On 11/09/2019 04:44 PM, Ralph Mowery wrote:
Walmart is doing similar things. They will make a contract with a
company to buy much more than the company can produce. The company
borrows money to expand. The next time Walmart cuts the price of the
contract. The company has to take that reduced price as they have to
pay back a big load.

I worked for a trucking company that hauled freight for Walmart. Walmart
has its own fleet but they have to bid against outside carriers and the
cheapest one wins. The company eventually lost the contracts. It didn't
matter how well you performed just how cheaply you would work.

In another context, I worked for a company that supplied the styrofoam
clamshells to McDonalds. If the price of crystal styrene dropped a penny
a pound, MickeyD was on the phone looking for a price cut.

I'm always curious where exactly the billions came from. Take Bill
Gates. I picking him since there's every indication he's a decent guy
that won the lottery. I believe most of his billions are in the form of
Microsoft stock. Exactly what does that mean? What does it mean when
Microsoft gets the JEDI contract and Gates' wealth goes up 3% while
Bezos' goes down 1%?