Posted on 02/25/2006 4:37:19 PM PST by Coleus
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Anyone who's ever filed a tax return or visited the Department of Motor Vehicles understands that government does two things well: spend our money and waste our time. Unfortunately, both traits were on display during the response to Hurricane Katrina. A House select committee headed by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., says the government displayed "fecklessness, flailing and organizational paralysis." The committee report lays out 90 flaws in the Katrina response and notes that all levels of government failed. Oh, plenty of money was going out. Last September, the federal government was spending about $1 billion per day -- and it generated plenty of waste. The Federal Emergency Management Agency handed thousands of checks (for $2,000 each) to charlatans. FEMA also wasted money on housing. It spent $236 million to rent three cruise ships for evacuees. The ships were never more than half full. And don't forget the manufactured homes, some 10,777 of which are rotting away in Arkansas because FEMA ordered more than it needed. As Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, explained, the waste happened because the government took a "pay first, ask questions later" approach. The federal government has promised to fix its problems. Michael Chertoff, secretary of Homeland Security, says he'll deliver "a fully integrated and unified" department before the next hurricane season. Fine. But let's remember, not all answers can be found in Washington. It would be better to look toward an institution that didn't fail during Katrina: Wal-Mart. The world's largest retailer had 171 facilities in the path of the storm. But as Jason Jackson, the company's director of business continuity, told a Senate committee, "We were able to recover and reopen 83 percent of our facilities in the Gulf area within six days." One key reason for Wal-Mart's success, Jackson said, is "associates who are dedicated to their communities." That local connection helped it deliver goods when government failed. As Investor's Business Daily reported in September, "While local and federal groups suffered communications problems and bickered over who was in charge, Wal-Mart sprang into action." And while Chertoff admits Katrina caught the government flat-footed, Wal-Mart is always ready. In his book "The World is Flat," New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote, "The minute Wal-Mart's meteorologists tell headquarters a hurricane is bearing down on Florida, its supply chain automatically adjusts to a hurricane mix in the Florida stores." That means plenty of non-perishable food and critical items such as generators appear in stores even before disaster strikes. Wal-Mart has plenty to teach the government. "When FEMA or another agency places a blanket order of 100 trailers of water, we often question if the person placing the order really knows what 100 trailers of merchandise looks like," Jackson testified. "Usually the answer to this is that the person making the order was given a dollar amount to spend, and they do not comprehend the size of this order or what it means." Wal-Mart does what government intervention can't: It drives down prices and makes life better -- in New Orleans and, soon, in Chicago. The company opened a store last month in Evergreen Park (where I was born), after the city council refused to allow it inside the city limits. Some 25,000 people applied for the store's 325 jobs, which suggests Wal-Mart is popular with employees as well as consumers. After Katrina, even Wal-Mart's critics sang its praises. "It's hard to imagine any government program matching the efficiency of a Wal-Mart," wrote consulting firm Lynch Ryan on its Weblog, adding, "Government has a lot to learn from Wal-Mart." Unless we change our approach -- bringing in more private, local expertise and less federal bureaucracy -- we'll be reminded of that the next time disaster strikes. Dr. Edwin Feulner is president of The Heritage Foundation, a Townhall.com Gold Partner. |
From regularly shopping at a large Air Force exchange, a large Army Exchange, Walmart and Sam's Club.
WalMart carries a cheaper version of Levis. What is amazing though about the WalMart supporters is many of them are also against selling the ports. Well hello? If we want to buy cheap stuff made abroad, then expect that foreigners will want some real assets in return, not just a bunch of paper dollars or a promise that American taxpayers will always pony up more taxes to pay off the T-Bills.
Made cheaper since WalMart demands that it be made cheaper. This is true with Levis and I suspect many other products.
Not true on Levis. Not true on any other brand.
Get your nose out of those conspiracy websites. ,
Sam's Club is owned by Walmart.
I have them in front of me: WalMart sells Levi Strauss Signature made in Guatemala. My other Levis are from some sporting goods store (I forgot the name), they are made in Canada. But I have to admit, looking at them closely, I don't see a lot of difference in material or how they are made.
Funny we ask Wal mart to provide goods and services of decent quality at a low price, they do what we ask and then we bitch about it. Cant please anybody I guess
The funny thing is, everytime I asked one of the crazies where I could find one of those Walmarts that only sold underpriced cheap stuff made in China they disappeared. I've been looking for one of those Walmarts for years.
Made cheaper since WalMart demands that it be made cheaper. This is true with Levis and I suspect many other products.
Who told you this? I worked in the clothing industry and this is not the way it works with discount stores.
The clothing manufacturers don't "make" clothes cheaper for one store than they do others.
They are all made the same, but the higher price outlets have first choice on their products.
Over-stocks of sizes or styles that don't get grabbed up quick will then go for lower prices to stores like Wal-Mart or other discount outlets.
Levis is one exception, I'm sure there are others. Like I said above, I have the two pairs in front of me. There are very few substantive differences (an extra stitch here and there on the non-WalMart pair). But the main difference is that the Levis swish is missing from the back pockets and it says Signature brand instead of just Levis brand. The fact is they are made a little differently especially cosmetically. That way Levis protects their brand but still gets access to the WalMart entry level market.
Yes, and that story is a bunch of crock.
Wal-Mart doesn't force anyone to do business with them. In fact, hundreds of business executives make the journey to Bentonville only to be turned down.
The Vlasic Pickle hit piece insinuates that the evil Wal-Mart forced the company to do business with them. Nobody forced Vlasic to sell aquarium-sized pickles. They should have taken a hint from Snapper Lawnmowers. The CEO of that company basically told Wal-Mart to go to Hell when Wal-Mart wanted to sell lawnmowers under the Snapper brand name.
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