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Y’know, somehow I don’t believe old Sam intended to do anything but offer the working poor of Arkansas another option for affordable stuff. Externalizing the socual costs and pulling down the wages of the entire country was probably not part of his first business plan.
A friend defended Walmart because the stores offer layaway plans — which helps people get stuff they need but can’t pay for all at once (so long as they do this without a fee, that’s a good thing).
So the store offers a layaway plan. That’s not a great defense against the things the store has done in regard to its employees, or the environment. The company appears to be trying to clean itself up, but there are a lot of things to make up for, she said, all judge-y.
WalMart’s Honest Graft
Peter Dreier & Donald Cohen at Dissent Magazine.
A side topic, but only partly: Walmart consistently has something like a 3 percent profit margin. Guess what kind of profit margin newspapers have enjoyed? Up to 28-30 percent. A Hartford, Conn., detective once told me that a crack dealer, if s/he stays out of his/her wares, makes something like 25 percent, so your friendly neighborhood newspaper conglomerate has pulled in more than your friendly neighborhood crack dealer.
Don’t know what to say about the crack profits, but at least the newspapers (at least in classic journalism days, don’t know about now) aren’t putting out of business the local stores and pharmacies etc. Did / do newspapers offer anything in the way of competitive pay and/or benefits?
I could go into the evils of corporate journalism, but I’d bore even me. The short answer? No. Not really.
“Profit margin” is one of those business terms I’m still trying to get a handle on understanding.
For instance…This Graph would seem to coincide with what you said…and This Graph should make understanding the whole thing easier.
But then reading this from Wikipedia…
…(which is taken from the report to the SEC), coincides to what was reported in the Dissent article but doesn’t seem to coincide with the ychart graphs I linked to and so I’m all confused again.
Just as soon as I think I’m beginning to understand some part of economics I read something…like the LIBOR/Barclay’s/Diamond Bob “scandal” and I end up scratching a hole in my head. (No wonder these people find it so easy to continually rip people off. Understanding Supreme Court decisions is easier.)
Thank goodness for folks like Dean Baker/CEPR and Yves Smith/Naked Capitalism or I would be much more than just moderately clueless.
The only thing I know about illicit drug sales is what I see on The Wire and Breaking Bad. That makes me think 25% is a little low…but like I said…..clueless….
What is it about a successful business that says it must grow and become behemoth?
Isn’t that part of the capitalist credo and process? That things MUST continue to grow?
I guess, but I could never figure out why.
No economist, I can’t figure out why in terms of need or common sense — but it’s what the capitalists say, yes? And if it works for them, why not…….
C’mon, those heirs earn every penny, and the employees who are paid “too little” are just not working hard enough. Right?
Sad State of affairs indeed!
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/transform/protest.html
Excellent linkage. Thank you, Jim.
Thanks for this. I’ll be empaling it to lots of folks today. I haven’t shopped at Wal-Mart in many years, and I’m doing just fine without it.
I’m not a fan of Walmart or their overseas junk.
However, the statistics are very misleading.
For example, if Susan is worth more than $1 she has a greater net wealth that 25% of Americans combined.
How….because of the housing crisis, 25% of Americans have a negative net worth.
a tale, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing.
I am not following your math. Sorry.
The real horror is not Walmart. It’s American companies closing up shop in the USA and relocating overseas. It’s happening every day and the worst is yet to come. Check out GM: http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Lvl5Gan69Wo
Someway, somehow, this must be stopped.
I’d argue that it’s both, considering that WalMart gets most of its goods from overseas…