The amazing invention that feeds the poor
By Tom Quiner
A man invented something amazing.
This guy invented a way of running a business that saved people of modest means a bundle of money. He lowered at-home food prices by 9.1% according to Global Insight, an international research firm. Amazingly, the Consumer Price Index was 3.1% lower because of this guy.
He invented a way to give regular folks more purchasing powers, to make their paychecks go farther.
People loved his invention. They flocked to him by the hordes, by the hundreds of millions around the world, and spent so much money with him that they made him rich. He and his family became billionaires. Keep in mind, no one made these people give him money. They did it of their own free will because they got something in return: good products at a great price.
People not only want to buy his products, they want to work for him. He employees 1.3 million Americans. Only the federal government of the United states employes more people.
He didn’t just create a boatload of jobs in the U.S. he did the same around the world, especially in underdeveloped countries where job opportunities are limited. According to New York Times columnist, John Tierney, this guy was responsible for creating more jobs in developing nations than an economist in Bangladeshi by the name of Mohammed Yunus who won a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in helping to secure small loans for villagers to start their own businesses.
Why have I told you this about the late Sam Walton and his invention, the Wal-Mart stores? Because he and his company are reviled by the Left. In Washington D.C., liberals have passed a law targeting Wal-Mart, who plans on building six stores there. D.C. liberals want to force Wal-Mart to pay a higher much higher minimum wage to their employees than other stores must pay.
Wal-Mart says if the mayor signs the ordinance into law, they will nix building three of these stores.
Why do libs hate Wal-Mart so much?
For starters, the heirs of the late Mr. Walton are members of the “accursed” “1%”. They got rich the old fashioned way: they earned it.
I have a solution for all of these folks grousing about this Walton clan being too rich: all they have to do is to stop buying stuff from their stores. It’s really simple. You don’t need the government to penalize them for their success; the so-called “99%” can do it if they want.
But they won’t do it. You know why? Because there is a mutually beneficial exchange that is made with each purchase in a Wal-Mart. People voluntarily give Wal-Mart their money because they get a good deal in return.
It’s called capitalism. It works. Now deal with it.
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/427948/july-22-2013/minimum-wage—mcdonald-s-spending-journal
This is classic.
That was hilarious, as Colbert always is. But at the same time, it’s ludicrus to say that McDonald’s employees should be earning $15 an hour. I know respectable people with college degrees who are working jobs with significantly higher qualifications than McDonald’s (at 16 years old, I walked in and got an interview and was hired on the spot without any background checks), and are happy to be getting over $10 per hour.
Some jobs just aren’t designed to be career choices. They’re better focused for kids who want a little spending money while they’re still in school and get their primary support from family. If you’re supporting yourself and stuck in a job like this then you should be happy that it’s still lucrative enough that you have the freetime to complain about it.
What you say is true, yet there are a couple big problems with Wal-mart. First, unlike in Sam Walton’s time, it seems that a majority of what Wal-mart sells is made in China and now Vietnam as well. That means in many cases the products at Wal-mart are made on the backs of people who work in sweatshop conditions to provide us with cheap, poorly made items that break quickly and, in the long run, do not save money compared to buying a better made, slightly more expensive product that lasts far longer but is now (thanks to Wal-mart and Bill Clinton) very difficult to find in the first place. We try hard not to buy things made in countries that imprison people for speaking out against evil, but it isn’t easy, and sometimes it’s pretty close to impossible.
Second, it is my understanding that Wal-mart’s labor policies are not really fair to the employees who have to clock out at the back of the huge stores and then walk to the front for their 10-minute breaks, effectively losing half of their breaks in the process. This is 2nd-hand information, though, so by all means check on the veracity of it.
To Wal-mart’s credit, their employees are paid a little more than most for comparable jobs, and yes, they do provide good value on some things, particularly dry food goods like cereal.
Carla, thanks for the thoughtful comments. A couple of quick reactions. I understand that Wal-Mart pays above the prevailing wage in third world countries, although it is obviously less than the American minimum wage, and that locals have access to better paying jobs as a result. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Regarding the quality of the workmanship, the marketplace can correct this. Folks who want better quality can go elsewhere and pay more for better quality. I sincerely commend you for being conscientious in the way you shop. Thanks for writing. Please come again.
I have heard some Walmart horror stories.
Company A is approached by Walmart to supply them with Product Z. Company A can not meet such a high demand so they go to the bank with this large purchase order and get a loan to expand their production. Company A is now very much in debt but with Walmart as a customer, how could they lose?
A year later, Walmart goes to Company A and says they are willing to only pay half for Product Z of Company A.
Walmart, having better lawyers, has already stipulated that Company A cannot sell to any of Walmart’s competition, even if they could find another company willing to purchase such large quantities of Product Z, so they are forced to meet Walmart’s demands.
Thanks for sharing this, even if it is anecdotal. I guess my gripe is this: Wal-Mart does a ton of good in the world. They have lowered the price of food prices for the poor. They clothe the poor for less than everyone else in the world. They employ the poor. And yet liberals go out of their way to look for ways to criticize them at the same time they look they look the other way at more egregious situations. Dr. Gosnell’s House of Horrors comes to mind. I guess I’m willing to cut Wal-Mart a little slack in light of the incredible, positive difference they have made in the world. In other words, because Wal-Mart keeps the union out, they are automatically an enemy of to liberals, regardless of all the good they do. Liberals are less concerned with results, and more concerned with rhetoric and feelings.
Our average Iowa town lost 12 local businesses that had been around for years when Walmart moved into town. Now that they have put in a Super Walmart, looks like we will be losing a grocery store that I have went to since I was a kid.
I worked as a contractor in a Walmart automated warehouse. I was told by one of their managers that the above scenario is standard practice to get the best possible pricing.
Thanks for sharing your perspective.