[extropy-chat] Seven cents an hour? (was: Riots in France)

[kevinfreels.com]

Excuse me, but may I ask a question?

Exactly how is it Walmart's responsibility to ensure that people have jobs
and wealth?
Is it not enough that because of them I save hundreds or even thousands of
dollars per year?
Since when did the size of a multi-natioinal corporation mean that you were
required to provide for the financial security of a nation?
Isn't it this kind of thought from labor unions that pushed the price of
crappy American cars up to the price of a small house? Exactly how does the
nation benefit from increased prices that are used to defray wage increases?

When I go into walmart I see several things. I see employees that other
companies simply would not hire. I see elderly people who failed to plan for
retirement. I see young people starting out in the job market. I do not see
middle aged people of average or above education age in their prime child
rearing years working at this place. Sure, there are a few, but that is by
choice. It's the same thing with McDonalds. How many people are employed at
McDs?



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jack Parkinson" <isthatyoujack at icqmail.com>
To: "ExI chat list" <extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org>; "John K Clark"
<jonkc at att.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 2:02 AM
Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Seven cents an hour? (was: Riots in France)


>
> From: "John K Clark" <jonkc at att.net>
> To: "Jack Parkinson" <isthatyoujack at icqmail.com>
> Sent: Sunday, November 13, 2005 3:13 PM
> Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] Seven cents an hour? (was: Riots in France)
>
>
> > "Jack Parkinson" <isthatyoujack at icqmail.com>
> >
> > > If, hypothetically, Wal-Mart was replaced by several thousand smaller
> > > independent stores, all paying their employees a decent living wage,
> > > and all competing to keep prices low, wouldn't the US be better
> > > off in overall terms?
> >
> > NO! I rather doubt that Billy Bobs Pretty Good Hardware Store or any of
> the
> > thousands of other stores in your hypothetical could match Wal-Mart's
> > legendary hyper efficiency; most economists agree that Wal-Mart can take
> > credit for a big chunk of the productivity growth America had the good
> > fortune to receive over the last 10 years, and productivity is the name
of
> > the game, it is the generator of wealth. So in your world the pool of
> people
> > wanting a job would be the same but there would be less money available
to
> > pay their salary. And consumers would be paying far more than they
should
> > for goods. That's not a world I want to live in.
> >
> >    John K Clark
>
> Your remarks do not really make sense.
>
> 1) Thousands of stores competing would make for a pretty efficient market
> system. Yes?
>
> 2) Where is the wealth that is being generated if more than 100,000
Wal-Mart
> employees are living in poverty?
>
> 3) And if your answer is: in the Walton Family vaults - how is that useful
> to America?
>
> 4) And if all that wealth was in distributed use across a broad range of
> businesses competing for labor in a free market - surely there would be
more
> money available to pay the pool of workers?
>
> 5) How does increased productivity benefit America if it comes at a cost
of
> increased unemployment and (in today's news here from CNN) 35 million plus
> American citizens living below the poverty line?
>
> Jack Parkinson
>
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