For Mom and Pop Tammy

UPDATE: As noted before, and discussed yesterday on the Dennis Prager Show, "[t]he Middle East fell behind the West because it failed to produce commercial institutions—most notably joint-stock companies—that were capable of mobilising large quantities of productive resources and enduring over time."

Sorry Tammy, but modern commerce would not exist with only Mom and Pop stores.

"Every day, Americans visit chain stores in search of bargains. A world without them might seem implausible. Even as the District of Columbia debates whether to welcome Wal-Mart, Washingtonians can buy Cheerios on special at Safeway and shop at the Liz Claiborne sale at Macy’s. From a Whirlpool dryer to Lady Gaga’s latest recording, the best price on name-brand merchandise is rarely found at independent neighborhood stores. But what would a world without chain stores look like?" Read the Washington Post, Imagining a world without chain stores.