Conservatives often accuse liberals of refusing to acknowledge the existence of, and to stand up to, evil. Not true. Liberals are showing an increasing willingness to fight what they see as the most evil force in the modern world: Wal-Mart. George Will looks at this epic battle of good (liberals) vs. evil (low, low prices) in his latest column:
People who buy their groceries from Wal-Mart -- it has one-fifth of the nation's grocery business -- save at least 17 percent. But because unions are strong in many grocery stores trying to compete with Wal-Mart, unions are yanking on the Democratic Party's leash, demanding laws to force Wal-Mart to pay wages and benefits higher than those that already are high enough to attract 77 times more applicants than there were jobs at this store.
The big-hearted progressives on Chicago's City Council, evidently unconcerned that the city gets zero sales tax revenues from a half a billion dollars that Chicago residents spend in the 42 suburban Wal-Marts, have passed a bill that, by dictating wages and benefits, would keep Wal-Marts from locating in the city. Richard Daley, a bread-and-butter Democrat, used his first veto in 17 years as mayor to swat it away.
Liberals think their campaign against Wal-Mart is a way of introducing the subject of class into America's political argument, and they are more correct than they understand. Their campaign is liberalism as condescension. It is a philosophic repugnance toward markets because consumer sovereignty results in the masses making messes. Liberals, aghast, see the choices Americans make with their dollars and their ballots, and announce -- yes, announce -- that Americans are sorely in need of more supervision by ... liberals.
That's what we need, less shopping choices and higher prices. Am I missing anything. Oh yeah, I forgot the most important thing, more union dollar$ going to Democratic candidates. To hell with fighting terrorists. We need to stop Wal-Mart before it's too late!
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