The Wal-Mart Manifesto

Slate ^ | February 24, 2005 | Timothy Noah

[The Loan Arranger]

H. Lee Scott Jr., the chief executive officer of Wal-Mart, argued in a speech yesterday in Los Angeles that Wal-Mart is a force for good in the economy. Scott is hardly the first corporate chairman to echo "Engine" Charlie Wilson's claim that what's good for General Motors is good for America. And many independent observers have noted that Wal-Mart's relentless downward pressure on overhead has been a boon to American consumers. (In a recent New Yorker column, James Surowiecki took this further, arguing that the retail economy has become a sort of dictatorship of the consumer, and that Wal-Mart, which earns only pennies on each dollar of sales, is merely doing what it must to stay alive.)

What's fairly new in Scott's speech (a related ad campaign was launched last month) is Wal-Mart's rising on its hind legs to tell the world that it is good to its employees. I'd thought it was a settled matter that Wal-Mart had achieved its miraculously low prices by squeezing its employees. Not so, said Scott:

Wal-Mart's average wage is around $10 an hour, nearly double the federal minimum wage. The truth is that our wages are competitive with comparable retailers in each of the more than 3,500 communities we serve, with one exception—a handful of urban markets with unionized grocery workers. … Few people realize that about 74 percent of Wal-Mart hourly store associates work full-time, compared to 20 to 40 percent at comparable retailers. This means Wal-Mart spends more broadly on health benefits than do most big retailers, whose part-timers are not offered health insurance.

[spinestein]

[if one really is a believer of the gospel of a free trade, then one must affirm that wages must be allowed to rise as well as fall in response to shifts in demand for the work. And that includes permitting private unions.]

I am and I do.

If I were an employer I would certainly permit private unions to exist among the employees if they wished, but I would not recognize them. In other words, no collective bargaining, and if any employee didn't want to join the union they wouldn't have to.

Of course, the unions would say this is unfair and that is not really "permitting" unionization but unions need to realize that they also have an ethical duty to "permit" non-unionized workers among them which they certainly don't do now.

[spinestein]

[Free choices aren't always the best choice, and are deserving of criticism.]

Criticism is fine, but when a union mandates that an employer MUST only negotiate workers wages through collective bargaining and MUST NOT hire or retain any workers who are not (dues paying) union members then they have gone past simply criticism and are well into intimidation and thuggery.

Laws passed by the government that promote these practices are just a form of anti free market communism.
Communism (n.) A scheme of equalizing the social conditions of life; specifically, a scheme which contemplates the abolition of inequalities in the possession of property, as by distributing all wealth equally to all, or by holding all wealth in common for the equal use and advantage of all.--Webster's

[spinestein]

[Until China lets their workers have an economic voice in their own trade, it's only a show. If you have a better means than unions to bring this about, by all means present it. But the plantation master's power must fall.]

It's being brought about now---and without the presence of unions.

[tm22721]

Periods of maximum prosperity have always depended on the exploitation of slaves.

China is ideal because they don't have liberals who force a bloated welfare system and unions down our throats.

BUMP

[twinzmommy]

Thank you! Winn Dixie . . *gags* . . .in my book always ranked up there as one of the dirtiest most unpleasant places to shop -- even in a new store!

What happened to them in Texas was their own fault. A good cleaning and higher wattage lightbulbs would have made a world of difference.

[G L Tirebiter]

"Merely doing what it must to stay alive?" Is that why numbers 4-8 on the Forbes 400 are Waltons?

Nobody said that they weren't doing it really, really well!

[WileyC]

In the Dec. 16 New York Review of Books, Simon Head, director of the Project on Technology and the Workplace at the Century Foundation, stated, "the average pay of a sales clerk [italics mine] at Wal-Mart was $8.50 an hour, or about $14,000 a year, $1,000 below the government's definition of the poverty level for a family of three."

It's kinda pathetic, but very typical of the left, that they accuse someone of lying or hedging the truth but they throw a spitball into the middle of the argument. To wit, why would anyone try to raise a family of three on just the salary of a sales clerk!

[personalaccts]

I was in Target and noticed MMADE BY THE CHI-COM CHILDREN. I also notice the same with Martha Stewart clothing. They all use the 44 mag to the back to the back of the head to make things. I think they are jealous of Wal-Mart because it's based in AK, and Sam Walton didn't go to Harvard.

[GW and Twins Pawpaw]

The left is also very reluctant to admit that Wal-Mart workers pay taxes, have good health insurance, create jobs within their own and other communities, and contribute to social programs of their own will. The more successful people are by themselves the less the left is 'needed'. I love it!!!

[G.Mason]

So it is Walmart that is responsible for lowering the wages for the comrad worker across the nation?

No problem ... We will ask the peoples Congressional Comrads to enact legislation requiring that all businesses pay comrad workers the exact same wages.

Now about that SUV you are driving comrad ...

[1rudeboy]

Nice rant. How you propose to keep China from arming itself? Wal-Mart is not your problem, friend.

[Military family member]

It also explains why the average salary at Wal Mart is $10 per hour.

My my stats teacher used to laugh about claims like this. He would point to the class of 1979 which saw the average starting salary for graduates jump from $15,000 to $38,000 in one year. Of course, one graduate signed an NBA contract for $4 million...

[DBeers]

Is that why numbers 4-8 on the Forbes 400 are Waltons?

If you are attempting to debate world economics e.g. outsourcing and capital outgo -why do you reference a list of only rich Americans? Are you french?

[Casloy]

Free choices aren't always the best choice, and are deserving of criticism

I can see nothing that Wal-Mart does that deserves criticism. They give people value for their money. If they didn't they would go out of business.

[Aquinasfan]

Liberals hate Wal-mart's success.

They know that we'd be better off if it was run like the DMV.

[Aquinasfan]

people will line up in third world countries for a job at a factory

Same as the US sweat-shop era. For many, it was better work than back-breaking farming.

[ran15]

"Wow, China has an "efficient management structure" the "fastest growing economy on the planet" and "brought more people out of poverty then the rest of the planet combined"."

Well I was saying Walmart has an efficient management structure.. which in fairness I did read they were giving seminars for Chinese government and corporate leaders to learn from. Which the Chinese eagerly followed... unlike American companies which run to the government for protection. And our unionist government bureaucrats.. well all they have is scorn for Walmart.

And I am an objectivist. The Chicoms are bringing their own people out of poverty. They are pro-development and unlike many Americans today, actually believe in the power of the market. (After learning the hard way).

[The Red Zone]

so China lets out the leash from a foot to a yard. big deal.

[The Red Zone]

Nice rant. How you propose to keep China from arming itself?

Choke off the money, pal.

[The Red Zone]

Periods of maximum prosperity have always depended on the exploitation of slaves.

Which is, incidentally, inimical to both Christianity and modern Judaism. If the Bible says this is not a good idea and that all the riches in the world can't buy your soul, maybe it's worth listening to.