Wal-Mart Getting Stronger - Again

In a move to further strengthen its grip on much of the American consumer market- and the global economy- Wal-Mart has announced that it will now offer free shipping to customers who order from the its website.

As the price-cutting in consumer products drags on, and Wal-Mart continues to consolidate its position as the clear winner, why on Earth would any company with an innovative product seek to make Wal-Mart their customer?

Still, I'm told flights to Bentonville are regularly full and Wal-Mart has no shortage of willing innovators lining up hoping to strike it rich.

Even the venerable Apple is now trying their hand at the Wal-Mart table.

Doesn't anybody realize who is actually going to pay for the "free shipping" in the end? It's the suppliers, of course.

The end results are inevitably commoditization, cheapened quality, outsourced jobs to low-wage markets, and the continued deindustrialization of America.