Murder Inc. and the Invisible Hand of Capitalism

Earlier today the owner of Murder Inc., a Manhattan based bookseller, announced that after 35 years in operation the store would be closing its doors at the end of the year. The owner, Jay Pearsall, when asked about his store's closure by an anchor on CNBC refused to blame anyone for his demise. Yes, he admitted that Amazon cut into his mail order business and yes, the Barnes & Noble that at one point opened in his neighborhood cut into his core store business. He was not bitter, though. While I'm sure he was not thrilled to be closing shop he did not get on the populist bandwagon and declare that small business was dead, corporate america is evil, and that the U.S. is destined to become a second class power. You could tell that the anchor was hoping for this type of answer. He refused. Pearsall's final words on the closing were, "if the market says it's time to go, then it's time to go." The invisible hand of capitalism can sometimes be cruel but ultimately it rules the day. Pearsall understands this and instead of bitching and moaning I trust he will use his abundant intelligence to do something else that he finds fulfilling.

Now if he understands so elegantly how capitalism works, why can't politicians and regulators?