Ben Stein on Wal-Mart

[SI]

A friend of mine just emailed this article to me.  The more of Mr. Stein's works I read, the more impressed I become.  He's like one of the last celebrities that's still grounded in reality.  On a side-note, I see that t_o_a_s_t is still a banned word :))

Wal-Mart

Here's a shocker.  I love Wal-Mart.  I know it's almost always on the receiving end of bad press.  It ruins neighborhoods.  It puts small businesses out of business.  It wrecks the balance of trade.  It pays its workers poorly and treats them mean.  It makes overseas workers into slaves.  That's what the news says.  The truth is that Wal-Mart is a major blessing for most Americans who live close enough to one to shop there and for the people who work at them.  My smart friend C.L.  Werner in Omaha made the point really clearly.  When a Wal-Mart opens in a town, he said, it's as if everyone in the town got a raise.  That's because the stuff at Wal-Mart is so much cheaper than that same merchandise was anywhere else.  This is not a trivial thing.  Now, don't get me wrong.  Target and Sears and K-Mart and J.C. Penney and Brooks Brothers also sell good stuff usually at bargain prices, but they do not have the same reach of stores, the same astounding prices that Wal-Mart offers every day.  This makes the people who shop there richer.  Price matters a lot to most people.

I am sure Wal-Mart is stiff competition for the stores and supermarkets across America.  I feel bad for the people who lose their stores because of Wal-Mart.  But not everyone is a store owner.  Everyone is a consumer, and Wal-Mart is about as good a friend as the consumer ever had.  Is Wal-Mart ruining the balance of trade?  Well, let me put it like this: I buy American whenever I can find it.

But there are a lot of things that are just not usually made in the USA any longer.  Toasters.  Hot pots.  Color televisions.  Underwear.  Since the goods are almost always made overseas, why not buy them at the best possible price?  By the way, if someone knows of a good American made toaster, please stand up and shout.

Is Wal-Mart wrecking small towns?  Not the ones I see, which are mostly in North Idaho.  Those towns are booming.  And the closest you get to a town square is the Wal-Mart, where neighbors visit with neighbors in the aisles all day and all night, in air conditioning, out of the rain.

Is Wal-Mart impoverishing third world workers in sweat shops?  Heck, no.  Conditions in those places are far from ideal.  But they are far better than working on the farm or begging in the streets or selling themselves into prostitution or whatever they were doing before they came to work for foreign suppliers of US stores.  The gains in prosperity in the developing countries because their people can sell to America through Wal-Mart are astounding.  As to the people who work at Wal-Mart, they seem to me to be bright, alert men and women who work there because it's the best they can do in their town or at their age.  Plus, they seem happy.  The usual clerk at Wal-Mart gives a lot better service than the clerk at Tiffany.  I would like it if they were paid more, but they are in a competitive labor market.  And what about those greedy stockholders?  A lot of them are those same Wal-Mart clerks, many of whom got rich from their stock.

In the real world, Wal-Mart is as much of a boon to the American shopper as the Sears catalogue was long ago.

Jeer at it all you want, all you cool people, but, it's progress, big time.

[foxx]

That's a really nice commentary from an elitist. 

Too bad what he says isn't true.

[hades]

they do have good buys i must say...my aunt makes me take her there like every week  :P

[foxx]

they do have good buys i must say...my aunt makes me take her there like every week  :P

You may save some money...but you pay the difference by selling off part of your soul... ;)

[Libra]

That's a really nice commentary from an elitist. 

Too bad what he says isn't true.

I agree, Foxx.  Walmart stands for just about everything that's wrong in this country... Example:

1. In the largest class action lawsuit EVER.....
- Women hourly workers earned up to 37 cents less per hour than their male counterparts.
- Female managers earn nearly $5,000 less than male managers in yearly salary.
- Women comprise 72 percent of Wal-Mart's total workforce, but only 33 percent of its managers.
- Women comprise 92 percent of Wal-Mart's cashiers, but only 14 percent of Wal-Mart Store Managers.

2. It's a Man's World at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart infamously refused to sell T-shirts that bore the slogan "Someday a Woman Will be President!," citing complaints that the mere idea was offensive. (This KILLS ME!!!  I will never walk in to a Walmart for this reason alone)

3. Wal-Mart Forced to Stock "Plan B" contraception

4. Have a Family? Leave!
Wal-Mart has countless complaints against them for non-compliance with the federal Family Medical Leave Act.

5. Second Rate Benefits for Women
One ultrasound during pregnancy, higher rates and a bizarre new medical savings plan that still overlooks a tremendous amount of preventative care (which is substantially cheaper and more effective than recuperative care).

And the list goes on and on and on.  I doubt Ben Stein has ever even seen the inside of a Walmart.  I doubt he even KNOWS anyone who shops there (besides maybe his staff) much less anyone that is employed there.

Libra

[underdog]

I've never been impressed with Ben Stein's blabbering. 

[hades]

i really doubt i lose part of my soul when i save money  >:D


and as far as the womens wages...they choose to work there so they cant complain to much.im sure they could get a job elsewhere doin the same thing so it cant be that bad if they dont.

[Libra]

i really doubt i lose part of my soul when i save money  >:D


and as far as the womens wages...they choose to work there so they cant complain to much.im sure they could get a job elsewhere doin the same thing so it cant be that bad if they dont.

WHAT?  That's not an excuse for them paying them less than men for the same EFFING JOB!!! That's justthe biggest, stinkiest pile of male chauvinist bullchit I've ever heard, Hades. 
Libra

[hades]

its plain facts. i mean all the stories goin around yet more and more women apply for jobs there and stay there seeming happy.so it cant be as bad as anyone says. my gf has a few friends who work at walmart here and they say they get just as much as they guys there that they know. and that the wages go up the exact same for both sex's based on the time there.  :)

[bubblegum]

Walmart stands for just about everything that's wrong in this country...

I've been there.  Yes I worked for Wal-Mart when it pretty much became a choice between no job or a paycheck.  I wasn't happy about the fact, I hated the idea of working for Wal-Mart.  Wal-mart was the last place I wanted to work at.  However the issue was either I could work for slave wages or have no income at all.  Yes Wal-Mart is just as bad as the employees say.  

At the time I worked for walfart, health insurance, without vision or dental, just for 2 adults (heaven forbid you add your kids to it) ran $80.57 a paycheck, and that is if you went thru an HMO.  For 2 adults who took the non HMO plan it started out at 98 bucks a check.  If you had 2 kids and a spouse and added them to health insurance, with dental your share of health insurance soared to $125 a paycheck, and dental was an additional $10.25 a check on top of that.  And you still had no vision coverage.  If your spouse has health insurance thru their employer, and uses it, and you sign up for walmarts health insurance for your spouse and kids as a secondary insurance carrier, they charged you an extra $50 bucks a check because you were using them as a back up insurance plan.

The store I worked for actually told employees to apply for basic health.  In my state, basic health is an insurance plan for single adults, married couples with or without kids who cannot afford health care thru their employer or need health care because their employer does not offer it and they make to much to qualify for medicare/medicaid.  The premiums for basic health are based off your income, and the average family with 2 adults and 2 kids pays on average 45-60 a month for vision, dental and medical.  The human resource department went as far as to hold monthly workshops on how to apply for basic health.  They would pretty much hold your hand thru the forms and helped you gather your information for them and even gave you the postage to mail the application packet in.  Need groceries? They sent you first to the area food banks PLUS helped you out if you needed the assistance, in filling out an application for food stamps.  Heck they even went as far as brining in a someone from DSHS every 2-3 months to help you fill out the application for food stamps and turned it in for you.

I could go on and on-what I said is just the tip of the iceberg.  I left Wal-Mart after 8 months when I found a better job.  I shop there every so often only because its either shop there because its only a 20 minute drive there and back, or drive 30 minutes both ways to a different store.

[hades]

what kills warmart is that different storesin different states pay different wages.the bad stores kill it for the good ones.i only know of three stores myself and its nothing like you said.

[bubblegum]

what kills warmart is that different storesin different states pay different wages.the bad stores kill it for the good ones.i only know of three stores myself and its nothing like you said.

Hades my dear, I'm not trying to start an agurement here or be mean or anything, but I suggest just for the hell of it, you go get a job at walmart for 3 months then come and tell me what you think of them then.

[hades]

i know people as well as my gf and cousins who work at the three walmarts i know.based on what theyve said it differs from a lot of stories i hear.and i really doubt all them people we know are lying or brainwashed by walmart into giving false info.and most of the people we know there been there at least 6-10 months.

[hades]

oh and libra as far as the "chauvinist" comment..id say the same thing about any guy too.that aws workin in a place with stories like that.  :)

[SI]

Wal-Mart might not be the greatest employer.  Having never worked there, I can't attest to it one way or another.  But, I have worked in my fair share of hell holes through life, and I know that if you don't like a job, there are always others available.  They might not be better, or pay better, but there are always alternatives.

As far as "selling off part of your soul..."  I'm with Hades on this one.  The way I figure it, I have:

* Mortgage
* Homeowner's insurance
* Utilities
* Car loan
* Car insurance
* Credit cards
* etc...

If I can save money by shopping at Wal-Mart, I'll do it.  To those that are independently wealthy, or have multiple incomes, they may have more of a luxury of being "morally righteous" shoppers.  But to singles like myself, or single-income families, Wal-Mart (or any discount superstore for that matter) can be a benefit.  If I can save money on the products I use daily/weekly, wouldn't logic require me to do so?

[hades]

saving money is always a good thing.if you have money or not  >:D

[Libra]

oh and libra as far as the "chauvinist" comment..id say the same thing about any guy too.that aws workin in a place with stories like that.  :)

There is NO WAY that you can justify a man making more than a woman that is doing the same job.  NO WAY.  It's just wrong... Not to mention illegal.  

Libra

[hades]

depends on the store owners.im sure theres a few places where women get paid more as well.

[ClingFree]

OKay ... not flaming ... not being argumentative .,. well maybe a lil argumentative. I live in a small town, without many job options. At least not without driving 40+ minutes. Wal mart came .. people applied .. same ole same ole .. Super Wal Mart came - and put AT LEAST 5 other stores out of business - Now .. those people that worked in those 5 other stores needed jobs right? Where were they ABLE to apply? If they wanted to stay in this county, it left the option of Wal Mart. You're right - people CHOOSE to work there. But given your options, there really isnt much choice. Take me for example - as a single Mom - I can either A) Work at Wal Mart and not have an hour commute each way or B) Sacrifice More time with my children by sitting in a car for two hours - Tell me where the choice is there?  

And yes, there are times I shop at wal mart when I cant get things at other stores. Do I think Ive sold my soul to the devil? Probably, but not by shopping there. Do I think Wal Mart is any better than Home Depot? no. Did I work at Home Depot for 5 years? Yes. Am I rambling and making no sense now? Yes.   :))

[Libra]

Wal-Mart might not be the greatest employer.  Having never worked there, I can't attest to it one way or another.  But, I have worked in my fair share of hell holes through life, and I know that if you don't like a job, there are always others available.  They might not be better, or pay better, but there are always alternatives.

As far as "selling off part of your soul..."  I'm with Hades on this one.  The way I figure it, I have:

* Mortgage
* Homeowner's insurance
* Utilities
* Car loan
* Car insurance
* Credit cards
* etc...

If I can save money by shopping at Wal-Mart, I'll do it.  To those that are independently wealthy, or have multiple incomes, they may have more of a luxury of being "morally righteous" shoppers.  But to singles like myself, or single-income families, Wal-Mart (or any discount superstore for that matter) can be a benefit.  If I can save money on the products I use daily/weekly, wouldn't logic require me to do so?

I shop at Costco.  They actually pay their employees a wage they can LIVE on (average = $18 an hour).  Plus, they have great benefits.  Additionally, the CEO (with bennies AND stock options) at Costco is only $1.7 million.  Compare that to the $8 an hour average wage of a Walmart employee.  Oh, yeah, and the CEO makes $54 million. Another dirty little trick of Walmart is they try and only hire employees to work 35 hours or less a week, thus they are considered "part-timers" and do no qualify for fulltime benefits.

I don't see how anyone doesn't find this morally and ethically reprehensible.  

Libra