Give The Lady What She Wants
That is the biography title for Marshal Fields. It was their policy. Their return program started with an apology and however stupid the clerk might think the reason, the return was allowed. The policy was unique – then and now. There is no longer a Marshal Fields. It is owned by Macy's. My mother shopped there a lot. It was upscale but not ostentatiously so. People avoid that appearance.
You may gather that I am not that happy with the world around me. Its true. When I interact with most business, it isn't like it was in the past. I see how it happened and we're more at fault for it than even the businesses that used our frailties to cause Marshal Fields to go belly up.
I am not blaming those companies. Understand that. I pretty close to Libertarian views. Even components of their platform I took with a grain of salt are looking more and more appealing. One of those is drugs. They are willing to let the marketplace sell drugs in a somewhat controlled environment. But, they'd let you destroy yourself. It'd make the wars in between the Mexican government and the drug cartels – along with how the Taliban funds their battle – mute.
I finally came to this idea when I saw laws often penalize the very folks they serve. Yeah, the UIGEA should be a wakeup call for all of us. Prohibiting human frailty is, at best, a zero sum game. Cigarettes, liquor, porn, and the rest of the list are things people enjoy. They may destroy themselves doing so but that happens regardless of laws.
Yesterday, we celebrated the iconoclast founders. Many of them were doing so for their own self-interests. Taxation without representation was a sham topic. The colonies were taxation was about 1/20th of the taxes in England. One of the real reasons was that they controlled who American business could trade with and that affected the bottom line.
We were better off than those from our family who migrated here. In my case part of that was the German migration about the turn of the 20th century. My fraternal grandmother was 1st generation. As far as I can tell, her parents were basically surfs – living like black sharecroppers did here. But here even those sharecroppers had some opportunity as the migration to northern cities proved.
We are still a barter society in many respects. It is a cash market but we still make trades every day. Traders seek an advantage. Success at trade is usual and a part of who we are. But, we're also filled with examples of that advantage being abused. That extends to the greedy corporates and what the unions can do to their 'brothers' and we saw the perfection of Communist ideals. That never changes. It just moves around.
The result of trade is the loss of Marshal Field and the ascendancy of Walmart. In my case, I found Walmart too expensive to continue to give my business – but that is another story. What was created was an entity that has so much business advantage that they don't have to give the lady or us anything beyond lip service.
So, when you are looking for a reason you are ignored or being put upon, look no farther than the mirror. You bartered away your clout thinking that this brave new world was offering you more than my German peasant ancestors.
So, now we have reverted, in no small way, back to serfdom. We are as subject to the vested interest of others as we ever were in the past. The only improvement are in the area of standard of living. That's technological and not a change in the human condition.
ADDENDUM:
Yes, this is a continuation of yesterday's rant. It is a lead-in to actual poker content. It won't be complimentary to any of us. Along the way, I'll show you how I can cut off my nose to spite my face. When push comes to shove, I really don't have to play poker. That makes the nose trim a modest event. So, tomorrow or so, I'll take on AlCantHang and Otis. Well, not really. But, I'm least happy with their employer and that's where my nose cutting will start.
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I agree with you to a point and I’m interested to see where this goes. That said, the system that surrounds us was put into place long before we got here. Since we can’t change it, isn’t it our obligation to use it to our advantage? As you seem to argue, if we don’t, someone else will – at our expense.
Makes me really glad I make my money the old fashioned way – from the government.
-DrC