It's been a few months and some of the details have grown a bit fuzzy in my mind, but in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- and throughout Michigan, Indiana, an

It's been a few months and some of the details have grown a bit fuzzy in my mind, but in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan -- and throughout Michigan, Indiana, and elsewhere regionally that the story touched upon -- erstwhile big box retailers have started controlling ownership and leasing to PREVENT any sort of effective competition from taking over and using the "boxes" they abandon. Even after they move out of one, they effecively prevent the local community and private developers from putting it to good use. As far as I'm concerned, the FTC should be investigating and looking to break them up. In cities, they form an incomplete oligarchy. In smaller communities, they've become a very effective monopoly, and they demonstrate overt, brazen business practices squashing competition to further consolidate and perpetuate this. In other words, they are not simply competing on "price", anymore. (Where that pricing was already disadvantageous due to political influence with respect to taxes, international trade, et al.) They are purchasing and exerting outright political and legislative favor to disable competitors including by separating them from otherwise available resources.