Harder Than It Looks

Tasks Look Easy When Other People Do Them

After the recent primary in New York, it seems both the voters and the politicians are considering socialism. That is not a surprise. For voters, it is a type of envy. They believe everyone will be treated equally. They’re wrong. Insiders will always beat the system, and most people will lose.

The politicians’ motives are more complex. Thomas Sowell explains in part as deception:

“The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.”

The other part is a combination of ego and ignorance. They believe they are more intelligent than businesspeople. They have never been told they are wrong and have never bothered to understand what is involved in another person's job. The winner of the New York primary has never worked in a grocery store, let alone managed one, handled the logistics for a chain, or started one. In other words, he has no idea what is involved.

I worked in a grocery store almost sixty years ago while I was in college. I worked for two different managers at the A&P. One was one of the best in the company. The other was average. There was nothing wrong with him, and the store was reasonably well managed, but the difference was noticeable.

I went to a poorly managed local grocery store near my home today. As usual, one of the items on my list was not available. I can count on that happening every time I go there. My standard joke is that the store’s manager is somebody’s nephew.

I did my graduate work in Computer Science and Management Information Systems. I designed databases and computer systems while working with customers to understand their business requirements. I was amazed at the intricate details they had to keep straight. I had a supporting role. The systems I designed helped them. They set the rules based on corporate policy, employee agreements, and applicable standards. They also had to comply with federal, state, and local laws. If I thought the rules of my computer environment were complex, they had much more to consider.

We went to a meat-packing house. Customer demands for meat change almost daily. Some days are big hot dog days. On other days, people prefer fancier cuts of meat. That can change if people don’t feel they have money. The man explained that there is a one-inch-wide area in front of the hind leg. The first cut made at a specific one-eighth mark produces a distinct mix of meats. The industry is competitive, and margins are tight. If he picks the right spot, they make money that day. Choosing a different place can result in the plant losing money on that day.

Socialist leaders produce whatever they want, regardless of what customers need. The average person will have to stand in line and accept whatever is offered when they reach the front of the line. I go to an Orthodox Church. We’ve heard of people coming to America from Russia and being uneasy in our grocery stores. They were used to accepting whatever they could get. That they had to make a decision about every needed item was overwhelming.

Before you let a genius politician casually talk about starting a grocery chain, let’s talk about what’s involved in starting and running a grocery in New York City.

First, you need stores and warehouses. That means land and buildings, permits, approvals, and endless decisions. If you think it’s easy to get something built in New York City, you might talk to the man in the White House.

Where do you locate your stores? Will you put them where you can make more money or where the poor need them the most? If the latter, how much will you spend on steel bars and additional concrete to make it harder for items to be stolen? You’ll also have to pay for more security.

Then you design the interior. First, place the milk at the back, so people must go through the entire store to retrieve it. You need to decide on the aisle width and the amount of room to allocate for meat, frozen food, produce, etc. How much space do you want to set aside for soda, snacks, candy, and other items? Those companies pay you for shelf space and special display space at the end of a rack.

The city is densely packed and accessible only by bridges and tunnels. Land, labor, taxes, and the cost of shipping food and other goods into the city are higher than in other places. I was a union worker while I was in college. I also performed computer support for union benefits later in my career. Unions are needed because they keep wages and benefits from being too low. Once the stores are running, there are at least three unions to work with in the stores: Meat, Bakery, and Retail or Grocery. You will also deal with the Teamsters to move items to and from your warehouses and stores. There are also various unions involved when dealing with city workers and the people who build your buildings.

I remember a comment by a friend who was a manager. He said management would be easy if he didn't have to deal with people. You hear complaints about prices and the people running the current grocery chains in the city. You assume you could do better. You have no idea what it takes to deal with the people in the company, the customers, the unions, and the bureaucrats at all levels to run a grocery chain. You don’t want to be handling all the complaints the current owners are dealing with. If you go through with it, they’ll gladly leave the city’s grocery issues in your hands and go elsewhere.

These items are just the start. I don't have room here to list all the issues involved in setting up and running a grocery chain. If politicians and voters think they can do a better job, it is because they have no idea what is involved in the process.