Can't Wal-Mart, a Retail Behemoth, Pay More?

The New York Times ^ | May 4, 2005 | Steven Greenhouse

[MississippiMasterpiece]

Jason Mrkwa, who stocks food at a Wal-Mart in Kansas, says he cannot afford more than an old Dodge truck.

[SittinYonder]

Don't want a Wal-Mart coming to your town and destroying all the mom and pops? Don't worry. When the gov'mnt and the unions get done with Wal-Mart, it'll follow General Motors down another path ...

[Modok]

Stupid beyond belief. If you don't think your paid enough then work somewhere else, What a bunch of whining socialists.

[longtermmemmory]

translation, GOVERNMENTS figure out they can tax people more if they get paid more.

I bet if walmart made a few well targeted "contributions" these politicians would shut up quick.

[Izzy Dunne]

But Burt Flickinger, another retailing consultant, said it would be in Wal-Mart's long-run interest to pay better. "Wal-Mart's turnover will be close to half a million workers this year," he said. "By paying higher wages, Wal-Mart will make its employees happier and will reduce turnover. A lot of its new workers, for instance, don't know where to stock things. Higher wages will mean more productivity per person, and that should help raise profits."

Mr. Consultant, if WalMart paid you to look at their business inside and out and offer them suggestions on this, then fine. Otherwise, you're just assuming that you know more about running a business than they do, so STFU.

[thefactor]

I did not read the whole article, but hey John! You stock food on a shelf. I am so sorry you don't have a Porsche in the garage. Call Howard Dean and the ACLU. I am sure at least one of your rights is being violated.

[BigSkyFreeper]

Wal-Mart is nothing more than the McDonald's of the retail world. Wal-Mart, like McDonald's is a low-wage earning job.

[G.Mason]

Okay Wal Mart Freeper bashers, here's your chance. Start a collection for this dweeb. He can't live on Wal Mart pay.

Who knows, with a good collection plate he may even get enough to bribe Yale or Harvard and get hisself edukated.

[Hardastarboard]

Mr. Mrkwa said. "Unfortunately, in the market we live in there just aren't many jobs available."

In the interest of brevity (and keeping my smart-ass remarks to a minimum), I shall address only this piece of economic illiteracy among the many brought forth in this article.

As the great Ronald Reagan said, "If you don't like it, vote with your feet. Move to another state."

America was founded on the principle of people who were unhappy with their fate moving to a better land. This guy clearly is unwilling to do that. Since he is unwilling to better his own condition by moving (as I have personally done, I'm not some rich elitist yelling "get a job" at the homeless here), I've just got two words for this guy, and they're not "Let's dance".

[RushLake]

Why doesn't Jason Mrkwa take his stellar college credentials and put them to work elsewhere for more money so he can afford a brand new Ford F150? My college kids tell me there is no degree in Walmart offered at their school.

[SALChamps03]

If you cannot make it on Walmart wages, then you need to seek employment with an employer who will pay you what you feel your labor is worth. It's called free market capitalism. Skills that enable you to work in a Walmart store don't lend themselves to high salaried positions.Go back to school. Increase your marketability. Work more than one job. Don't rely on the government to make your living for you by trying to force an employer to pay more than your job skills are worth. The end result will be that Walmart will fire employees and pay fewer employees a higher salary, but pay the same in total wage cost.

[ladyrustic]

Liberals won't be happy until they've pulled Walmart down, like they been trying to do with many other good things in this country, come to think of it.

Liberals don't like patriotism, chastity, or free enterprise, to name a few. They LOVE government, however, because they want power, and it is their only possible hope to gain power over people in this country.

[ARCADIA]

What a bunch of whining socialists.

What is good for the goose is good for the gander. Organize to screw your suppliers and eventually they will organize to strike back at you. I suspect that Walmart will be fighting labor issues from here on.

[SIDENET]

lawmakers have recently teamed up with labor unions

The Dems and Unions are just dying to get their hands on all of that Wal-Mart money. Oh yeah, and I'm sure that they want to help that whiner who can't buy a new truck, too. ;-)

[kb2614]

"says he cannot afford more than an old Dodge truck."

So what! I can "only" afford an ole Chevy Cavalier and I'm not bitchin,,,and I have a decent job. Walmart's aern't designed to be a long term employment option.

Are people this stupid on purpose or does it take practice??

[raisincane]

I had a long conversation with the wife of a Wal-Mart employee (truck driver) the other day. She praised his employer of 18 years. She said after 5 years of employment, Wal-Mart starts showering their employees with benefits. This man and his family have done quite well with Wal-Mart according to her. He has been transferred to a new distribution center in FL and Wal-Mart is paying the moving bills.

[livius]

I'm curious about what the liberals' darling, Target, pays. I doubt that it's any more, or if it is, their benefits probably aren't as good. This whole attack on WalMart is politically motivated, because the Walton family contributes to the GOP, whereas the Daytons (who owns Target) are huge contributors to the Dems.

Aside from that, this is stupid in any case. Don't like the pay? Get some more skills and get another job. The guy in the picture is young and looks strong and healthy. Why is he working at a job where many of the people are semi-retired, or moms who need a part-time job, etc.? WalMart doesn't build where there are no people and not enough income for people to buy its merchandise, so you know there are other jobs around there and he's just too lazy to get one or get the training necessary to get one.

[durasell]

Harsh, very harsh...

[backhoe]

With most of Wal-Mart's workers earning less than $19,000 a year...

Where we live- a small ( 16,000 ) southern city, that's pretty good wages.

[GaryMontana]

No one forces people to work at Wal-Mart. No one forces people to buy things at Wal-Mart.

I for one try to avoid Wal-Mart like the plague. If this person wants a better paying job than he should either: go to college to get a degree for a better paying job, get a trade to attain a higher paying job, or join the military and develop skills to get a better paying job.

If all he does is complain about his wages and does nothing to improve his situation how can anyone have sympathy.