The Kroger-Albertsons merger needs to be stopped

The merger of Kroger (Ralphs) and Albertsons (which includes Vons and Safeway) would do no one any good, unless you happen to be one of the owners of these two giant grocery chains. It would effectively end meaningful supermarket competition in California, creating a single monster-sized entity that would control both retail food prices and the grocery store worker labor market. Making things worse is the companies’ plan to divest "unnecessary" stores after the merger, which in Palm Springs, for example, means getting rid of the Albertsons on Sunrise Way and the Vons on East Palm Canyon Drive. Those stores will be spun off to an East Coast wholesaler with no experience in the California retail market, a move that's certain to eventually result in shuttered buildings and lost jobs, with families then forced to pay whatever mega-Ralphs wants to charge for its goods. While we’re lucky to have independents like Stater Bros. and Cardenas to fill some of the gap, the reality is that Kroger will be the big player, well situated for gobbling up smaller chains in its march toward market supremacy.

There isn’t a single benefit to consumers or workers from this deal. It needs to be stopped.

Nick Pace, Palm Springs

The president's cabinet provides checks and balances

A recent letter contained this sentence: "Over the past few weeks, Joe Biden has shown the public that he is clearly lacking the mental acuity to run this country effectively." Fortunately, we live in a country where the president is not a dictator and does not run the country. Instead, with the approval of Congress, the president selects cabinet members who are supposed to be competent experts in their fields. The president follows their advice. Also, Congress is able to override the president. So, even though the president is a bit slow, we can do just fine if he is elected again.

It's unfortunate that we may need to choose between Biden and Trump, but the situation is much less dismal than many people suppose.

Frank R. Eggers, Palm Springs

Grocery store sticker shock

There is general agreement that one persistent and powerful cause of inflation is the cost of groceries. If Donald Trump is elected, everyone who eats is going to suffer serious sticker shock.

The GOP’s platform includes the following plank: “Carry out the largest deportation in American history.” The Center for Migration Studies reports that 57% of crop workers in the U.S. are immigrants and slightly more than 34% are undocumented. If Donald Trump and his party win election, a minimum of 283,000 workers will be deported. That figure will surely grow even larger if their “largest deportation” isn’t sophisticated enough to separate undocumented workers from the rest.

Trump’s angry and often inaccurate ranting about immigrants is front and center in his campaign, but the solution he offers is just plain foolish. If you think a head of lettuce or a bag of apples is expensive now, just wait until more than a quarter-million crop workers vanish. Lettuce and apples could easily cost more than a gallon of gas. The only rational response is also the most obvious – vote as if your grocery bill depends on it.

David Hamlin, Palm Springs