Shame on Wal-Mart?
Issue #2439
- WEALTHY: When being well-rounded is a terrible idea (Andrew Gordon)
- HEALTHY: Heart health in a tart, tasty package (Dr. Jonny Bowden)
- WISE: Ludwig von Mises on taking action
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Your employer owes you… what? (Robert Ringer)
- The sure way to make $100,000 a year or more (Michael Masterson)
- It’s Fun to Know… about sunscreen for plants
- Add "marmoreal" to your vocabulary
“…great teachers … experts in their fields … benefits of their experience … insight of their failures … what pitfalls to expect…”
If you are serious about wanting to making money online – following in the path of those who have figured out a repeatable formula regardless of what market niche you are in or what product or service you sell…
…then listen in to what Margie Mallouk of Colorado Springs, CO had to say about the Five Days in July event held recently in Denver:
"What was so great about this seminar is that we’re being taught by great teachers who are not only experts in their fields but they’re giving us the benefit and the experience of their insight of their failures and the pitfalls we might experience.
"I really felt we were getting terrific hands on experience. The program we’ve been introduced to – XSitePro – for me as just a regular person who does really basic computer things it’s easy, it’s intuitive, it’s simple and I really think I’m going to succeed with it.
"I’m excited because it’s everything I needed to know."
– Margie Mallouk, Colorado Springs, CO
Discover what over 90 aspiring entrepreneurs – ranging in age from 16 to 76 – discovered – the "ETR / Agora Model" makes starting your own Internet money-making businesses easy… Click here and find out for yourself just how accessible your dream of an Internet money-making truly is…
Simple Investing Works Best
The longer I invest, the more I realize that simple investing works best. The fewer rules you have, the better.
Simple investing should be a natural outgrowth of having more knowledge and a better understanding of how investing works. Your ability to pick out what’s truly important and what works for you is key.
The worst thing you can do is try to have a well-rounded knowledge of the market. I know that sounds odd – but by trying to be well-rounded, you won’t develop mastery in any part of the market. At best, you’ll know a little about how the market operates in any particular segment.
How to simplify?
1. Adopt a favorite industry – preferably one that you already know a lot about. At most, follow two industries.
2. Determine the three most important things you want to see in a company before you invest in it. It could have to do with growth, margins, cash flow, value (maybe price-to-earnings), spending, or dozens of other things. For Warren Buffett, for example, it’s a history of earnings growth, low costs, and an unglamorous business line. What is it for you?
3. Use a straightforward formula for when you get into and out of an investment – and stick to it. (Maybe buying only when the stock has bottomed and is going up, and selling when the stock has fallen 20 percent from its peak.)
Three rules. That’s all you need.
[Ed. Note: ETR Investment Director Andrew Gordon has turned his attention to the energy sector. He's put together an urgent special report with two of the world's best (not the biggest, but the best) drilling companies that you can still buy on the cheap. Learn the details here.]
Ludwig von Mises
Shame on Wal-Mart?
Forget that Wal-Mart employs 1.3 million people in the U.S. alone. Forget that it saves consumers billions of dollars each year on retail purchases. Forget that its employees, on average, earn about double the minimum wage. The word from some disgruntled employees is that Wal-Mart doesn’t treat its employees "fairly" – whatever that’s supposed to mean.
But, guess what? If you think Wal-Mart is "unfair"… you don’t have to shop there.
Wow! What a novel idea! If you don’t like the fact that Wal-Mart carries too many products made in third-world countries, shop with your feet. If you believe Wal-Mart puts smaller retailers out of business and you’re unhappy with that, shop with your feet.
That said, let’s get back to Wal-Mart’s employees.
Just to make it easy on the witch hunters, let’s assume that there is such a thing as absolute fairness. (There isn’t.) And let’s further assume that Wal-Mart does, indeed, treat its employees unfairly. Keep in mind that if someone chooses to work at Wal-Mart, he’s doing so because he believes, for whatever reason, that it affords him the best opportunity to be adequately compensated for his skills, experience, and efforts.
An employer doesn’t ask a job applicant to present a list of his job requirements when he submits his application. On the contrary, the employer lets the applicant know, in advance, what the company’s conditions of employment are.
If those conditions include 15-hour workdays, minimum-wage pay, no air-conditioning in the summer, and no paid sick leave, so be it. How can I say such a dastardly thing? Because an employee not only does not have to take such a job, he also has the right to quit that job at any time. He is free to choose!
Yep, it really is that easy. And since the unhappy employee is free, he can apply for another job anywhere he likes. No permission needed. On the other hand, if he chooses to stay in his present job, he is making a clear statement that he believes it’s the best job he can hope to get. If that’s not true, he would be insane, or perhaps masochistic, to stay put.
In a truly free society, everything works smoothly because both employers and employees are free to make their own choices. Unfair treatment of employees would never be an issue, because workers would be free to sell their services for the highest possible wages on the open market. It’s only when government bureaucrats or labor thugs – a.k.a. "labor unions" – enter the picture that freedoms are violated.
All government intervention between employers and employees results in infringements on the rights of one or the other – or both. The same goes with labor unions. The so-called "union shop" is a violation of the natural rights of every employee who is forced to join a union against his will. And, worse, it is a violation of the rights of an employer to hire who he wants, when he wants, for whatever reasons are important to him.
Unfortunately, that’s not reality in today’s America. After decades of artificially high wages and benefits, job-protection schemes, and government-mandated safety standards, spoiled American workers demand still more.
An excellent investment for Wal-Mart would be to spend mega-millions to educate its employees about the morality and efficacy of liberty and laissez-faire economics. And a good place to start would be to put the following quote from Rose Wilder Lane in their pay envelopes:
"Anyone who says that economic security is a human right has been too much babied. While he babbles, other men are risking and losing their lives to protect him. They are fighting the sea, fighting the land, fighting diseases and insects and weather and space and time, for him, while he chatters that all men have a right to security and that some pagan god – Society, The State, The Government, The Commune – must give it to them. Let the fighting men stop fighting this inhuman earth for one hour, and he will learn how much security there is."
Educating muddled minds, however, does not begin with the worker; it begins with big business. If corporate America does not truly believe in laissez-faire capitalism, all is lost. And if it does believe but is unwilling to suffer "mortification of the flesh" in presenting the truth to the public, the case for free enterprise is still all but hopeless.
Corporate leaders must be bold and unwavering when it comes to educating their own employees, as well as the public at large, about the mechanics of the marketplace. History has clearly taught us what to expect if good men do nothing.
In the meantime, don’t wait for corporate America to come to your rescue. Take every opportunity you can get to extol the virtues of freedom – including free enterprise. It’s true that you are but one person in a sea of millions, but it is completely within your power to be part of the solution to the world’s ills rather than part of the problem.
The millions you hope to make in the coming years won’t be of much good to you if the titanic battle for liberty is lost. Think about it.
[Ed. Note: You can exercise your freedom right now - just by starting your own business. ETR's business-building experts have put together an "Internet Success Library" that will walk you through each and every step of creating a successful business on the Internet. Learn how to get your own income stream up and running right here. For a treasure chest of proven ideas, strategies, and techniques for increasing your income many times over, check out Robert Ringer's best-selling dealmaking audio series and sign up for his Voice of Sanity e-letter here.]
About Ready to Give Up on EVER Getting Ahead?
I don’t blame YOU. More likely to blame are the METHODS you’ve been using.
So let me show you something different. Something that is virtually foolproof and WORKS very nearly 100% of the time… if you follow the plan.
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That’s a bold promise, and I’m very serious… because this is a VERY serious proposition from a VERY serious entrepreneur direct to you.
At this moment, YOU have a one-time window of opportunity like none other…
To take advantage of this opportunity, please read on.
Dear ETR: Should I stay in school or start a business?
"I am a student currently attending university. Between school and my job, I have found very little free time to dedicate to the things that I really see as beneficial to my future. The question is, with the doom and gloom market we are in, coupled with the constantly diminishing value of a college education (even from a private university), would it not be better to focus on starting a business now?
"In the interest of not sounding ignorant, I completely and wholeheartedly agree that college has much to offer, and provides many people with an opportunity to develop their intellectual and social mobility. But if I intend to start a business the moment I graduate, and always be my own boss, then is the diploma worth the next two or three years that I could be using to get a head start and develop my small business?"
Sherri Compton
Orlando, FL
Dear Sherri,
This one is easy. Don’t quit school.
There’s no need to. You can attend classes, get A’s, and have an income-generating business on the side. People do it all the time.
I did it myself when I was your age. I went to a local state college because I couldn’t afford anything else. I studied like crazy, and I worked like crazy too. My friend Peter and I had a house-painting business. Back then, we were making more than $100 a day – a fortune by today’s standards. In our senior year, Peter and I and another friend started a pool-building business and hired other college kids to work for us. That was much more lucrative. We were earning $300 a day.
We worked weekends and evenings and during all school vacations. It was a great experience. We made lots of money, learned lots about business, and still managed to go to school.
You can do it too. But why should you? Why should you go to college?
Because you need to be better than you are. I don’t know how smart and skillful you are right now, but I do know that you can always be better. And college – if you do it right – is a great way to get smarter and more skillful.
I’ve written about this before. The secret is to concentrate on the skills that will matter for the rest of your life:
- Thinking well. By thinking well, I mean having the ability to break down a problem and understand its component parts. If you apply this to business – say, to analyzing a market – you can come up with solutions before your colleagues have even begun to determine the questions they ought to be asking. Great marketers are really great thinkers. They look at a complicated market, break it down into understandable patterns, and develop a selling program that reflects those patterns. If you can figure out how to sell products/services when everybody else is throwing up their hands in despair, you’ll be rich and powerful sooner (probably) than you even want to be.
- Speaking well and writing well. In any organization or organized system, power moves inexorably to those who are persuasive. Whether you do it verbally or in writing doesn’t matter so much. What counts is that you have a way to convince people that your ideas are worthwhile.
To make a high income (in excess of $100,000), you almost have to have one of the above skills. In fact, to be successful in most careers, you need to be very good at one of them. But if you are good at all three – thinking well, speaking well, and writing well – you can be successful at almost anything you do.
I recommend that you get your bachelor’s degree in liberal arts, because that is the best way to master all three of these skills. And then get a master’s degree in business so you don’t have to play catch-up, like I did, when you get serious about a career.
- Michael Masterson
[Ed. Note: As Michael Masterson pointed out, you can start making money AND go to school at the same time. All you have to do is start a side business. You can pick from dozens of business ideas - and get your own business up and running for under $100 - right here.
Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]
Tart Cherries Reduce Inflammation
Tart cherries might not be one of the first foods that come to mind when you think "heart healthy," but perhaps they should be. New research from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center shows that compounds in cherries may protect against the kind of inflammation that’s been associated with both heart disease and diabetes.
Researchers fed two groups of rats bred to be particularly susceptible to heart disease the equivalent of an unhealthy human diet (aptly abbreviated SAD for Standard American Diet). Both groups got the same number of calories, but the diet of one group included dried extract of tart cherries. And the results were impressive. Markers of inflammation – TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) and IL-6 (Interluken 6) – went down significantly in the group fed the cherry extract.
This is an important finding, because inflammation is a factor in every major degenerative disease, including heart disease, obesity, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and even cancer. In addition, the cherry-fed rats had significantly lower levels of cholesterol and triglycerides. And they were far less likely to build up fat around the middle. (Abdominal fat – in both rats and people – is linked to diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome, a kind of pre-diabetes.)
The researchers believe that the secret ingredient in cherries may be anthocyanins, the pigment responsible for making cherries dark. The high levels of antioxidants in the fruit may also play a role.
How much would a human have to eat to get the same potential benefit? It’s hard to make a perfect extrapolation to a 150-pound human from a rat that weighs a few ounces – but an educated guess is that it would take only about a cup and a half of cherries (fresh or frozen).
[Ed. Note: Dr. Jonny Bowden - a nationally known expert on weight loss, nutrition, and health - can point you toward delicious and natural foods that will help you feel better and live longer. Check out his book, The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth,
for additional strategies to keep yourself in tip-top shape.
For more information, go to www.jonnybowden.com. And read more of his articles on healthy living in ETR's natural health e-letter.]
It’s Fun to Know: Even Plants Need Sunscreen
The newest practice in farming? Putting sunscreen on crops. Why? Because sun-damaged fruits and vegetables are suitable only for making juice… and bring much lower prices.
Don’t think Coppertone, however. The sunscreen we’re talking about here (Purshade) is made up of calcium carbonate crystals. It blocks out harmful UV and infrared rays, while allowing for photosynthesis (the process plants use to convert sunlight into energy). It also helps the plants retain water as temperatures rise.
Farmers who have tested the product (in Australia, Chile, and California) are happy with the results. They report higher yields of higher-quality fruit – which translates into a big boost for their bottom line.
(Source: CNN.com)
Fire Your Boss and Retire This Year Making Six Figures
Let me show you how to quickly start your own profit-generating business and enjoy life like never before because you are finally out of the rat race once and for all. Sooner than you think, you can have a business that has the greatest upside profit-potential, one that’s easy and enjoyable to operate and can be run from anywhere in the world…
If you’re looking for a new break and the opportunity of a lifetime, jump on this now.
Word to the Wise: Marmoreal
Something that’s "marmoreal" (mar-MAWR-ee-ul) – from the Latin – resembles marble, as in smoothness, whiteness, or hardness.
Example (as used by Nicholson Baker in a New York Times review of Reading the OED by Ammon Shea): "Walter Pater read the dictionary to keep his prose pure and marmoreal."
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008
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Tags: calif., margie mallouk
I have to reply to Robert Ringer’s totally insane writing in ETR.
(insane since he calls himself “sane voice in insane world” in his site)
You really think that a single employee is in equal terms with his/her employer when making work contracts?
Hello?
Very seldom lower income people have education or skills that are so unique that they have plenty of options to pick and choose from. (Especially those who work for Walmart)
So they accept inhumane conditions that are bad for their health, no sick leave -pay, overheating, too long work days etc – like what happens in China.
You think that is good?
What you are describing, is bullying in other form – something you are supposed to be against to (according to your site.)
Labour unions do have their place equilizing terms. Employer has to deal with group of people who think alike, and therefore his wealth has a counter balance. If the empoyees would be getting “too much salary” he would be out of business, and that seldom happens – his profit is only cut.
That seems to be the sin in your mind.
It isn’t employers interest to help his workers, he wants to get as much out of his employee as he can with as little input (salary) as possible. And you blame workers for wanting the same options when they form unions.
That is against “freedom” in your mind.
Unions are not allowed in China, but then again.. neither are other human rights.
What you are describing.. I can’t see much of a difference with that totalitarian regime and your utopia..
In the name of “freedom” – when what you describe is terror of wealth.
When someone, who is hungry or whose children are hungry, is never free to make choices you talk about.
J
Oh Joku…. where do I start?
“Robert Ringer’s totally insane writing” Is that an intelligent argument? Name calling? Just because you don’t happen to believe what he says… just because YOU don’t believe in personal freedom and responsibility? You resort to trivial name calling?
“You really think that a single employee is in equal terms with his/her employer when making work contracts?”
Yes. The potential employee is. The employee is FREE to either take the job or not take the job. The potential and actual employee will do what he/she feels is in his best interest. If he/she feels he/she can do better elsewhere he/she surely will.
We are NOT a Totalitarian Fascist society… yet. So at this time people are FREE to choose if they want to take a job, quit a job, or heaven forbid… even be so bold as to start their own business.
“Very seldom lower income people have education or skills that are so unique that they have plenty of options to pick and choose from. (Especially those who work for Walmart)”
Oh do you mean like Sam Walton, the man with I believe the 8th grade education who founded and built Wallmart? Someone with low income and no education?
“So they accept inhumane conditions that are bad for their health, no sick leave -pay, overheating, too long work days etc – like what happens in China.”
Why do you pick on China? Are you from China? Have you been to China? Let’s look at some reason.
For your information China is growing more millionaires every day than any other country in the world.
And who determines what conditions are inhumane? Who gave you the authority to choose for others what job they will choose? By what right are YOU able to DICTATE to employers what their hiring, and working condition policies should be? Who made you God?
“What you are describing, is bullying in other form ”
No what Robert Ringer is describing is using YOUR PERSONAL Freedom of Choice. Those who would gang up on someone or some company to force that person or company into doing something against his/their will are restorting (your spelling) to bullying… kind of like a Labor Union where the “Employer has to deal with group of people who think alike, and therefore his wealth has a counter balance.”
So I ask you… what is wrong with being rich? Is being rich evil? Or is forcing someone to take money and wealth out of his/her pocket and give it to someone who has not earned it through either risk (starting a business) or work? Which is evil?
What’s the difference between ganging up on an employer and FORCING that employer to reduce their living standard and going into someones house and robing them with a gun thus FORCING them to reduce their standard of living. Either way, it’s stealing, and neither party stealing is justified.
In a FREE MARKET the employer wants to pay the least and get the most and the employee wants to work the least and get the most. So if the employee prices him/herself out of the price range… guess what the employee does not work. If the employer refuses to pay enough… guess what… the employer doesn’t get employees and goes out of business.
“It isn’t employers interest to help his workers, he wants to get as much out of his employee as he can with as little input (salary) as possible. And you blame workers for wanting the same options when they form unions.”
Why don’t the employees instead of forming unions pool their money, and take the risk and invest it into starting their own business? They are free to do that?
“Unions are not allowed in China, but then again.. neither are other human rights.”
And you know this how????
You are wrong on both counts. Though what is a human right? Can you define it for us all please? It would be helpful.
My definition of a human right is freedom to choose. Freedom to choose if you will take a job or not, freedom to choose your occupation, freedom to choose your beliefs. They have those freedoms in China.
“I can’t see much of a difference with that totalitarian regime and your utopia..”
Once again resorting to name calling… the argument of the uninformed and weak. The informed and strong don’t try to intimidate with name calling. They don’t have to, they can make substanitive arguments for their cause.
“In the name of “freedom” – when what you describe is terror of wealth.”
Terror of Wealth? Terror of Wealth? What is Terror of Wealth? Being afraid of being wealthy?
“When someone, who is hungry or whose children are hungry, is never free to make choices you talk about.”
They are FREE to make choices as to what they feel is best for them. If they are not free to make their choices they are slaves. Now, thye may be too blind to see they have choices. THey may be too stupid to see they have choices. They may be to afraid to see they have choices. And anyone who falls into that category should be pitied, but not given a free ride by welching off someone who had the cajones to put their money where their beliefs are and start their own businesses.
As a fellow human I suggest you educate yourself into what is Capitalism, what is Socialism, what is Communism. If you prefer communism, you are free to move to a communist country. But then you will lose your FREEDOM to complain.
A
So the only place people with low education can work is Walmart? No, there are plenty of other options, like other grocery stores, gas stations, retail stores, warehouses, manufacturing, restaurants, etc.
In my town there are hundreds of entry level job listings a day on craigslist. I don’t live in a huge city. America is nothing like China. That is an ignorant position to take.
I own a small business and the people that work for me I treat like gold, because they are. I couldn’t be successful without them. If an employer just takes advantage of his employees then he won’t ever keep anyone very long and he won’t be making as much as he could. In my experience you make more by taking care of people that work for you.
Wealth is not a terror or evil. It allows me to employ and pay people and train them for their future.
If you think wealth is evil, then you need to give away all you have.
Wealth also allows me to give away and help more people then I have ever been able to do.
It’s really very simple: If you don’t like the way an employer is treating you, and they won’t change, quit. Otherwise you’re just whining.
The only people who believe that Wal-Mart doesn’t treat their employees fairly are the unions and their sympathizers.
For what it’s worth, I do not shop at Wal-Mart because they generally only sell cheaply made products that do not last. I don’t care where a product is made, just make it well.
“If those conditions include 15-hour workdays, pay of $3 an hour, no air conditioning in the summer, no paid sick leave and an executive perk that allows higher-ups to browbeat underlings for sport, so be it.”
Wow! Robert Ringer heralding a call to return to industrial revolution factory work conditions! That’s an actual quote from his article! So glad to have somebody out there advocating for low wages, long hours, and sweatshop work conditions. Remember when we tried that in the U.S., and the result was the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire? (http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/trianglefire/) If that’s what “laissez-faire” business leads to count me out.
If a corporation grows large enough to command a monopoly over a job market — that’s OK. But if a labor union grows large enough to command a monopoly over a labor market — that’s communism? Why the favoritism towards the robber barons?
Ringer speaks of people being “forced” to join labor unions. They are no more forced to take a job requiring union membership than they are “forced” to take a job offering low wages and no health insurance.
By Robert Ringer’s standards, Teddy Roosevelt was a huge communist because he supported labor unions. As for me, I’m with Teddy and the unions over Robert Ringer and the robber barons any day. The only part Robert Ringer got right was where he encouraged more people to shop with their feet.
Boycott sweatshop loving, unfair-trade practicing Walmart now!
I cant get your from to take my address to order .the messg. I’m getting in the address slot is only use(numbers and letters) which is all I am put in the slot.(po9 262 kentucky ave.)the from want take this and I cant go on. (?)
Laissez Faire… it is not an absolute rule to be followed blindly. Before 1930 the great corporations had the same logic we can see today in wal-mart: underpayment for their employees and the use economic power to supress the competion from small enterpeneurs. That logic was behind the crash on 1930. After that Roosevelt took a stand against the absulte rule of laissez faire, and start to interfere with the economy. That was the start of the “decades of artificially high wages and benefits, job-protection schemes, and government-mandated safety standards” which actually “spoiled American workers demand still more..” That was a very good thing, though. That was the way money started to get into workers pockets, leading to the formation of a mass consumption markted, which, in turn, supressed the overproduction crisis that almost destroyed the capitalism. That was how the “american way of life” was born. That was the how US became the strongest economy on the planet.
Wal-mart is doing the opposite, with the blessings of Robert Ringer.
Working conditions can be uncomfortable at times
due to the weather. Who is able to determine what
works for you and cope with different situations?
Attitude and being able to cope with people matter
more. Name calling started with children and adults do it to be nasty and ignorant. I won’t
tollerate misbehavior against anyone. Proper
respect should be applied.
Wow,Robert.
How dare you suggest that employees control their own destiny. Get additional education, dress appropiately. (I am not comfortable with employees dressed like gang bangers). In Chicago, the pols and unions prevented Wal-Mart from building a store in one of the most under-served areas of the city. So much for helping the underprivileged, turning down 350 jobs, millions in tax revenues at a time when we pay the highest taxes in the country.(The City faces a $420 million deficit next year). All your readers should study the Illinois model of government for
a civics lesson.
The neighborhood desperately needs jobs and a way to save money when shopping. Additionally, please let me know the Wal-Mart location which has no air-conditioning..DUH!!!
and I can save $1.25 on a box of oatmeal(American made)as opposed to the big chain groceries,which are all organized by big labor.
I can spend my money better than the government and it’s henchmen..
I love how Libertarians like Ringer and his hero, John Stossel, make demons of unions and espouse the “virtues” of laissez-faire capitalism. History lesson here, RInger. The very reason we have unions is because of laissez-faire capitalism! The problem is good ol’ human greed. You give a company carte blanche to do as they please without regulations, without watchdogs, without (gasp) unions and guess what happens every single time? You get a company that pollutes, cheats wage earners, makes unsafe products… the list goes on and on. And it’s all in the name of profit. Sorry to pop your bubble David, Tim W, and especially Allen. History isn’t on your side.
This is one of the best articles I have had the pleasure of reading concerning Wal-Mart’s hiring/employment practices.
ANYONE THAT DOES NOT LIKE WORKING IN A FREE ECONOMY (place/time/employment etc) AND WANTS TO BE CONTROLLED BY SOME MONEY GRABBING IDIOT THAT FORCES PART OF THEIR WAGES TO BE HANDED OVER TO THEIR “Management/dictatorship/controlling/BS operation for benefits” that benefits no one except the fat cat running the dictatorship, (Union), should go to another employeer that is controlled by the union instead of crying about the one they chose to work for.
I don’t shop at Wal-Mart. Americans have so many choices. We don’t have to do business with any organization we don’t like – there are always competitors. The cheapest-priced product is not always the best choice – for many reasons. We might want better quality, which means better value in the long run. We might want made-in-America products, still possible to find. I agree that we should start shopping with our feet, and putting our money where our hearts think it should go. Target has a better reputation for how it treats employees, so I choose to shop there. And I like Costco better than Sam’s – again, it treats employees well. Whenever possible, I support local businesses and mom-and-pop places that give me good service. It makes me happier to do that than to fight the hordes in a crowded discount store. It makes holiday and birthday shopping much more pleasurable. It’s this one woman’s quiet little protest in a too-noisy world. Join me?
I totally agree with #5. Michael.
Nice to notice, that I am not the only sane person reading these.
My only answer to that tirade, that I don’t have to shop in Walmart, nor do I.
I rather shop in places who actually have ethics, and are willing to abide by them, even if law doesn’t require them to do that.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility
Lots of good answers and points against Robert Ringer and his like, so I don’t actually need to defend my point against such distorted interprintations.
I leave “RR/Allen Weber”-style (answer no 2) people and their comrades without my business.
Quite simply because their view of world doesn’t differ in reality from communism at all. Only the people on the top are a bit different (“CEO” instead of “Party leader”) but results for ordinary people are the same. Freedom of choice, or speech is gone.
I have to thank you “Allen” good that you put your name online, therefore I know what to avoid. =)
“After decades of artificially high wages and benefits, job-protection schemes, and government-mandated safety standards, spoiled American workers demand still more.”
Wow! A union rant on ETR!?
Artificially high wages? Compared to what? India? China? And I take it those spoiled American workers aren’t the ones who have skills and talent socially responsible organizations have been willing to pay for. Maybe the spoiled workers who’d rather earn more than subminimal wage (from their 2+ jobs) are also spoiled, hmm? Nor do they include the billion $$ CEO’s who ran up losses in the billions and got handsomely paid for it.
As for government mandated safety standards… well let’s just let the profit motive run riot shall we…? perhaps a few of those spoiled workers might learn their lesson working on unsafe premises and production lines on equally long shifts.
Very interesting comments. Run down the unions if you wish. My personal experience: A drunk driver hit me, killed himself and darned near killed me. If it were not for the union I would have lost my job. Contrast that to my daughter-in-law. This hasn’t happened yet but, rumor has it that she will be fired when she attempts to return to work after being out for approximately 12 weeks for surgery to repair a torn ligament in her ankle. When she told us that, I told her that that is the beauty of being non-union, screw the worker.
As for Wal-Mart I don’t buy any more there than I absolutely have to. I live in a small town that depended on Mom & Pop businesses. Guess what, the majority of them are gone thanks to Wal-Mart. Also if you find an item at Wal-Mart that you like, when you go back for more they probably don’t handle it anymore. In a nearby town there is a Super Wal-Mart. Since the Super Wal-Mart opened 4 grocery stores have closed. To buy groceries in that town your only choice is Aldies or Wal-Mart. Many people must now drive out of town to get the quality that they were accustomed to.
Also investigate how many suppliers/manufacturers that Wal-Mart has put out of business because they have dictated to them what price they will pay for their products.
I don’t think that unions have hurt companies as much as robber baron CEO’s have hurt them. Screw up your job and get millions as you leave.
Ever hear of a union employee getting a severance deal when they don’t do their job right?
as always informative and a great read. thanks.