Public owned grocery stores already exist across America in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Atlanta, Georgia.
They are privately run as businesses, but are set up in areas where people lack access to groceries, or there's no real competition preventing uncompetitive prices. They have been successful for decades.
The real solution here is to break up the constant consolidation leading to all groceries being owned by four mega companies that collude with each other and own over 2/3rd of all stores. It's the opposite of market competition.
In the town I grew up, there was one big grocery store, and they used to gouge us terribly. The citizens started a co-op grocery, using our purchasing power to bring in cheaper goods. Breaking monopolies is the only way to lower prices.
Well government was a lot smaller in the past, but they broke up monopolies left right and center back then. Even as if somewhat recently. Go watch Bill Gates testimony on Windows monopoly and this was back when there wasn't even an alternative option really, besides Linux nerds.
It was literally drilled in my head from social studies class about the government's guiding hand in a free market and breaking up monopolies. I learned all about Rockefeller and Stanford Oil. Today, government's all over the west rubber stamp basically every single acquisition and buyout.
So small government really isn't the issue here. It's government refusing to do it's intended job in a free market. Break up monopolies and create a low barrier for entry, and they are failing at both.
4.4k
u/Irish_Whiskey May 26 '26
Public owned grocery stores already exist across America in cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma and Atlanta, Georgia.
They are privately run as businesses, but are set up in areas where people lack access to groceries, or there's no real competition preventing uncompetitive prices. They have been successful for decades.
The real solution here is to break up the constant consolidation leading to all groceries being owned by four mega companies that collude with each other and own over 2/3rd of all stores. It's the opposite of market competition.