks to locally owned businesses that are having a hard time due to the fact no mall will let them conduct business on their property. Just a thought to those litigious and want what's best and for our community.

  Best,

  Donovan

Ellen Roskovich <gussie443 at hotmail.com> wrote:
      As the cost of gas continues to climb at the pumps, the price of food starts to rise at the grocery stores.  Has anyone else noticed this recently?

  Ellen Roskovich

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=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet, 
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. 
http://www.fsr.net 
mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

---------------------------------
  Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
Check out new cars at Yahoo! Autos. 
=======================================================
List services made available by First Step Internet, 
serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. 
http://www.fsr.net 
mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================

---------------------------------
Ahhh...imagining that irresistible "new car" smell?
 Check outnew cars at Yahoo! Autos.
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