Proposed merger of Whole Foods, Wild Oats
Re: “FTC sues to halt Wild Oats buyout,” June 6 business news story.
A Federal Trade Commission official claims, “If Whole Foods is allowed to devour Wild Oats, it will mean higher prices … .” But this is a myth.
When two companies merge, if the new company provides the best product at the lowest price, it can compete and prosper. If the company unnecessarily raises its prices, it only gives its rivals an opportunity to grow by underselling those prices while still making a profit.
But either way, companies have a moral right to merge with whomever they choose, without interference from government.
The FTC likes to accuse companies of “restraint of trade.” But only government can forcibly restrain trade – which is what the FTC is doing when it obstructs any merger. It is the FTC itself that kills free-market competition.
Richard Watts, Hayden
. . .
I was upset when Wild Oats took over Alfalfa’s, and I know a lot of Alfalfa’s employees were too. And now here comes a bigger fish. It’s not a question of anti-trust as much as a fear that everything is going to be owned by mega-corporations before long. And personally, I think the FTC is about as competent and uncorrupted as FEMA, FDA, EPA and the rest.
Jim Bernath, Englewood
Food Stamp Challenge: living on $25 a week
Re: “A taste of living on food stamps,” June 7 news story.
I read with amusement your article featuring Lucia Guzman grocery shopping for the week on $25, with a list of the purchases she made, including plain yogurt, soy milk and nut bread. She explains that she read labels, watches for calcium, cholesterol, fiber and makes nutritious choices. Although she is purportedly championing the noble cause of fighting hunger, her comment that “A lot of poor families aren’t able to make that kind of choice” is quite elitist.
Where did she get the idea that poor families can’t make intelligent food choices? They have the same opportunities to shop at the same stores as Guzman does, and can make nutritious food choices. That many people choose to spend their meager food stamp budget on junk food is unfortunate but not inevitable.
Education about healthy eating is available everywhere, on TV, at the food stamp agencies, even printed on the plastic produce bags at the grocery. The opportunities to make healthy choices are readily available to us all, whether or not we choose to take advantage of them.
Chelly Vitry, Denver
Suburbs can be just as noisy as the city
Re: “City sound should be loud, proud,” June 7 David Harsanyi column.
David Harsanyi portrays the city as loud and proud and the suburbs as mild. He claims that the city is inherently noisy with motorcycles, lawn mowers, freight trains, firetruck sirens, telephones, RTD buses and car stereos that go thump.
Does Harsanyi truly believe that those of us who live in the suburbs don’t own motorcycles or lawn mowers? Does he think the suburbs aren’t serviced by RTD buses or that our firetrucks don’t have sirens? I live in Littleton, only 1 mile from the train tracks, where countless freight trains pass by day and night.
Oh, yeah, and I have a telephone and a stereo that could go thump should I ever feel the need to be loud and proud.
Justine Miani, Littleton
“Improvements” since No Child Left Behind
Re: “Test scores rise since No Child law in ’02,” June 6 news story.
The Post’s article claims that Colorado public school students have shown gains since the No Child Left Behind law took effect across the nation.
When I attended a public elementary school, I was taught about the instruments in an orchestra and was able to identify each one while listening to classical records in class. I was taught to differentiate between the types of Greek columns in ancient architecture. I could name several American artists and describe their techniques. I memorized and recited great poems. Knowing these things did not get me a better job, but they changed my life, teaching me to appreciate the world in many ways. In contrast, while attending a Denver public elementary school, my son was taught to fill in bubbles and to write paragraphs (fitting inside a square template) addressing a topic selected daily from previous years’ CSAP tests.
In the article, the Center on Education Policy states that NCLB may not deserve all the credit for the stated gains. I believe students have shown gains because education has changed. Schools no longer enrich students. The new job of public education is not to broaden the horizons of children. Students no longer think outside the box. Since NCLB, the job of the public school is to make every student the same, to teach every student how to pass a state test, to ensure that every child is “standardized,” but that no one excels or fails.
The loss of an enriching education is a high price to pay for the “slight to moderate gains” of 1 percentage point. It comes at the cost of art, music, history and foreign languages, all of which build well- rounded students and adults.
Nina Barber, Denver
“Tear down this wall”
Twenty years ago, on June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan stood at the Brandenburg Gate, at that glaring monument to tyranny, the Berlin Wall. There he called upon Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to cease restraining millions of people’s freedom, to establish free-market trade and to replace oppression with democracy. “If you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization, come here to this gate. … Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” The Soviet Union’s decades-long communist dictatorship soon crumbled onto “the ash heap of history.” All who cherish freedom celebrate this watershed event.
Margaret L. Brady, Centennial
Highway work safety
Re: “Cone zones require your full attention,” June 9 editorial.
I wholeheartedly agree with the attention needed by drivers in the “cone zones.” However, the Colorado Department of Transportation could do a big favor for both drivers and its own workers by adding cones further upstream of the work area. Some drivers cannot notice, merge or react quickly enough to a short length of cones, resulting in many close calls and, of course, accidents and deaths. Seems like many cone zones I’ve seen could be doubled in length to be more appropriate. Perhaps CDOT could revisit its policy or enforcement – several hundred more feet of cones buys a lot of safety for the money.
Steve Fisher, Denver
Will Greece sue Google?
Re: “Greece accepts apology for Verizon’s Parthenon ad,” June 8 business news brief.
This article gave me a real laugh. Greek authorities are trying to enforce a totally unenforceable law that says they have to approve any commercial use of photos of ancient monuments in Greece. Go to Google Maps and put in “Parthenon, Athens, Greece” to get a lovely satellite image of the Parthenon. Go go Google Images and put in “Parthenon.” Lots of very nice images. Let’s see Greece try to enforce their use. Here’s a real case of tail-chasing.
Charles J. and Elizabeth S. Robinove, Monument
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