at Walmart today already?

the root cause is not our government. I think its a 'scale-switch' in thinking that has led to poor long term business decisions. Peter Dreyfuss outlined all of this back in the mid 1950's.

 This "scale switch" as I call it is blinding many large corporations. The profits are so huge in certain sectors it has blinded them all to some very basic sound business.

GE has reached a scale where their vision is clouded by I think two things : One the Company is so huge now that the decision class is many levels above the generation mechanisms of the bottom line. Once that happens the decisions are now out of step with the actual profit making of the company. This has happened.

Also their other global divisions are so profitable that the profit their appliance division makes no longer appeals to the bean counters. 

Those are two very bad long term decisions - any business that turns away a profitable venture is weakening its place in the markets. That is a BAD business decision. 
All profitable ventures should be kept! -  just like a farmer keeps the seed corn even if he had a poor yield one year- if you sell the seed corn you are no longer available for the good harvest years and will deplete your reserves.

Its kind of like the economic difference between our English brethren and US.  In the UK traditionally if  you asked the "wealth" of a person you got quoted a rate! He or She is worth 2,000£/ week.

In the US if you ask the wealth of a person you get a fixed amount - He or She is worth $12 million dollars.

I like the European answer better because anyone's expenditures are always a rate for their entire lives and the best way to deal with a rate is another rate never a set amount. Because like water wearing down rock, the never ending rate of expenditure will eventually overtake any set amount of money, and then it will be gone.

That's why over here High End investment accountants have created a number for our wealthy, its called the "burn rate" - how fast their client is burning through their money. You could not apply a burn rate to  a rate of income. You could compare the pace.

Basically it all means GE wants to work less and make more - never a good idea in a changing world. That's a "retirement" decision.

And as far as I can see backwards and forwards in history the world is ever changing - just like the Yi Ching has always taught.

To keep up one needs to flow with the change.

Turning away from change is rejecting the world.

Like ELECTRO-SUX doesn't own enough of our $#*! 

Sooner or later, all those brands under its umbrella (Whirlpool, AND Frigidaire and now their long-time competitor, the one-time giant of the electric, electronics and appliance industry: GE?!) may find some sort of way to regain their independence and once-respective, dominant stature!

Well, otherwise, we're going to be back to EVERYTHING under ONE BRAND, now that SOMEONE cornered the market, until someone over-comes all the red-tape, governing and prohibitions and comes up with something new...

-- Dave

To me, Electrolux branded products are nothing more than glorified Frigidaire products and I don't perceive the quality to be all that great overall.  My fantasy dream would be E-Lux start producing and keep producing GE products an d position the products as their premium brand.  I just perceive GE products as being beter quality than even Electrolux.  GE Profile and GE Café have some nice products and features.  And GE Café was trying to come out with some color options you culd buy for certain appliances.