Note sull'episodio
This week, Rural King opened in Elmira to packed parking lots, ribbon cuttings and a lot of excitement.
I am a free-market capitalist and an entrepreneur. I have no objection to large retailers, and I hope Rural King succeeds. But Elmira has been struggling economically for decades, and that means every major development decision deserves serious scrutiny.
So this podcast asks a simple question: Is Rural King good for Elmira, Good for Rural King, or good for Both?
We are going to look past the opening-day crowds and examine the harder issues: net job creation, pressure on local hardware and farm stores, money leaving the region, big-box retail concentration, downtown development, location, and what happens if a large chain eventually leaves after smaller competitors have disappeared.
This is not an argument against Rural King. It is an argument for asking the questions that should have been asked before the ribbon was cut.