I know how important Main Street grocery stores are to America, because I grew up in one

I travel from a household of grocers. For generations, my household ran a vicinity market store successful New Orleans, the benignant of spot wherever you knew your customers by name, wherever the nutrient came successful caller that morning, and wherever the store was arsenic overmuch a portion of the assemblage arsenic the religion down the thoroughfare oregon the schoolhouse astir the corner. That store didn't past Hurricane Katrina successful 2005. But what it stood for ne'er near me. A market store isn't conscionable a spot to bargain food. It's a cornerstone of the assemblage it serves.

Today, I person the privilege of lasting alongside autarkic grocers successful each country of the country: successful big-city neighborhoods, successful the suburbs and successful small, agrarian towns wherever the section grocer is 1 of the past anchors keeping Main Street alive. In excessively galore of those communities, the nearest alternate is an hr away. When that store closes, a municipality loses acold much than a spot to bargain groceries.

So, arsenic our federation conscionable celebrated our 250th birthday, it is worthy asking a bigger question: What benignant of America bash we want? I judge we privation an America of opportunity, a state wherever a household tin physique a business, walk it down and vie connected the spot of its service, its prime and its price. That is the American Dream, which looks a small antithetic successful each town, and it is thing worthy protecting.

WALMART, SAM'S CLUB SLASH PRICES ON THOUSANDS OF PRODUCTS AS TRUMP SAYS MOVE CAME AT HIS REQUEST

On July 8, Walmart announced terms cuts connected thousands of market and household items, and President Donald Trump praised the determination arsenic coming astatine his administration's petition to people America's 250th birthday, encouraging different retailers to travel suit. Independent grocers invited the president's efforts, due to the fact that lowering the outgo of feeding a household is simply a extremity we share.

Several large retail market chains person chopped prices aft encouragement from President Donald Trump. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

However, I judge free, unfastened and genuinely competitory markets are the cardinal to driving ratio passim the nutrient proviso concatenation and, ultimately, driving down prices for consumers. Free and competitory markets are a cornerstone of the American economy. Even President Theodore Roosevelt recognized that erstwhile excessively overmuch marketplace powerfulness is concentrated successful the hands of a few, contention suffers — arsenic bash consumers, workers and communities.

Independent grocers beryllium each time that contention works. They present exceptional value, caller produce, prime nutrient and deli offerings, personalized work and a buying acquisition rooted successful relationships. They put successful section farmers and suppliers, enactment schools and charities and reinvest successful the communities wherever they unrecorded and work. And a level playing tract isn't conscionable bully policy, it's captious to ensuring America's Main Street businesses tin proceed to innovate and thrive. A beardown Main Street is bully for consumers, bully for communities, and bully for America.

But markets lone enactment escaped and just erstwhile the basal rules of contention are respected. When a fistful of ascendant players turn ample capable to tilt the tract successful their favor, securing pricing and presumption nary 1 other tin get, not due to the fact that they are much businesslike oregon amended operators but simply due to the fact that of their size, contention stops moving the mode it should.

They usage that leverage to compression suppliers for amended presumption adjacent though astatine the extremity of the time independents are buying successful truckload quantities. And erstwhile the guardrails meant to support the marketplace just spell unenforced, arsenic they excessively often person implicit the years, it is Main Street that pays the price.

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Independent grocers are not asking for peculiar treatment, and we are not looking for a handout. We are asking for a just fight, the aforesaid changeable astatine occurrence this state has ever promised to anyone consenting to enactment for it.

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Give autarkic grocers that just shot, and they volition support doing what they person ever done: service their neighbors, make bully jobs and determination themselves backmost into the towns they telephone home. We basal acceptable to enactment with the medication and policymakers to fortify competition, grow user prime and support nutrient affordable for families crossed the country.

The store my household ran successful New Orleans is gone, but what it stood for lives connected successful thousands of grocers inactive down their counters today. Washington indispensable support their close to compete, and we tin support thing larger: an America wherever Main Street inactive has a warring chance.