To the Editor:

I remember reading an article some 40 years ago about why Walmart was beating Kmart (" Target at the Tipping Point: What It Needs to Do Now," Cover Story, May 30). While Kmart was losing market share, management decided to remodel all of its stores to make them more attractive. Walmart, meanwhile, was investing in logistics and technology to manage inventory in stores and in warehouses.

Target some years ago was hacked, exposing the aging technology stack the company still used. So now it has decided that it needs to invest in technology? It's way too late. Target not only needs to invest in hardware and software, but probably also in most of its information-technology staff. As with Walmart, technology investment is an ongoing growth process. Making a quantum leap almost always fails.

Terrence Milan

On Barrons.com

Plan for Longevity

To the Editor:

I would like to add emphasis to Elizabeth O'Brien's message that it's a good idea to put off claiming Social Security benefits (" Retirees: Tune Out the Noise When Filing for Social Security," Retirement, May 30). Average life expectancy in America is 79 years, but the average includes everybody: drug and alcohol abusers, hot-tempered drivers, and infants who die soon after birth. Simply visiting your doctor and following advice will usually lead to longevity far beyond average. Preventives for hypertension, stroke, and heart disease are cheap and effective. Preparing to live for a century is rational behavior. I am 92, working, and healthy, a description that may eventually fit many or even most readers.

Dr. Claude O. Burdick

Livermore, Calif.

Paradigm Shift

To the Editor:

Regarding " This Investment Strategy Has Worked for 15 Years. It's Time for a Shift" (May 29): Another smart way to invest abroad is with aerospace and defense stocks. For example, the Select Stoxx Europe Aerospace & Defense exchange-traded fund is up 69% year to date.

Peter Dodge

St. Augustine, Fla.

Under Assault

To the Editor:

American exceptionalism may not be dead yet, but our democratic principles and Constitution are under assault (" U.S. Market Dominance Is On Pause. It Will Roar Back," Other Voices, May 29). There's plenty of research on the decline of sustainable economic growth in autocratic regimes. Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Daron Acemoglu won a Nobel Prize for his research on the superior growth of "inclusive" (more democratic) versus autocratic (exploitative) governments. American exceptionalism may suffer from more than a "prolonged period of U.S. underperformance" under a president who has demonstrated little regard for our democratic institutions.

Harlan Green

Santa Barbara, Calif.

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 06, 2025 16:28 ET (20:28 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2025 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.