It is interesting that the GFC could achieve something the rest of us might have considered highly unlikely, the retreat of the ubiquitous golden arches.

Iceland says goodbye to McDonald's

Blamed for exporting obesity from the US, chew and spew, as it is known locally among the teens, still appears to be opening outlets whereever a vacant street corner is available. It appears no journey is complete without a stop at Macca's and yet we don't suffer from the problem in Iceland, local product is used, a business model so foriegn to a multinational, although I don't know where they get all those gerkins

paraclete

Elliot you are a little strange, arguing for argument sake, I don't want government to destroy small business but macca's isn't small business, it requires a significant investment which most small operators don't possess and in any case it is a foreign enterprise and should be regulated, particularly the nutritional content and source of the food. I define small business as a mum and dad operation just so we don't get into semantics here..

Long term freedom is never assured Elliot that requires vigilance and includes keeping control of multinational corporations.

ETWolverine

I see... so SOME businesses are ok, and others aren't.

Personally, I see businesses all the same. The size of the business doesn't really matter. The LAWS THAT GOVERN THEM SHOULD BE THE SAME.

You apparently want two different sets of rules for two different sets of businesses. You want government intervention for one set of businesses and not the other...

And you're warning ME about vigilance.

As I said before... once you open that bottle, the genie can't be put back in. Once you approve the intervention of government in SOME businesses, they ain't gonna stop there. They never do.

Elliot

paraclete

why don't you get real, isn't there already start up assistance for small business. Different business are treated differently but yes I want foreign corporations to be treated differently so they don't cheat and repatriate the profits through transfer pricing arrangements or pull out and leave the workers stranded without entitlements. You don't understand multinationals Elliot, because you are on the other end of the equation they are motivated by decisions made in boardrooms far away

ETWolverine

Yes. And I have a problem with that. The government's job is NOT to promote businesses, but rather to maintain the environment so that start-up businesses can promote themselves.

And I guess that all the people that they employ in your country... thus creating wealth in your country... and all the businesses in your country that they do business with (advertisers, suppliers, vendors of all types)... thus further creating wealth in your country... those things don't count. You are so worried about them "stealing profits" (which were legally earned, by the way, and therefore aren't "stealing" or "cheating") that you completely ignore the effect that shutting down a major employer and business-maker will have on your economy.

All so that you can give the mom-and-pop shop who employs 3 people a booste over their competition.

And you don't understand that a major multinational that does business in your country keeps hundreds, maybe thousands of people employed in your country. Paper-goods suppliers, truckers, advertisers, meat producers, and all the other odds and ends it takes to keep a fast food restaurant in business. Plus all their own employees...

Congratulations... you just saved three jobs for the mom and pop shop... by killing hundreds or thousands of other jobs.

Again, short-sighted thinking on the part of your government, and on your part for supporting it.

Elliot

phlanx

Elliot

I hate to agree with you, but you have to let businesses do what businesses do - make money, the more you make the bigger you become, and the more of a merket share you have - that is how capitalized democracy works

Without going into the whole thing, but you do need to limit the size of a company as monoplized industries is damaging to the consumer

Having been to Iceland to get back on track - Why would anyone choose a maccas when they have fresh fish on your doorsetp every day - seems strange that anyone would choose a bigmac over a king crab

tomder55

yes ,but I would choose a McFish over a big mac. Thing is.... if Micky D was so unpopular there wouldn't it fail on it's own ?

ETWolverine

I agree. And enforcing anti-trust laws is part of the government's responsibility under the heading of maintaining a free-market economic environment.

However, there are plenty of fast-food restaurants out there that don't fall under the heading of McDs or BK. There are plenty of successful fast food restaurants that are not part of a chain or a franchise. There are no bars to entering the market. Therefore, there is no reason to limit the actions of McDs or BK under anti-trust law.

Elliot

George_1950

Sounds as though Iceland is retreating into the third world.

NeedKarma

They rate pretty high on all indexes:
Human Development Index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Quality-of-life index - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Whenever I watch a travel show that goes to Iceland I am always amazed at how wonderful the people are. Here. learn more: Iceland Travel Information and Travel Guide - Lonely Planet

George_1950

I'm certain the people are nice, but not well-informed. The article says: "Iceland's three McDonald's restaurants - all in the capital, Reykjavik - will close next weekend, as the franchise owner gives in to falling profits caused by the collapse in the Icelandic krona."
and "Costs had doubled over the past year because of the fall in the krona and high import tariffs on imported goods...".

Trouble ahead for Iceland.