NEWTON'S LAW: SHOE PLANT CLOSINGS: CLOSETS, NOT THEORIES, PROVIDE ANSWERS

Economic theory has always been elusive to me. It was never my strong suit in high school and college classes. I recall something about a guy named Adam Smith. Some worshipped him as a god; others found him full of beans. ~I remained indifferent.

Anything more complex than the little ledger in front of the checkbook baffles me. Money goes in, money goes out. At times, simple.

People swear by Milton Friedman and Alan Greenspan. Who am I to doubt them? If they are total boneheads, how would I go about calling their hand? They would toss me supply-side theories and I would regale them with tales of my checking account.

Thus, when it comes to analyzing the market economy, with all its forces, causes and effects, I am ill-suited to comment beyond a standard run of cliches. (The fittest survive, and so forth.)

In the marketplace, goods fetch what people will pay for them. If people won't pay that price, it ~comes down. If people still won't pay that price, the good ceases to be in the marketplace. Simple, at times.

There are probably all sorts of theories to explain why the Brown Group, whose shoe enterprises have provided numerous jobs throughout Southeast Missouri for years, has reached a point where it can no longer afford to keep its Bootheel factories in operation.

A dismal economy hasn't helped. The reason you hear most often, however, is that "cheap imports" (the phrase is always written with quotation marks) have choked the marketplace.

Don't turn to theories; go to your closet. There, you will find imports, not all that are cheap.

Like most males, I don't own many shoes. I don't regard shoes as a fashion accessory and, as long as they're not pinching my toes, don't think much about them.

The two pairs of shoes I wear most often at work were manufactured in Maine. I declare this without making any claim to America-first convictions; I happened to like the shoes at the price they were being offered and would have bought them regardless of their origin.

American labor organizations don't care for that attitude, but that's the way I shop ... and the way most people shop.

Another pair of shoes I own, athletic footwear, carries a British flag as a logo but was actually manufactured in Thailand. I know the same number of people in Thailand that I know in Maine. Maybe I should feel less patriotic when wearing my sneakers, but this doesn't cross my mind.

My wife owns more shoes than I do. Some are American-made; most carry notification of their roots in Taiwan or China.

My oldest son wears the type of basketball shoes favored by noted Americans Michael Jordan and Spike Lee. The shoes were made in South Korea.

So, who is to blame for the closing of Brown Shoe facilities in Southeast Missouri? The shutdowns resulted in the loss of more than 1,400 jobs.

Do we blame American consumers like me, who don't always put national interest at the forefront of footwear decisions? Do we blame them for spending more time in rubber soles than they did 20 years ago?

Do we blame the Koreans or Thai for according labor rates that prove more profitable for shoe manufacturers? Do we blame the companies for taking the profits?

Do we blame Brown Group executives for not having price-competitive shoes? Do we blame them for not landing Michael Jordan to pitch their products? Do we blame Spike Lee, who should be accustomed to blame by now?

Do we blame the Brown employees of Southeast Missouri for wanting a living wage? Do we blame them for not giving enough to a company that had become a part of their lives?

That's the trouble with economic theories: there's no one to point the finger at with any certainty. All we know is that market forces can be brutal, and they are painful when landing close to home.