Wal Mart's Exploitive Practices Attacked By Website

Wake Up Wal-Mart ^

[Clintonfatigued]

Because of Wal-Mart's inadequate wages and benefits, Wal-Mart employees are eligible for $2.5 billion in Federal assistance, which comes from your tax dollars.

[Goodgirlinred]

Oh, ok. I agree with you. I don't know why people have to protest against Wal-Mart for using land that they have bought. If they don't want Wal-Mart to have the land, then they should buy it themselves. Otherwise, then they should shut the heck up! :)

[durasell]

I'm not big on the whole calvinist thing, tulip etc. etc. I believe that capitalism and markets are amoral (not to be confused with immoral).

[durasell]

We're pretty much in agreement. I'm not a big Jack London fan, though. Mayhew is interesting because he was trying to do "social science" at a time when it barely existed. Say, as compared to Charles Dickens and Jacob Riis who were emotionally invested in the poor.

You think it's dark science fiction? The thing I outlined was taken from a friend's vacation pics. It's a reality in some south american countries.

[Toddsterpatriot]

I believe that capitalism and markets are amoral

And government and regulations are........?

[Goodgirlinred]

I looked. I despise unions. They rob from the poor and give to the rich union bosses.

[durasell]

I can dodge the question by saying: imperfect, but the best we have.

But I won't.

Gov't regs at their best are well-reasoned and take into account the legitimate concerns of the citizenry for their own safety and well-being and the natural dynamics of the marketplace. At their worst, they are dumb and disrupt both. But most of the regs fall someplace in between.

[Toddsterpatriot]

At their worst, they are dumb and disrupt both.

We saw what Carter's attempt to interfere with gas prices did, why is interfering with the price of unskilled labor going to work any better?

[Nowhere Man]

I'm not big on the whole calvinist thing, tulip etc. etc. I believe that capitalism and markets are amoral (not to be confused with immoral).

Agreed, they are only tools to be used to achieve a goal, it is the mind(s) behind them that determine if the purpose is good, evil or indifferent.

[durasell]

All regs are not bad -- however, on a very pragmatic note, we don't have the same kind of class system that england had in the 1800s. If we get enough people who sink below a certain level, then we're going to have problems. We're going to have some problems anyway, when a lot of folks start losing their homes when the bubble bursts, so we shouldn't add to the situation.

[TChris]

Market is a concept, a convention behind which the real people hide. See my tagline.

That may be true, but it is also irrelevant. If you plan to sell to a broad market, then you are selling to the aggregate "person" that market represents. Their religious (and political) beliefs are frequently diametrically opposed, and largely cancel each other out.

Even in a country, or area, where the personal beliefs of customers are very similar, you're not going to convince many to pay extra just to make your employee's life better. Would you? Knowing that your local Wal-Mart employee is supposedly underpaid, do you shop there and offer to pay extra, so long as that extra is given directly to the underpaid employees? If Wal-Mart initiated a program that made such a donation possible, would you pay it? I'm inclined to believe you would not, at least not on a regular basis.

Do you shop for the highest priced gasoline, ensuring that the owner of the station and his employees will be well-paid? I think not.

If an employer wants to stay in business, providing jobs at all, then he must manage his business according to the demands of the market. There simply is no other way for a business to stay alive. The world of business is just about as sentimental as the jungle.

The idea that paying above market value for labor would just make the world a better place for everyone is quasi-socialist BS. It's what drives the union mentality. It's what (wrongly) persuades people that they don't need additional education. It's economically foolish.

[Nowhere Man]

Gov't regs at their best are well-reasoned and take into account the legitimate concerns of the citizenry for their own safety and well-being and the natural dynamics of the marketplace. At their worst, they are dumb and disrupt both. But most of the regs fall someplace in between.,br>
Yeah, my sediments exactly, again, the "tool rule" applies to regulations too, they can be good, bad or indifferent. In many cases, they are good and need to be in place to protect the general public. I might get into trouble again but not everyone can handle personal responsibility at all times, you have a few that cannot handle it at all, but there are times when somebody falls flat on their face and do need a little help to get up and resume responsibility. Also there are people out there who would take advantage of people when they are down. I'm having a tough time phrasing this exactly the way I want but I think this is the fault of the Libertarian right, the free traders and the "Randroids." The Left I fault for taking it the other way where everything is so regulated, people are strangled and they endorse the idea of hand outs with no accountibility or responsibility attached. In short, we have the death of common sense. I know I get flak from both left and right, so I must be doing something right.

Getting back to Dr. Peter Whybrow, M.D. and psychiatrist, he made an interesting point where we have a Bill of Rights for the individual, maybe we also need a Bill of Rights for societial rights. I'm also a believer that in a functioning society, we are to an extent our brother's keeper, not to the point of giving handouts for non-productive behaviour, but in a way to promote a healthy society by having a hand up when needed, fostering a good economy for all and a strong nation. We are all interlinked at some level, like it or not. Again, I'm thinking as I type, so if this sounds awkward, I might have to clarify myself. All I can say is the old axis of socialism/communism at one end and capitalism on the other is obsolete and as we go into the future, we need to think outside the box on these matters. Dang, I'm starting to sound like R. Buckminster Fuller, noted futurist. B-) I don't agree with him 100% but he did have some good ideas too.

Another thing, I realize that no matter what, there will always be imperfection but I think the idea is that we need to make the system work for the benefit of as many as we can.

[Toddsterpatriot]

If we get enough people who sink below a certain level, then we're going to have problems.

Yeah, that'd be terrible. Any proof that it's happening?

[durasell]

Not on this end. No proof. I'm doing fine,thank you very much. Work is paying well. Art collection gaining in value every day. Life is good.

On the other hand, I do live in this country and have a genuine concern for my fellow citizens. And I'm picking up hints that not all is well out there.

[Toddsterpatriot]

On the other hand, I do live in this country and have a genuine concern for my fellow citizens.

Hey, me too!! I just get tired of these Oprah types with their little anecdotes that prove the country is going down hill because a neighbor can't find a job or because their cousin had to declare bankruptcy. Despite all evidence to the contrary, they whine on.

[durasell]

Oprah has a very specialized skill set. If you watch her closely, it's pretty impressive.

The main problem is that people want life to be the way it was ten or fifteen years ago. Sorry to say, that's not gonna happen.

[jayef]

Do you acknowledge that almost every objective measure is at odds with your intuition?

[durasell]

Yep --

and yet I still take my intuition into account. Funny thing, but my intuition has actually saved my life more than once. And yes, I realize I should be more ashamed of this than I am.

[Nowhere Man]

and yet I still take my intuition into account. Funny thing, but my intuition has actually saved my life more than once. And yes, I realize I should be more ashamed of this than I am.

Me too. One thing I learned is to listen to my intuition and "inner voice," when I don't I get into trouble. B-)

[Nowhere Man]

I mean my intuition and inner voice KEEP me out of trouble. B-)

[durasell]

Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
by Malcolm Gladwell

Check it out.