Friday Blog Round Up: Election Week Edition

“That may be overstating things a bit. But Wal-Mart certainly is doing well these days. Wasn’t it a year ago or so that everyone was talking about the Bentonville behemoth stumbling and perhaps hitting the limits of its business model?”

So, maybe some people were wrong a year ago!!  And, maybe the Wal-Mart business model isn’t as ‘bad’ as some people like to think it is!!

Low wages may not be as ‘bad’ as some people think!!  There is an old saying: “The more you make, the more you spend” and when a ‘recession’ or ‘downturn’ comes along, who is better equipted to deal with it, when a layoff comes, the person with a ‘high mortgage payment’ on a house that was bought based on ‘high wages’ or one based on ‘low wages’?  Which areas of the country are being hit the hardest right now, the areas of ‘high wages’ or ‘low wages’?  And, which companies are being hit the hardest?

Why do some people HATE Wal-Mart?

The following may explain it:

“Jay Nordlinger of National Review argues that Wal-Mart is attacked simply because it is a leader of the Fortune 500 list or the largest employer in America, and a “free-market success story"." ~ Nordlinger, Jay. (August 5, 2004). “The New Colossus.” National Review.

“Penn & Teller devoted an episode of their show to an analysis of Wal-Mart criticism as a social movement. They theorized that despite the noble rhetoric, the real motivation of “Wal-Mart haters” was rooted in human psychology. They suggested that hating Wal-Mart permits a person “to feel better about themselves” for three main reasons: They “don’t run a greedy international conglomerate”, they aren’t Wal-Mart workers, widely considered “low-skilled, minimum wage drones”, and they aren’t Wal-Mart customers thought of as “toothless, welfare-getting hillbillies"." ~ Penn & Teller: Bullshit, Season 5, Episode 2.

So, it’s mainly so they can “feel better about themselves”, so that they can “feel superior to other people”!!  All one has to do, is read how those people describe Wal-Mart, it’s customers and workers, to see that this is true!!

RDS.  You missed what very well be the most important reason for hating Walmart.  This site and wakeupwalmart is sponsored and paid for by the unions.  They have spread hate so they can fill their coffers with billions of dollars of our money.  Some may think it is coming from the owners of Walmart, but ultimately it is coming from all of us in the form of higher prices.

And, maybe the Wal-Mart business model isn’t as ‘bad’ as some people like to think it is!!

It’s hard to warm up to a “business model” that thrives while the rest of the country goes down the toilet. As a ‘price only’ business (bottomfeeder), Wal-Mart customers are at the low end of the economic scale. The best way to grow is by creating more poor people and there’s nothing better for that than a full-scale recession.

“feel superior to other people”!!

You can wallow in all the touchy-feely psychology you want. I prefer to focus on the negative impact of Wal-Mart.

“There is no perceived risk in attacking Wal-Mart anymore. They have gone from being a business success story to being a cultural villain.” ~ Eric Dezenhall

Ken V : WalMart, pawn shops , and payday loans.The Free Market “financial plan” for saving money and living better.

What’s the difference between Walmart and pawn shops and payday loans?

Walmart saves customers money whil pawn shops and payday loans rip them off.

WakMart rips the country off with contributing so to the trade imbalance, cheating individual states out of their rightful sales taxes through the use of tax avoidance scams like REITS and 80/20 loopholes, suing county tax assessors to lower tax assessments on real estate, lobbies DC against COOL labeling,EFCA (Employee Free Choice Act),toy safety,etc. WalMart also degrade our environment with pollution from fleet of diesel 18 wheelers, construction stormwater runoff pollution, and the mountains of plastic shopping bags that litter our cities and states-not to mention the oil required to run the fleet and make the shopping bags.

BTW: I neglected to include the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that WalMart employees cost states every year for public services-health care and foodstamps .

ddrb,

“cheating individual states out of their rightful sales taxes through the use of tax avoidance scams like REITS”

Sales tax, has nothing to do with REITS!!

“WalMart also degrade our environment with pollution from fleet of diesel 18 wheelers”

How do all the other stores get their merchandise?  If Wal-Mart didn’t exist, the things that people need and buy, would still have to be delivered, but diesal 18 wheelers, the only difference, would be that those trucks wouldn’t say “Wal-Mart” on them!!  In fact, it would probably be worse, because the trucks would have to deliver to many more stores!!

“the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that WalMart employees cost states every year for public services-health care and foodstamps”

Without Wal-Mart, those SAME people would be on Full government assistance, costing taxpayers MUCH more, plus, the government wouldn’t be getting any income tax from those people (unemployed people have no income, so they pay no income taxes)!!

If Wal-Mart didn’t exist...

Now that’s a pleasant thought.

Basically RDS’s argument is: Wal-Mart, better than nothing.

Live Better In Cheap (Lead Free) Underwear

The REIT loophole issue, which focuses on the use of captive real estate investment trusts to avoid paying state corporate income taxes, has been in the national spotlight for going on two years now. In North Carolina, Wal-Mart saved millions of dollars in state tax bills by essentially transferring its properties to its own REIT and paying rent to itself, then writing it off as a tax deduction, money that could have gone to funding state programs.

North Carolina got wise to the scheme and assessed Wal-Mart for back taxes. Additional states have sought ways to close the loophole up, either through attacking it directly or by adopting combined reporting. Maryland is one of those states - last year Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot announced that his state would no longer allow payments to captive REITs to be deducted from state tax returns. Now following its first publicized audit since then, Maryland will receive $10.8 million in back taxes for a 3-year period from the unnamed company. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~NOTE: REITS avoid paying corporate income tax. Now, is WalMart income NOT derived from retail sales in those states?

Ken V: If Wal-Mart didn’t exist...NOTE: Well the country existed and retail prospered for more than two centuries,BEFORE the Beast of Bentonville.

1.  Reits still have nothing to do with sales tax.
2.  EFCA is NOTHING like it’s name.  There is NO free choice for the employee, only intimidation.  If you took the time to undestand what it was all about you certainly would know this.
3.  Last time I checked Walmart wasn’t the only retailer who had goods delivered via truck.

So again, how is Walmart different than other retailers?

For the newcomers, and those who may have forgotten:

The reason we, the Walmart critics, focus on Walmart is because it is a) the biggest and b) the worst offender.

Getting Walmart to change its policies would have an effect on other businesses as well. Getting some little mom and pop in Podunk to do so would help its five employees and that’s all.

So, the bad behavior of other firms is not being excused, it is not getting the prime focus because there are limited resources available to use in the battle for better treatment of workers, the environment, and, yes, even customers.

Since when is “they all do it” ever an excuse for breaking the law? Didn’t your mothers teach you anything?

Based on a scheme developed by its accounting firm, Ernst & Young, for a “local tax reduction strategy,” Wal-Mart’s financial self-dealing allows it to pay rent to itself through a maze of eight corporate subsidiaries created in November of 1996, including Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). The rent appears as an expense on state tax forms, and is thus deducted from its taxable revenues. Under the agreement with itself, Wal-Mart pays 2.5% of gross sales monthly as rent to its own REIT, which then wires the money quarterly to Wal-Mart Property Company in the form of a dividend, which is then paid to Wal-Mart Stores as a tax-exempt “dividends received.” All of these transactions are handled through a “cash management agreement” between all the parties. Neither the REIT nor the Property Company ever had any employees. The REITs don’t pay taxes, as long as they pay 90% of their income out in dividends to shareholders. In Wal-Mart’s case, the REITs are owned by Wal-Mart subsidiaries which are registered in Delaware, a state that has no corporate income tax. Wal-Mart gets the benefit of the rent expense, but also gets the benefit of the non-taxed dividend, on the same monies. The dividends escape taxation, and the original rent that created the dividends is deducted from taxable income in the states where the “expense” is incurred. The rent, in essence, goes from one Wal-Mart pocket, into another. This is a major loophole that Wal-Mart doesn’t want closed. ~~~~~~~~WMW,Feb.2008

“Getting Walmart to change its policies would have an effect on other businesses as well. Getting some little mom and pop in Podunk to do so would help its five employees and that’s all.”

Why focus on getting Walmart to change, especially in terms of employment… why not just have other large national retailers such as KMart, Target and Sears do a better job and and pay more than Walmart?  If they did that they would starve Walmart of employees and Walmart would have to better their compensation.  Why don’t Walmart competitors just simply offer better compensation?

ddrb,

“Wal-Mart saved millions of dollars in state tax bills by essentially transferring its properties to its own REIT and paying rent to itself, then writing it off as a tax deduction, money that could have gone to funding state programs.”

Tell me, are REITS illegal?

“The REITs don’t pay taxes, as long as they pay 90% of their income out in dividends to shareholders.”

Do the shareholders pay income tax on those ‘dividends’?

robertdfeinman,

“Getting Walmart to change its policies would have an effect on other businesses as well.”

SDV talks many times about how COSTCO having better pay and health insurance, how come this has had NO effect on retailer that are smaller than them?  If Wal-Mart raised pay and benefits, and ultimately their prices, what ‘incentive’ would the others have to ‘follow the leader’, when it would be in their favor to become the ‘new’ ‘low price’ stores, by keeping their wages and benefits lower than Wal-Mart’s, thus taking customers from Wal-Mart?  The MAIN reason Wal-Mart is #1, is because they have been able to KEEP their prices and costs LOW!!

Competing in retail, has to do with getting MORE customers, not sending them to your competitors!!  Example: A car dealer, sells more cars, if his price beats other car dealers, not if it’s MORE than other dealers!!  And, he has NO incentive to raise wages and benefits, just because another dealer does it, in fact he has MORE incentive to keep his wages and benefits, where they are at!!

Only when a business has a problem getting employees, do they have to think about raising wages and benefits!!  Paying more than you have to, is just ‘stupid’ business sense!!  Look at the U.S. auto industry, compared to the Foreign auto makers, who pay LESS!!  Who is doing better at growing their business, GM or Toyota?

Why focus on getting Walmart to change, especially in terms of employment…

I think you’re being obtuse on purpose, JOe, but I’ll try again anyway. Perhaps we focus on Wal-Mart “in terms of employment” because they employ more than “KMart, Target and Sears” put together. In fact, I believe Wal-Mart is the largest private employer on the planet.

Where would you start?

The average Wal-Mart shopper lives in the suburbs, is roughly 5-foot-2 and wears a size 14. ~ NYT

It’s obvious to this point that any anti-walmart program has had little if any luck in shifting Walmart’s pay policies.  Pay is based on supply/demand and skillsets.  Why should a retailer (and I don’t care of you are Walmart, Target or Joe’s Five and Dime) pay more for labor than they have to?  And to the same point why should any consumer pay more for a good than they have to?

RDS:
You are wrong, when the big Japanese auto firms set up plants in the US they adopted two strategies.

First, they moved to “right to work” states which make it difficult for unions to organize. These are also states where the cost (and standard) of living is lower, like Kentucky. Then they paid wages and offered benefits that were similar to the big three anyway.

They did this to avoid giving the UAW a strong organizing point with the new hires. This is true in many industries. Even in “unionized” France and Germany, as few as 14% of the workforce sets the tone for all the other big manufacturing plants.

The thing that is sinking the big three in terms of labor costs is the high cost of paying for their huge number of retirees, both pensions and health costs.

The new Japanese plants are just now beginning to see their workforce starting to retire since some of them have been here for 20+ years. When they start to have a large number of retired workers we will see what a raw deal their workers actually got.

As I’ve said before, but apparently the libertarians don’t want to understand, unions don’t have to be a reason why business profits go down. If all the firms in an industry pay comparable wages then they just raise their prices to compensate.

Anti-union behavior is mostly about ego-maniacal bosses wanting to be able to control other people’s lives. This type of amoral, aggressive personality is what it typically takes to rise to the top of the corporate ladder and become a CEO.

The issue is never money, it’s always about control.

This is not as true when the competition is coming from abroad and where there are fewer labor and environmental protections. This is why much heavy manufacturing has left the US, but has nothing to do with retail or other face-to-face services.

There is no magic formula which says what a job is “worth”. When one side holds all the power they get to set the conditions, when there is a balance of power then wages become more in line with the needs of workers. It’s simple power politics, which is all that there is when you come down to it.

RDS: Tell me, are REITS illegal?RDS~~~~NOTE:

Bill of REITs aimed at Wal-Mart tax scheme
February,2008

A STATE politician in the US plans to introduce a bill that targets what she called a tax-evasion scheme used by Wal-Mart.

The bill proposed by Claire Levy, a Democratic member of Colorado’s House of Representatives, would require companies that earned profits to identify what they paid to real estate investment trusts owned by outside interests and what they paid to REITs they owned. The latter are known as “captive REITs”.

Ms Levy said Wal-Mart paid REITs it owned about $7.27 billion ($7.7 billion) a year while deducting rent as expenses in an effort to AVOID paying STATE taxes.

Ms Levy said the federal tax law created REITs to let SMALL investors participate in real estate markets that would otherwise require large amounts of capital.

But Wal-Mart’s practice of using REITs as tax shelters shifted the state’s tax burden to small business, she said.

When asked if Wal-Mart and other companies were using captive REITs as a legal loophole, Levy called the practice an “illegal” deduction.

“It’s a transaction that has no underlying business purpose other than avoiding tax liabilities,” she said.

While the bill would not change current laws, Ms Levy said it would give the Department of Revenue “the tools to find out who’s doing it and stop who’s doing it”.

Other states have sued to collect revenue they say was lost because of captive REITs.

This year a North Carolina judge ordered Wal-Mart to pay the state $US33.5 million in taxes, saying the circular cash-flow arrangement had “no real economic substance” other than saving the company money on taxes.~~~~~~~~SMH~~~~~NOTEII: The dead peasants insurance [COLI]that WalMart used as a tax scam was ALSO creted to assisst small businesses,originally, just as the REITS were.BTW, RDS< many of the financial instruments that contributed to the recent financial “meltdown/swindle"on Wall Street,but paid for by Main Street were obstensibly “legal” ,too. Look the the REAL costs associated with THEM. Abortion is legal,too. But there is much dispute as to if its “ ethical,moral and right.”

DHL and the Phalacy of the “Service Economy"…
Bottom Line: America either starts producing or we’re screwed! We have the technology and a fantastic workforce! This will be Obama’s first big test.... They screwed up the bailout by failing to attach the $$ to foriegn currencies so the net effect has been a big “F” You to American manufacturers… Did these people REALLY go to college? I am very optimistic about the county’s future. The days of the “fake” credit economy ended years ago.. We are living in “Real Time” Now. Let’s go!!! And don’t shop at Wal*Mart. There are plenty of alternatives. There really is little excuse to patronize this Anti-American institution. I’m starting my Christmas shopping next week and almart won’t see a nickle. Merry Christmas America!

Re: DHL.............To Wit:McCain Should Fire Lobbyist Who Killed Ohio Jobs

by Seth Michaels, Aug 11, 2008

Thousands of Ohio jobs are at risk because of a proposed shipping-company deal that would close DHL operations at an airport in Wilmington.

The process that has resulted in DHL’s threat to close its operations at the Wilmington airport demonstrates how corporate interests and lobbyists win out over communities and workers—and Sen. John McCain’s campaign is at the heart of it.

The deal was made possible in 2003, when McCain and high-priced lobbyist Rick Davis, McCain’s current campaign manager, both pushed to allow the German company Deutsche Post to take over DHL and get around antitrust laws. Davis’ lobbying firm, Davis Manafort, was hired to help both companies deal with Congress, where objections over DHL’s foreign ownership arose. Davis and a partner earned their firm $185,000 for the DHL-Airborne Express work that year, and $405,000 more from Deutsche Post for work on other issues in 2004 and 2005, Senate records show. 

The U.S. House of Representatives will hold hearings about the proposed restructuring of DHL’s air transportation plans. U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, an Ohio Democrat who sits on the House Judiciary Committee, says the House will work to make sure antitrust laws are upheld and jobs are protected.

Not only does it have the potential to impact an estimated 8,000 jobs from the Wilmington, Ohio, area, but the loss of competition may have serious implications for Ohio consumers.

If this deal goes through and Deutsche Post is allowed to abandon companies it reorganized to serve it, 10,000 employees in southern Ohio will be thrown out of work, leaving many communities devastated.
The DHL/UPS deal raises major antitrust and competitive concerns that deserve careful scrutiny.
Sen. Barack Obama has met with Wilmington’s mayor and residents who could be affected by the massive job losses. He’s urging a White House investigation into the deal.

McCain is standing by Davis, his campaign manager. While claiming to offer “straight talk” to Ohio workers, McCain isn’t mentioning his role or that of Davis in laying the groundwork for these potential job losses~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ddrb in
Tuesday, August 12 at 06:24 PM~~~~~~~~~~NOTE: I originally posted this in August. I wonder if Obama will follow through on White House investigation,now that he has defeated McCain.

ddrb,

“The bill proposed by Claire Levy”

I asked if RETIS “ARE’ illegal, not what was being proposed to make them illegal!!  Until they “ARE” made illegal by LAW, they are considered to be legal and well within the rights of the company to use them!!

robertdfeinman,

“You are wrong, when the big Japanese auto firms set up plants in the US they adopted two strategies.
First, they moved to “right to work” states which make it difficult for unions to organize. These are also states where the cost (and standard) of living is lower, like Kentucky. Then they paid wages and offered benefits that were similar to the big three anyway.”

The reason that they moved to “right to work” states, is as you said, to make it hard for unions to organize workers, but, what you fail to understand, is that unions make a ‘company/employee’ relationship very difficult!!  Union RULES, can make working conditions very inflexible in the day to day operation of the company!!  And, every ‘little’ conflict, requires a steward to be contacted, to make a decision in the matter, meanwhile all the employees, in the area, ‘stop’ working until the decision is made!!  As the union steward represents the union (not the company), the decisions almost always go in the direction of the employee!!  Therefore, anytime an employee doesn’t want to do what a supervisor tells them, work stops and a steward is called!!

As for their similar pay and benefits, I had heard that union employees at GM, make about $35.00/hr, plus $30.00/hr in benefits, for a total compensation of $65.00/hr, and that the employees at Toyota recieved about $25.00/hr, plus $20.00/hr in benefits, for a total compenstation of $45.00/hr, hardly similar!!  But, $25.00 is considered ‘real good wages’ in a ‘low’ cost of living area!!  And, ‘cost of living’ is usually based on the average income of the area, therefore, raising wages, raises the ‘cost of living’!!

The main reason that MOST companies are ‘anti-union’, is because of the complicated operating conditions imposed by unions!!  Daily conflicts on what employees can and can’t do, can make work conditions very difficult!!  It becomes very hard to run a business, when you need some more cashiers, a greeter, or someone to help stock shelves and hear “That’s not my job, man, call the steward”!!

Why should a retailer (and I don’t care of you are Walmart, Target or Joe’s Five and Dime) pay more for labor than they have to?

There’s that right wingnut pro-slavery argument again all cleverly disguised as an economic given. The flaw in your approach, JOe, is you forget workers are also consumers. I think you investor-class thinkers are about to get a lesson in what happens when consumers quit consuming.

Hold off on holiday shopping until the last possible moment. Wait until you’re sure the price has been slashed and slashed again! After all…

...why should any consumer pay more for a good than they have to?

Only buy it if it’s a loss leader. Otherwise you are paying too much! Use coupons and comp pricing where available.

The Walmart mentality propagates the idea that more crap will make us happy. ~ Phil Butler

RDS: When YOU were a union organizer,why didn’t the arguments against unions,as you delineated above, concern you? You were all FOR unions-and had been a union truckdriver, prior to your failed attempt at organizing,if I remember your story correctly. Unions were okay for you and your dad, but nobody else,right?

RDS:
I don’t where you have been for the last 20 years, but the days of Jimmy Hoffa and railroad featherbedding ended a long time ago.

Nowadays workers and management are both interested in the firm doing well. As a matter of fact it is the UAW that has agreed to the biggest changes in compensation and benefits in order to keep the big three afloat.

If there are conflicts in a factory then it is a sign that management didn’t really agree to the terms of the contract, but just signed something they planned to ignore in practice.

Whatever your personal experiences are they have left you with a distorted view of how the world is. You need to get out more.

“You are wrong, when the big Japanese auto firms set up plants in the US they adopted two strategies.
First, they moved to “right to work” states which make it difficult for unions to organize. These are also states where the cost (and standard) of living is lower, like Kentucky. Then they paid wages and offered benefits that were similar to the big three anyway.” ~~~~~~~~~~NOTE: Kentucky is home to Senator Mitch McConnell,and his bride,Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor. Wouldn’t ya think Kentucky would have a HIGHER standard of living?

I am making a comment to RDS in a much earlier post here. In it he said:
“Low wages may not be as “bad” as some people think. The more you make the more you spend. And when a recession comes along who is better equipped to deal with it.”
Well what do you do if you are making low wages and the COUNTRY IS NOT IN A RECESSION? How do you pay your bills, feed your family, etc? Tell me, RDS, just what to you EXCLUDE FROM YOUR LIFE?
Do you purchase less groceries? Perhaps you avoid the doctor and dentist simply because you can’t afford a visit even though you might need to go. And just suppose your kids need a doctor/dentist visit? Do you purchase less clothing and other necessities? Perhaps because you are making less you visit the thrift stores more often if you happen to have one in your neighborhood?
Tell me, RDS, WHAT DO YOU DO WITHOUT?
I am sorry but I will say this over and over again. Wal-Mart can WELL AFFORD TO PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES A LIVING WAGE, THEY JUST CHOOSE NOT TO!! We are talking here about a company that makes millions in profits every year. So why don’t thay pay their employees more? So they can show more profits!!!
It is apparent that Wal-Mart cares for no one except themselves. They have forgotten a long time ago who it is that got them where they are today. Who would run the registers and stock the shelves? Are the store managers and officials from Bentonville going to work all their stores and wait on customers? I think not. It is the employees who do that, but Wal-Mart has forgotten that from the very beginning of this business.
Sam Walton called his employees “associates” so they would feel like they were a “part” of his company, but this term became a JOKE A LONG TIME AGO. Wal-Mart emloyees are a part of NOTHING.
Why don’t you try living on considerably less, especially when YOU DON’T HAVE TO, and see how you like it!!

ddrb,

“When YOU were a union organizer,why didn’t the arguments against unions,as you delineated above, concern you?”

Because, back then, all I saw, was “What’s in it for ME”, I didn’t KNOW or CARE how anything impacted the company!!  After all, if someone owns a business, they must be ‘rich’ and sitting on loads of money, so why not ‘spread the wealth’ (where have I heard that lately?)!!

“Wouldn’t ya think Kentucky would have a HIGHER standard of living?”

You seem to think that ‘cost of living’ and ‘standard of living’ are the same thing!!  A house in a ‘low cost of living’ area may be $100,000.00, but, that same house in a ‘high cost of living’ area, might be $400,000.00, think about it, it’s the SAME house, that offers the SAME ‘standard of living’!!  The mortgage payment may be $600.00/mo. in the ‘low cost’ area, but, $3,000.00/mo. in the ‘high cost’ area, so in times like these, who would have the hardest time paying their mortgage?

“Unions were okay for you and your dad, but nobody else,right?”

Sometimes, people gain ‘wisdom’ as they age, your implication, shows that you believe that if something is ‘good’ once, it must remain ‘good’, but, we know that rationality changes, ie: Once almost everyone smoked cigarettes, would you now say, “It was okay for your grandparents, so it should be okay for you and your children to do it”?

robertdfeinman,

“Nowadays workers and management are both interested in the firm doing well.”

And, just how is that working out for them?  When a union goes on STRIKE, how does that help the firm to do well?  For example, how did the recent STRIKE at Boeing, help the company or even the workers, for that matter?  And, that wasn’t 20 years ago!!

“As a matter of fact it is the UAW that has agreed to the biggest changes in compensation and benefits in order to keep the big three afloat.”

But, only after the company reached the edge of the cliff!!  History has shown, that unions have inflated wages, benefits and in the end prices, to a point where competition with other businesses is almost impossible!!  If an auto worker makes $65.00/hr (wages and benefits), how does that impact the price to a person making $25.00/hr (wages and benefits), in their ability to purchase an automobile?

“If there are conflicts in a factory then it is a sign that management didn’t really agree to the terms of the contract, but just signed something they planned to ignore in practice.”

This is a ‘good’ example of what I’m saying, to your side, it is ALWAYS management’s fault, never the workers!!  As for that CONTRACT, sometimes, management agrees, against their ‘better judgement’, solely to avoid a costly STRIKE, even though they KNOW that it will cause problems in the future!!  Running a business can require daily changes in the way things are done, a 3-year contract, does not allow for that type of flexibility!!  Right NOW, is a ‘good’ example, could GM have foreseen the PRESENT economic crisis, 3 years ago?

Employees can have a very distorted view of company operations, and them being able to control how the operation runs, (through an inflexible contract), can be disasterous to the welfare of the business and in the end, themselves as well!!

“Pay is based on supply/demand and skillsets.  Why should a retailer (and I don’t care of you are Walmart, Target or Joe’s Five and Dime) pay more for labor than they have to?  And to the same point why should any consumer pay more for a good than they have to?” Another JOe lost in love of money land.

JOe, there is an old Polish proverb that says “After exploiting labor you can still breathe their ashes, but mass graves will still be found.”

WalMart is a business theology cult run by psychopaths.

Sometimes, people gain ‘wisdom’ as they age, your implication, shows that you believe that if something is ‘good’ once, it must remain ‘good’, but, we know that rationality changes, ie: Once almost everyone smoked cigarettes, would you now say, “It was okay for your grandparents, so it should be okay for you and your children to do it”?

I’d have to go back awhile in the archives RDS, but you are making another argument against yourself.

Actually WalMart on behalf of the tobacco companies has more interest in killing their customers. 400,000 Americans will die this year from tobacco related causes and WalMart’s own inverted love of money contribution of immoral and unethical practices as Americans drop dead from WalMart’s product health care leadership.

WalMart- All we want is the money. America can drop dead for all we care.

Jane,

“Well what do you do if you are making low wages and the COUNTRY IS NOT IN A RECESSION?”

If the country is NOT in a recession, you should have no problems, because things are going ‘good’!!

“Tell me, RDS, just what to you EXCLUDE FROM YOUR LIFE?”

It’s a thing called ‘Living within your MEANS’!!  You do one of three things:

1.) Try to get a better paying job, or a second job,
2.) Go to a Tech school and ‘better’ your education to get a ‘better’ job,
3.) Lower your expectations or practice “delayed gratification’, saving as much as possible to get the things you want!!  Also, you can cut back on things like the deluxe cable package, go to basic cable, make sure lights are OFF when a room is not in use, cut back your heat (wear a sweater), etc., etc., etc., there are many ways to reduce expenditures, if you take the time and effort to LOOK!!

“Do you purchase less groceries? Perhaps you avoid the doctor and dentist simply because you can’t afford a visit even though you might need to go.”

These are the ‘standard’ arguements used, (the sympathy factor), totally ignoring and avoiding the things I mentioned above!!

“Perhaps because you are making less you visit the thrift stores more often if you happen to have one in your neighborhood?”

Sounds like a ‘good’ idea, that and yards sales!!  If you can’t afford ‘expensive’ things, why ACT like you can afford them?

“I am sorry but I will say this over and over again. Wal-Mart can WELL AFFORD TO PAY THEIR EMPLOYEES A LIVING WAGE, THEY JUST CHOOSE NOT TO!! We are talking here about a company that makes millions in profits every year.”

The fact that YOU think someone SHOULD spend more than they HAVE TO, shows why you have a hard time getting by on what you make!!  When you get your tax refund, do you just go out and spend it, (Because you can AFFORD it), or do you put some of it in a ‘rainy day fund’ and pay bills with the rest?  Many people I know, REWARD themselves (by spending it on things they weren’t able to get otherwise), with their tax refund, for having to live within a tight budget all year, instead of putting it towards building wealth, then, they return to living ‘poor’!!

“Why don’t you try living on considerably less, especially when YOU DON’T HAVE TO, and see how you like it!!”

As both me and my wife are retired, we DO live on a lot less than when we were working!!  Fortunately, while we were working, we managed our money well and now we can afford to live on LESS!!  BTW; Our average wages (during our working years), was about $8.50/hr for me and my wife’s was about $5.50/hr!!  My first full time job, paid $1.25/hr, (that’s right, one dollar and twenty five cents), try to live on that!!

Banacek (SDV),

There is an old Polish proverb that says “Stupid is as stupid does and with SanDiegoView, you can’t fix stupid”!!

Thousands of Ohio jobs are at risk because of a proposed shipping-company deal that would close DHL operations at an airport in Wilmington.

So, you’d rather see DHL continue to operate an unprofitable venture and continue to hemmorhage money?

That’s really smart thinking...glad you’re not in the money biz!

Remember, DHL is a German firm and because of that little fact, they cannot fly their own aircraft on point-to-point routes within the U.S. (they have to contract-out their air ops in this country with an American company).

For the record, the DHL facility in Wilmington, Ohio is geographically-close to Louisville’s UPS Worldport.

I agree with RDS—you certainly can’t fix stupid!

That’s smart thinking…

I agree with RDS—you certainly can’t fix stupid

RDS ripped that off from Ron White.

I guess those slave labor children in Bangladesh must be well-positioned for the pending global recession.

What’s good for Wal-Mart is BAD for America!

RDS & bbrd,

And I thought only Sarah Palin and Dubya were bimbolicious! What is the normal course of therapy for writers’ envy in hickville RDS?

WalMart- We hire internet trolls, shills and frauds.

There is $1,500 built into the cost of American Vehicles just for health bennefits of current & Retired Americn auto workers. This same “built in cost” is about $110. for the foreign vehicles sold here in the U.S.

U.S. Manfactured vehicles are hard to export and sell in foreign countries due to the foreign countries laws!

Wouldnt turn about be fair play?

It seems that if the same laws applied to foreign vehicles here in the U.S. that apply to U.S. vehicles in foreign countries, More U.S. vehicles would be bought here in the U.S. thus -problem solved for the auto industry here in the U.S. and some “stimulus” to the Industry/economy.  Or tax the foreign vehicles to cover the costs or anticipated future costs of bailing out the American auto Industry.

I seem to remember, a slogan “Buy American- save America & American Jobs” seems to be some truth to this. IE: our economic situation today. America has catered to the whims of foreigners for so long that our economy is imploding on itself to please foreigners- What about Americans & American Labor?

I wonder how many manufactures would NOT have relocated to foreign soil if the U.S. had as strict as import laws as our foreign competitors?

It seems the Walmart corporate management model that has been mirrored by other companies and the “domino” effect from that management model, has been disastrous for AMERICANS and their families!

SDV,

“And I thought only Sarah Palin and Dubya were bimbolicious!”

You thought Dubya was ‘bimbolicious’?

“envy in hickville”

Hickville is doing fine, seems like the ‘envy’ is coming from SanDiego and Texas, that’s where the complaints are coming from!!

Michelle,

“There is $1,500 built into the cost of American Vehicles just for health bennefits of current & Retired Americn auto workers.”

And, where did those ‘health & retirement benefits come from?  They came about, because of the auto companies being EXTORTED into giving them, through UAW ‘STRIKES’ over the years!!  The ‘chickens have come home to roost’ and they are hungry, but, there’s not enough food to feed them!!

We’ve been through this discussion before but once again RDS jumps on the opportunity to re-write history. The US auto industry is in the toilet because of poor management...period.

The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell. ~ Confucius

Ken V,

“The US auto industry is in the toilet because of poor management...period.”

So, you don’t think the fact that Auto Workers make almost twice as much as most other factory workers, had ANYTHING to do with it, right?

But, you are right about one thing, the ‘poor management’, that let the UAW extort the contracts from them over the years, is a big factor of their problems!!

As a truck driver, I saw firsthand, how the UAW, totally destroyed ‘American Motors’ (remember them?), I could tell you stories!!

...that let the UAW extort the contracts from them...

You mean like the contracts Wal-Mart extorts from suppliers like Proctor & Gamble?

Back in the days when the auto industry made these contracts with the unions they were on top of the world and thought they were invincible. Poor management, pure and simple.

The Walmart mentality propagates the idea that more crap will make us happy. ~ Phil Butler

Ken V,

“You mean like the contracts Wal-Mart extorts from suppliers like Proctor & Gamble?”

In NO way, are they alike!!  P&G;is not ‘forced’ to take Wal-Mart’s contract, they can walk away, but, the automaker were ‘forced’ to take the contracts, or face a ‘crippling’ STRIKE, a company can’t walk away from a union!!

“Back in the days when the auto industry made these contracts with the unions they were on top of the world and thought they were invincible.”

Right, but can management RETRACT those prior contracts now that things aren’t so ‘good’ anymore?  Remember, during those ‘top of the world’ years, the unions were also ‘on top of the world’ and though they were invincible too, (Problem is, they still think they are)!!  Can the Automakers say, “We are in trouble, so we need to cut pay by $10.00/hr and slash benefits by $5.00/hr” and just DO IT?  No, they would have to get the UAW to agree and if they didn’t, the Automaker would have to find alternative ways to cut costs (like cutting jobs, closing plants and outsourcing)!!

Speaking of “poor management":~~~~"The case was filed on March 27, 2008, against Wal-Mart on behalf of the Wal-Mart Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, or ERISA. Braden v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., alleges that Wal-Mart and others, as fiduciaries of Wal-Mart’s retirement plan, FAILED TO ACT SOLELY in the interests of the participants and beneficiaries of the Plan, and FAILED TO EXERCISE THE REQUIRED SKILL,CARE ,PRUDENCE, and DILIGENCE n administering the Plan’s assets from January 31, 2002, through the present. WalMart’s response?The company pointed out that the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) does NOT call for plan fiduciaries to consider ONLY price when selecting investment options OR select the least expensive options.

The complaint claims Wal-Mart selected and offered to Plan participants UNREASONABLY expensive retail funds, despite the ready availability of reasonably priced high-quality investment options. As a result, the plan SQUANDERED TENS of MILLIONS of dollars of participants’ retirement savings in order to pay for OVERPRICED mutual funds, which, on top of everything, significantly UNDERPERFORMED their benchmarks. This resulted in LARGER fees being spent on INFERIOR products”.~~~~~~~~~~~NOTE: I’d be curious to know exactly WHAT and from WHOM these unreasonably expensive funds were purchased. AIG,Goldman Sachs,Lehman Bros.?? ANY of the big players in the Wall Street swindle/bailout?

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“I could tell you stories!!” ~RDS

Like you haven’t, you big bag of air!

Screwedby,

“Like you haven’t, you big bag of air!”

At least I’m not a ‘bleeding heart’, feeling sorry for criminals, draft dodgers, the dregs of society!!  And, I’m not ashamed to admit, that I don’t believe that ‘Personal Responsibility’ is a WACKO concept, like YOU do!!  YOU are the ‘real’ bag of HOT air, with all your strange views of life!!