Wednesday

always low wages, always

This new anti-Wal Mart grassroots movement looks VERY PROMISING.

Also, lots of stuff going on at the I Heart Wal-Martwebsite, including a contest to come up with a catchphrase for the "evil smiley," anti-walmart icon. Here are some of the entries so far:

Jonathan suggests: "Always Low Wages, Always!"
Jill suggests: "Dollar shirts for penny lives."
Jill suggests: "I eat vegetarians."
nec suggests: "gotta love capitalism"
suggests: "Welcome to Walmart, leave your soul at the door."
Joel L. suggests: "Always Metastasizing like a Cancer on the Planet. Always."
Joel L. suggests: "Pay low prices, Pay no mind"
Joel L. suggests: ""Get out of my way!!!""
Joel L. suggests: ""The only thing lower than our prices, is our sense of responsibility to our fellow citizens.""
Carmen suggests: "If we have it, it will cost ya!"
Carmen suggests: "I have my hand in pockets all over America."
Jeff suggests: "We prefer slavery"
Jeff suggests: "Clearing a Community Near You"
Jeff suggests: "May I Help You...Destroy this Community?"
Jeff suggests: "How low can you get?"
Jeff suggests: "Born out of Hell...Nobody Goes Lower"
derwoooood suggests: "thank-you for your soul>:)"
carlooooooo suggests: "100 million people destroyed, please come again"
Dana suggests: "Because I Love Mexicans"
Lena suggests: "Goodbye social responsibility, hello cheap underwear!"

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

do you think that this is the sound of many many people jealous that they did not think of this first???? I mean really, how many people with smaller stores are making sure each and every object they sell was not made by exploited foreign workers? very very few, including mom and pop stores I would imagine. I dont like the idea of workers exploited overseas either however I hardly think wal mart is the only culprit and are the people who are hanging wal mart out to dry consistantly boycotting every company that commits these same sins? again, I doubt it. further I might add most of the wal mart boycotters tend to be wealthy people who can afford to buy their clothes at Ann Taylor or some other such shop. I might also add that in typical liberal fashion they tend to be far more concerned about workers in some far off country than they are about the american workers put out of jobs because stuff can be made cheaper overseas.

Anonymous said...

I think the wal mart boycott just gives liberals some feel good low effort thing that they can do so they kid themselves they are making the world a better place.

Anonymous said...

Man, I hate to weigh in on this one, being that I'm a heartless, economy-raping Republican capitalist pig and all, but I actually agree with the Wal_mart boycott. WalMart is a massive destructive force. Without touching the bleeding-heart living wage stuff, I'll simply point out that it is Walmart's dedicated corporate strategy to destroy small town economies. It is part of an organized plan - first, open regular Walmarts in a cluster of communities to drive all of the local merchants out of business, then close all of the regular Walmarts, and open one super Walmart in a more central location. At that point, people are forced to drive long distances to the new Super Walmart, because all of the local stores are closed. And then they refuse to lease the old stores to anyone, especially not potential competitors, leaving hundreds of empty big boxes and deserted parking lots all across America, a testament to their destructive power. And as for all of the jobs they create, most simply replace jobs that were destroyed when they put all of the local merchants out of business.

As for the criticism that only the rich can afford to boycott WalMart, there is some truth to it - as we become richer, as individuals and as a nation, we can choose to pay a few pennies more for T-shirts, rather than support a company with practices as abhorrent as Walmart's. It's one of the beauties of capitalism.

And finally, to the point that it's somehow intellectually inconsistent to loathe Walmart, but not every other company that has engaged in similar practices, I would simply argue that it's a matter of degree - Walmart, as the worst of the worst, merits more active opposition than other companies, which are merely standard issue evil capitalist tools.

Anonymous said...

spoken like a true elitist. if you think walmart is the only place that pays low wages...please. anywhere you can walk off the street and get a job with very little education will exploit you. this is reality. face it. I used to work in banquets and catering for marriott and every single fricken day we were told we were very replacable (so as to motivate us to say yes yes yes to whatever they asked us to do). what is the answer for this??? its to work your way above that entry level position, thats what. anyone who thinks they can support a family by working at wal mart (or McDonalds or Target, etc etc etc etc) really needs to take a good long look at reality. no a family should NOT be expected to subsist on 5.35 an hour. that is why parents urge their children to make some job plans, get some training, not drop out of high school, dont go poking it to their girlfriend thier junior year so she gets pregnant and they have to take whatever low wage job comes along. jobs like wal mart should be ENTRY LEVEL...they should be for students to get work experience or seniors to get out and about. they shouldnt be to support your family. so you liberals, instead of encouraging self improvement, you whimper about how cruel wal mart is that they are not paying shelf stockers the same wages that someone who has a skilled job has. that is why people go to college.(or think of a good idea and market it, etc etc open their own business, etc..not everyone who is a success is a college grad...look at Bill Gates, look at my hairdresser who owns a successful salon..she had a plan, she didnt whine that she didnt make money doing a mindless task that a trained chimp could do) I can hear it now..the sound of liberals whining because so many people DONT HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY...oh please...there are enough people who HAVE overcome the odds and succeeded despite poor backgrounds that I just dont buy that its all about where you come from waah waah waah..maybe someone isnt going to go to harvard business school but they can get a very respectable degree from a state university and get a decent job that isnt wal mart. somehow I think there is a problem that peons who stock shelves are whining that they only make five dollars an hour. the answer (unless they are mentally disabled and in that case they should be taken care of, not expected to support themselves completely) is to not be a peon anymore. a lot of these people in dire econonic straits are also there because they couldnt keep their pants on before they were married and now they are whining about the consequences of their actions. people make mistakes and deserve help but perhaps instead of blaming the nasty employers who dont pay them emouth they should blame themselves for putting themselves into a situation where they have no options but to take a minimum wage job. its called personal responsiblity. repeat it after me Dewi..PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY. its something that liberals just really hate to foist on someone that they see as victimized in any way shape or form. and guess what Dewi, it doesnt help them. you may get a feel good warm fuzzy that you are such a nice person but treating people like victims doesnt help them. many people are all for capitalism until someone else does it much better than they do. then its whine whine whine. I have read the complaints against wal mart and was all on the bandwagon until I thought if some company was doing this on a smaller scale it would be applauded as good business practices, shrewd. but because they HAVE put some smaller people out of business, now of course everyone hates them. my father had a small record store in the early sixties. big box retail put him out of business. I dont really think they are evil. you roll with the punches, find something else to support yourself. no, maybe they should not be having stuff made overseas, BUT what is the answer to that? perhaps that goods sold in america must be made in america unless it is something unique to that other country or else be subject to very strict taxes? that would solve a lot but then you would be getting whining from different quarters.
now I think I will go do my grocery shopping at wal mart.

Anonymous said...

Well, gee, that was certainly pleasant of you. You'll note that I specifically avoided reference to the entire living wage discussion, precisely in hopes that it wouldn't bring you snarling out of your troll cave.

In fact, my post wasn't elitist at all, nor liberal whining. Wal-mart does misbehave on a grand corporate strategic scale. As the largest company in the world, their ability to inflict damage on individuals, the environment and communities is unmatched, in the history of the world. Their active decision to wield that power in such a massively destructive way is what merits the response. The jobs they create merely replace, and often not even that, jobs that existed in the communities before Walmart crushed their employers. They probably weren't high-paying jobs either.

As for your stream-of-consciousness rant about pathetic losers that had sex (gasp), how about we keep the discussion on an economic level, not some anecdotal tirade about poor choices at the individual level? You are indeed correct that entry level jobs aren't really there to support families - but Wal-Mart takes it a step further, by eliminating insurance coverage (what, we're against that, too? Damn ingrates, they should just bite the bullet like I did, instead of whining about going to the doctor), and requiring practices which are unacceptable in our society (by any employer, big or small. They are never good business practices, and never viewed as such), such as mandated work off the clock, locked stores, employment of illegals, and so on.

So you went shopping for groceries at Walmart. Probably saved, what...ten bucks over shopping somewhere else? Maybe $500 per year? Is what Walmart has done to employees and communities worth that?

Anonymous said...

I really was referring to Dewi and not you.
HOWEVER...nonmarital sex is a VERY economic issue because if the girls keep the babies or if the couple gets married fresh out of high school because of an unplanned pregnancy they are not going to do too well economically. now I am not saying there are people who it just pans out for them to marry young but they are not usually the shotgun "we had to get married" weddings. and unfortunately who foots the bill for these peoples poor decisions? the taxpayer, thats who. now I realize people make mistakes and I am not against helping people BUT to ignore the reality of this is a form of denial. I think it is pathetic to call people "heartless' because they would like to see young people encouraged to make decisions that are not going to cost those who are wiser an arm and a leg. no one ever died of lack of sex. the guy who marries his pregnant high school girlfriend will wind up stocking shelves at Wal mart or flipping burgers at mcdonalds because he cannot afford to take any time off to prepare for anything else that would ultimately support him better.
as for insurance..a lot of jobs do not provide insurance. and they are the low level ones. again, the answer is to prepare better. I worked many many restaurant jobs that did not provide insurance to anyone except management. I didnt bitch about it...I figured it was a clue to get into a more permanent long term type of situation.
if we are going to set up a whinefest here, how about how much money a self employed person must pay out of pocket for insurance????

Anonymous said...

I might further add that those who are so concerned about the entry level workers at wal mart and their low wages, are they perhaps developing viable job training alternatives and investing their time in training people whose poor life decisions have put them in a position of having to accept a job at Wal mart??? I am not kidding...this is a very viable alternative and if someone truly has a heart for these folks thats what you should be doing instead of bitching about how wal mart has taken capitalism to an extreme and is doing so well.

Anonymous said...

oh yeah, thats right, I forgot, the best liberal solution so the kiddies can continue to have all the sex they want (because ya know, they have NO self control) yet we do not get the problems associated with single moms or adoption is to encourage them that if they get pregnant that we'll be glad to just rip that baby out of their womb and cut it into little pieces for them so they can continue to avoid responsibility while we enable them.
Definition of a liberal: petitions for the right to murder babies and for the right of murderers to live.

Anonymous said...

Good grief. We're talking about Walmart here, not premarital sex, or abortion. Your record is broken. The needle is skipping. Engage on the debate, instead of turning every discussion into your pet rant.

Troll.

Anonymous said...

I think the comments are rather relevent. I know that many of these strings go off on tangents. and since we are on the subject of liberal stupidity: this just out: the NYACLU is doing the big whine about bag searches before people get on the subway. my first thought when I read they were doing those searches (which the majority of people are gladly submitting to) was that I hope they do this in other major cities iwth public transportation networks. although I live in the northwest, I have a lot of family still in Boston and I thought I hope now that they have a deterrent in place in NYC that those idiots dont decide Boston is good unprotected target. I sure hope they get security going on the T. and in DC and Chicago too while they are at it. it may not be perfect, but liberals listen closely..it is a d.e.t.e.r.e.n.t. Can you spell it: deterent. we do not know how many attacks all those "false alarms" and "security alerts" may have deflected. they wont strike if they know it is expected. no you cant stop everything but you also cant sit around like a stupid liberal with your thumb up your butt bleating about everyones "erosion of rights" while the muslims blow you to smithereens now can you. I bet our pal Dewi is among those doing the big whine about how her fellow new yorkers civil rights are being "violated" by these subway searches that might just save her sorry liberal heinie.

Anonymous said...

I just have one thing to say, because I noticed someone on here talking about how people should just go to school. Walmart has incorporated an automated "scheduling system" into all of their stores. This program spits out random schedules leaving employees only 1 week advance to know when they will be working. There is no "I have to have Tuesday's off for school". Either you comply or you dont work there anymore, period. My mother has been working for Walmart 17 years, makes only 12.35 an hour (due to the fact that they fired her and rehired her at less money once she was making 15.85 5 yrs ago )AND she has been going to school for the past 3 years to be an elementary school teacher. Suddenly, she cant plan class schedules for her last year because Walmart has decided to throw in this scheduling monster. So, here's the choice, in her small home town. Quit walmart and waitress (as there are very few other retail stores she could go to) while trying to raise children on slave wages so she can go to school... or she can quit school because Walmart refuses to accomodate her class schedule. When she asked why they are going to this extreme, the manager said "We have a buisness to run, everyone here is replaceable".

Roberto Iza Valdés said...
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