Brown & Cole closure its own fault

The March 8 letter from Richard Treston was a testimony to what is wrong in our county today. Self-accountability is being replaced by the need to blame someone, or something, for anything that changes, which we choose not to accept without whining about some phantom enemy like "the Big Box Store." What part of low prices does he not understand as a consumer.
Brown & Cole have had over 20 years to prepare for the advent of Wal-Mart as a competitor in their business area. Their response to competitive pressure has been to bury their heads in the sand and hope Wal-Mart would just go away. Had Brown & Cole elected to streamline their operations, expand their supply chain, trim overhead, particularly in excessive management, generous fringe benefits, etc., and become a lower cost supplier, they would not be quitting business where Wal-Mart opens stores.

It seems odd to me that people here seem to think the outside world, far bigger and more powerful than the local economy, will change to accommodate the way locals want things to remain. A more prudent approach is to recognize that "outside" is coming and we need to plan and prepare in effective and acceptable ways. Intelligent and careful preparation will at least ensure change is implemented with as much local input as practical. Head-in-the-sand planning produces "resistance-is-futile" results.

Dan Cone, Anacortes

Letters to the Editor - Skagit Valley Herald