03.05.07
Posted in Politics, Economics, "Big Oil", WalMart Rocks at 2:58 am by JB
I’m a capitalist, and even in my roughest times I believe in the system. Because it works.
But I’m a little curious about something, and don’t know exactly where to look. In my mind, the industries that have had the roughest times in recent years are the very industries that are heavily unionized. Auto makers. Airlines. Etc.
Now, here’s my question. Are these companies really having such problems because of the unions, or do we just hear about it more because the media, which regardless of what Eric Alterman dreams in his bizarre little world, is so much in the pocket of the liberals and the Democrats that we get constant news stories about the big bad corporations attacking the poor little unions ?
Union membership has declined something like 800% in the last 50 years. (I know, the math is weird…. how can something decline 800% ???) In 1950 or so union membership was at about 40% of the private workforce. Now it’s around 7.5%. That’s PRIVATE. The AFSCME and other government unions are still pretty high, which is bizarre enough. It takes a frigging act of Congress to fire a government civil service worker, it seems.
As an aside, some government employees are hired and can be fired, because they serve at the pleasure of the President. Reference the US Attorneys who were recently let go. Diane Feinstein is all up in arms about it. The President can fire any political appointee he wants to, at any time. Does she not remember when her “boy” Bill Clinton took office and fired EVERY SINGLE US Attorney in the country ? He hired some back, sure, but… where was the outrage ?
Aside over- do the unions really serve any purpose now except to drive up costs for power, communications, cars, and plane rides ? I know the people holding glow-sticks on the tarmac really like their 30 buck an hour snooze-arama, but is it really worth it when the airline goes belly-up, or they start laying people off like a coked-up whore at a Cleveland bang-fest ?
That’s why, I think, the Dems want the unions to have carte-blanche to sign people up in full view. Most people don’t want to join a union, because they know that doing so may just be a commitment that leads to their demise. Real nice to have that union card when you’ve spent 2% of your wages over the years to support unions (and in turn Democrats), but now the company is bankrupt because of the benefits and outrageous wages.
That guy who has the union card and no job is now really happy for two things. One, he can go to Wal Mart and buy cheap, reliable, and quality goods to support himself and his family. And two, he can toss that card on the fire to heat his home for a millisecond or two.
Or he can follow the advice of Robert Kennedy Jr., that absolute waste of a human being, and buy heating oil from Hugo Chavez. HAVE YOU SEEN THE COMMERCIALS THEY ARE DOING ??? Absolutely, without a doubt, treasonous. Without. A. Doubt. More on that another time.
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09.15.06
Posted in Politics, Economics, WalMart Rocks at 4:15 pm by JB
There is a group out there called “Wake Up Wal-Mart“. They have, I’m sure, non-noble intentions. Groups like this are a scourge on the body politic.
Wal-Mart provides low-cost goods for people who don’t shop in high-priced antique shops, who can’t afford- or don’t want- grain fed organic food. Wal-Mart also is the largest private employer in the country. The second largest employer in the nation behind the federal government.
Does that not tell you something ?!
Most Wal-Mart employees are teenage kids or second-earners. Wal-Mart pays better than minimum wage very quickly, and treats their employees very well overall.
This ridiculous “Wake Up” group says this:
Wal-Mart has become much more than just a small corner store in rural America. In the past 10 years, Wal-Mart has grown into the largest retailer in the world — number 1 among the Fortune 500 — and is America’s largest employer.
Wal-Mart was never intended to be a small corner store, and hasn’t even tried for over 30 years.
Wal-Mart was a leader in the “Buy American” movement, and whenever possible buys products from American producers. I know this from experience. There is a shop in Marion, Arkansas that makes lamps and lighting equipment almost exclusively for Wal-Mart, and the Sharp microwave plant in Memphis makes almost exclusively for Wal-Mart.
But this is one of the most egregious claims:
# In Wal-Mart’s America, wealthy companies shift their health care costs onto taxpayers like you and your families.
# In our America, corporations live up to their responsibility and provide their employees with adequate and affordable health care coverage.
This shows a staggering lack of knowledge of how business works. “Corporations live up to their responsibility.” This is juvenile tripe. Business who can’t make money fail. Companies who can pass on their costs to their customers. If Wal-Mart falls victim to unionization (see all the auto manufacturers or airlines choking under union pressures) or raises their prices beyond the reach of normal consumers, 3 million or more people will lose their jobs immediately.
And when did these silly groups decide health care was so important ? That’s just gonna fund insurance companies, and they hate those organizations as well.
This is a socialist movement- the hatred of Wal-Mart- and it shows a frighteningly shallow and stupid understanding of markets, economics, and responsibility.
Any politician who sees Wal-Mart as a threat, but wants to appease Iran, Iraq, Al Queda, doesn’t deserve a single vote, and anyone who supports those people doesn’t deserve to vote. You crazy-ass people who vote against Wal-Mart aren’t smart enough to deserve a voice.
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Posted in Politics, Unhinged, Democrats, WalMart Rocks at 12:19 am by JB
Great overall piece, but here are some numbers:
The median household income of Wal-Mart shoppers is under $40,000. Wal-Mart, the most prodigious job-creator in the history of the private sector in this galaxy, has almost as many employees (1.3 million) as the U.S. military has uniformed personnel. A McKinsey company study concluded that Wal-Mart accounted for 13 percent of the nation’s productivity gains in the second half of the 1990s, which probably made Wal-Mart about as important as the Federal Reserve in holding down inflation. By lowering consumer prices, Wal-Mart costs about 50 retail jobs among competitors for every 100 jobs Wal-Mart creates . Wal-Mart and its effects save shoppers more than $200 billion a year, dwarfing such government programs as food stamps ($28.6 billion) and the earned-income tax credit ($34.6 billion).
I’m missing what the bad parts are…. Ahhhhh yes:
People who buy their groceries from Wal-Mart — it has one-fifth of the nation’s grocery business — save at least 17 percent. But because unions are strong in many grocery stores trying to compete with Wal-Mart, unions are yanking on the Democratic Party’s leash, demanding laws to force Wal-Mart to pay wages and benefits higher than those that already are high enough to attract 77 times as many applicants than there were jobs at this store.
On another, and the closer…. And Will has a prediction on the next round:
What is this focus of evil in the modern world? North Korea? The Bush administration? Fox News Channel? No, it is Coca-Cola (number of servings to Americans of the company’s products each week: 2.5 billion).
When liberals’ presidential nominees consistently fail to carry Kansas, liberals do not rush to read a book titled “What’s the Matter With Liberals’ Nominees?” No, the book they turned into a bestseller is titled “What’s the Matter With Kansas?” Notice a pattern here?
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