At 03:50 PM Thursday 2/14/2008, Dan M wrote: >[...] > >You also have argued that market forces don't drive prices, but backroom >deals do. If Target, K-mart, and Walmart are all competing for the same >customer, if one can lower their costs and pass it on to the consumer, why >is that a bad thing? Are we morally oblidged to by from inefficient >boutique stores? What about the folks who can't afford to do that?
"Let them eat cake"? (Presumably from the day-old bakery store . . . ) >[...] > >Vendors are companies, and although human beings work for companies, they >not human beings. Even when I sell my services as a vendor, I don't expect >to make my case on my children needing college, but on what I can negotiate. >It becomes problematic at the bottom, I agree, but Wal-Mart is the wrong >target for this. They pay the going wage, on average, for store clerks. >The fact that the going wage is a general concern, not one to that can be >solved by boycotting Wal-Mart. The fact that Wal-Mart offers merchandise >that poor people can afford, and forces other stores to do the same is a >good thing. The drop in prices caused by the Wal-Mart effect is/was >nationwide and had a profound impact on the lives of millions. Since >Wal-Mart, with a few well publicized exceptions, has been shown to pay the >going wage, it has had an extremely small effect on wages. > > >In short, I'm arguing that the Wal-Mart effect has been the single largest >force fighting the slipping of the economic standards of the lower half of >income earners. I'm not arguing that there have been no negatives. I'm not >arguing that Wal-Mart has not broken the law. > >I'm arguing that, if you add up all the plusses and the minuses, the net >effect for poor people is significant and positive. It seems to me that, if >one worries about the lack of health insurance, living wages, etc. one >should attack the sources. Speaking as someone on a so-called "fixed income*," I have to agree . . . _____ *There's a "Frank and Ernest" cartoon where one of them walks into a bank and announces to the scowling banker "My fixed income is broken again!" -- Ronn! :) _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
