Seriously.
I had a 30 minute argument with someone who believed Wal-Mart benefited him (and that Prop 1A was good, but I've already tried to make my point on this matter, you can side w/ me or think that it's going to benefit people, I simply don't and only history will prove me right.) His reasoning for thinkin Wal-Mart benefits him: cheaper prices. Direct quote from him: "I don't know what I'd do without Wal-Mart"
Well, for one, you'd shop somewhere else. Wal-Mart is not the end all of cheap, crappy, low-quality products. I can direct you to various stores where you can get items at the same price, or less, but they're some absurdly odd brand, which the same quality level as Wal-Mart's own products: Crap. Save a dime here, save a nickle there. I'll show you where it adds up. At the end of the day shopping at Wal-Mart still costs you the same as Ralphs, Golden Eagle or Shop'n'Save. Just trying to cover various areas of the country w/ my names. Kroger, etc. I'm spacing on Floridas stores. Anyways, I digress.
Now how does Wal-Mart keep its prices so incredibly low, and still make a profit? Well one they have such buying power that THEY name how much they'll pay for an item, and if a company doesn't like it: Wal-Mart won't sell their product. That company is now at risk for losing profit for not sucking it up and selling their products. Ever gotten a gillette razor from wal-mart, then one from a grocery store? The packaging is totally different, lower quality @ Wal-Mart. Cut corners where you can..
Another way, say, their t-shirts are priced so low: outsourcing labor for producing products. Now, Wal-Mart isn't the only person who does this, but I'm simply using them as an example to make a point. By outsourcing, they can pay laborers anywhere from 1-9Cents an hour to produce something. The profit margin between cost of materials and labor that goes in compared to what you spend on the shelf is astonishing. Sometimes it can cost as little a 1C / shirt, then they turn around & sell it for $5-20.
So if you look at it in this light: Yes, you the American consumer are benefiting from this. The person who made the shirt is barely putting food on their table, and the corporation that started this all is raking in massive profits. Everyone's happy. Or well, the corporations are happy, Americans are stupid and think they're happy but just aren't aware of the reality of the world, and the people doing the work are feeling a little better, but not much, that they put a bowl of rice on the table for their family.
Then we come back to America and look at how employees are treated at Wal-Mart. Basically, as lowly as you can treat them, pay them as little a possible, and make working conditions only as low as they can be to pass state regulations. The same holds true for their outsourced operations. Pay as little as possible, get the most bang for your buck, and to hell with anyone caught in the way of you trying to make money.
How would you like to know THOUSANDS of children died to make the Sony PS3. Sony told the African countries that they would pay double for an essential mineral needed to produce ALL electronic products. 80% of the worlds resource for it (can't remember the name for the life of me at the moment) is in the Congo alone (which is currently in civil war. Pick up a real newspaper.) So, Sony would pay double, and children worked themselves literally to DEATH trying to get it, to feed themselves & their families. THOUSANDS died of starvation, malnutrition and mining accidents. All for the Playstation 3.
Sucks to know that, huh?
But some people just don't want to listen to it, or they refuse to believe it.
So here in is the dilemma. People view corporations are being for their benefit. They don't realize the other coin to this absurd corporatacracy that has been created, the negative ramifications of many businesses.
That is not to say we do not need some corporations, some do good and not every one is out to rule the world.
The problem is, a corporation only can see profit. And under the law, they are protected by the 14th amendment, thanks to crazy loopholes in our wonderful legislative process. So the corporation only sees profit. Is it cheaper to dump chemicals into the water and pay a fine, or to create systems to prevent that waste from ever having to be entered into the water supply. Any person with a decent set of morals would say it is wrong to dump, but a corporation sees that it is cheaper to do say, since they may not even get caught in the first place.
Meanwhile, they are considered a person under the law. It's absurd.
Going back to Wal-Mart though, you think you're paying less. At the end of the day, that money comes back around. Wal-Mart pays its employees so low they turn to government assistance programs, which you are taxed for. So you end up paying the 15C you saved on Q-Tips buddy. And you create a negative backlash of outsourced labor and under payed US citizens.
But again, what the fuck do I know?
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3 comments:
Wow brilliantly put. But really, what are we to do about it? I know that's so wrong of me to say, but millions of Americans, like you said, don't know about this, don't think about it, or don't want to believe it. So what is there to do? Walmart will just keep making more money and being corrupt and ... There's really nothing to do about it.
We rally together, refuse to shop at Wal-Mart, refuse to shop at these places that use sweat-shops.
They don't need to be making nearly 100% profit on products they're selling to operate their business.
But yea, there isn't much that can be done.
Unfortunately, as these other countries we're abusing start to grow they're going to turn against us and refuse to be paid absolutely nothing. Then the companies move to another country, abuse their work resources. Eventually, it's going to cycle back to -us-. What does America have to offer the world right now? Nothing. We have absolutely nothing to offer the world. We produce almost nothing, aside from food, which will definitely be a resource if we have any water left to grow the plants... But aside from that, what do we have to offer the world, other than cheaper labor than someone else eventually?
We need to turn around and bring these jobs back home. We did fine as a country when we were producers... These corporations just didn't get to make billions of dollars in profit a year.
Before I was linked to this, I was busy writing a big spiel about why I don't shop at Walmart. I have so many reasons for disliking that place that I actually have to break it up into parts, otherwise my post will be about 10 miles long.
I'd like to say that I really respect what you've said here and totally agree with every point you've made. Walmart is not cheaper than any other store, I used to think they were and maybe at one time a long time ago they were. Now, however, I can get the same prices at Target, without being treated like shit by unhappy employees. I can get way better prices at my local grocery store, though, too. (Kroger) I think people just don't realize that in the long run, they aren't saving a single penny by shopping at Walmart. I think it's just what people are used to. Walmart has them brainwashed, I believe.
In response to Cetta's comment:
Americans know more than we'd like to admit to. Admitting that we know what's going on in those 3rd world countries or that the shirt you are wearing may have come from a sweat shop is admitting that we are all pieces of shit who really don't give a damn about anyone else in other countries (or our own country for that matter) as long we get what we want and need at a price we feel we can afford. (Again with the prices.) At the end of the day, we can all lay our ignorant little heads on the lumpy pillow we bought at Wally world for $5.00 and sleep blissfully pretending that pillow wasn't made by a 10 year old in some 3rd world country who isn't even able to go to school so he can work himself to death making sure we Americans have a cheap, lumpy pillow to rest our ignorant heads on. Get where I'm going with this?
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