American consumers are the deciders about success or failure in the marketplace, as Anheuser-Busch and Target are finding out the hard way.

The calculation for economic success is simple: good products at fair prices and respect for customers. That's the formula, and it will never change.

Products that satisfy consumers are hard to come by. Failure is easy.

The respect thing is the trump card. To get that, you have to understand your audience. For example, when I invented "The O'Reilly Factor," I knew exactly who my potential audience was: hard-working, traditional Americans who love their country and admire fair play.

Same thing with my 18 number-one best-selling books. I targeted readers who want to learn history while being entertained by fast-moving stories.

Presto, success!

Well, not exactly presto. The formula took discipline to perfect.

The foolish mistakes made by Target, Bud Light, Disney, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were all the fault of pinheaded executives who live in woke bubble worlds. They are completely lost when it comes to the indoctrination of children and disrespect of religious beliefs.

Yes, it's America, and you have the Constitutional right to be a pinhead. But if you're competing for currency, you had better understand that although the customer may not always be right, without him or her, pronouns correct, things will always go wrong.

Enjoy the weekend. New column Sunday noon.