Wal-Martization of America - Besides the fires, the big hassle in Southern California has been the thousands of grocery clerks picketing the three major supermarket chains (now only down to two). While Southern California a pretty robust selection of markets, I can only imagine what would happen if such a strike/LOCKOUT moved north to Sacramento. LA has plenty of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's and the local Gelson's and Bristol Farms chains. In Sacramento, we'd be in big trouble if our three largest chains went on strike or were locked out. We've only got one Whole Foods and a couple Trader Joe's in the area. According to my mom, shelves at Trader Joe's were bare and yet lines were still ten deep with customers honoring the picket lines.

So what's brought this scenario on? The root of all evil: Wal-Mart. The chains are arguing that in order to compete with the behemoth discounter, they'll need to keep costs down while also differentiating their service. I don't patronize Wal-Mart and even if I did, when it comes to groceries I'm motivated by quality and convenience, not by price (just see my Mastercard bill for the proof). I'm afraid my views might be clouded by my hatred of Wal-Mart, but I do have to questions whether the protections the unions are trying to keep in place are reasonable.

*AMENDED 3PM PST*