"Save us from self-appointed elite"

More fallout from TV Reed's latest letter, today from Don Pelton in the Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

“Let them eat cake,” said Marie Antoinette in contempt of the ignorant French peasants who cried out against high bread prices and taxes imposed by a small, but noble elite. (“Cake” referred to the burned flour crust remaining on the floor of ovens after baking bread.)

“Let them shop at the Moscow Wal-Mart” is the common response from the Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development leadership as it expresses similar contempt for many of Pullman’s people. “Let them buy their junk and shoddy goods in Moscow, but keep them out of Pullman.” PARD believes Wal-Mart is an evil business owned by evil people. Thus, it is for the public good to block Wal-Mart anywhere. (Note: I know some of those evil owners — stockholders — live right here in Pullman.)

Those “ignorant” Pullman shoppers number more than 5,000 persons in an average week who drive to Wal-Mart in Moscow to spend an amount at least as large as the weekly sales at either Safeway or Dissmores in Pullman.

There seems to be little evidence, if any, that anyone in PARD knows very much about business. And it seems doubtful that very many PARD members have ever read even one page from an elementary economics text book. Yet, these are the folks who tell us they are going to the Supreme Court to force the creation of their business model on Pullman.

PARD’s model worked very well in 1907, but in the 21st century it would be ruinous. Let us hope that common sense saves us from these self-appointed elite.

Don Pelton, Pullman

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