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Economics 102: WalMart Cuts Worker Hours After Hiking Minimum Wages
This year, some American executives who heeded loud calls for across-the-board wage hikes for America’s lowest-paid workers received a complimentary refresher course in undergad economics courtesy of the free market.
Take Dan Price for instance, the 31-year old CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments Systems who found out the hard way that setting the pay floor at $70K comes with all manner of unintended consequences.
And then there’s Wal-Mart.
Earlier this year, the retail behemoth became one of several corporate heavyweights to raise wages for its meagerly compensated workers, around 500,000 of which are now set to receive at least $9/hour and $10/hour by Q1 2016. The move will cost somewhere around $1 billion this year.
Now one thing that should have been abundantly clear from the start is that if ever there were an employer that could ill-afford a $1 billion across-the-board pay raise without immediately making up the difference by either firing some employees, cutting hours, or squeezing the supply chain it’s Wal-Mart. After all, they’re the “low price leader”, and you don’t hold on to that title by passing labor costs on to customers.
Predictably, the company moved to extract more “value” from its suppliers and when that didn’t prove sufficient, the folks in Bentonville brought in the “plumbers.”
But the story didn’t stop there. Late last month we highlighted an internal memo circulated at Arkansas recruiting firm Cameron Smith & Associates which looked to be an attempt to prepare the firm’s employees for layoffs at Wal-Mart’s home office. Then, not a week later, Bloomberg ran a story detailing the grievances of some senior Wal-Mart employees who suddenly realized that although they may still be making more than their subordinates, the wage hierarchy had been distorted and that distortion had nothing to do with merit. As we put it, “higher paid employees don’t understand why everyone under them in the corporate structure suddenly makes more money and if people who are higher up on the corporate ladder don’t receive raises that keep the hierarchy proportional they may simply quit which means that, for Wal-Mart, raising the minimum for the lowest paid workers to just $9/hour will end up costing the company around $1.5 billion if you include the additional raises the company will have to give to higher paid employees in order to retain their 'talents'and avoid a mid-level management mutiny.”
Well, don’t look now, but undergrad economics is rearing its ugly again at Wal-Mart as the retailer cuts workers’ hours in a desperate attempt to offset wage hikes. Here’s Bloomberg with more:
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in the midst of spending $1 billion to raise employees’ wages and give them extra training, has been cutting the number of hours some of them work in a bid to keep costs in check.
Regional executives told store managers at the retailer’s annual holiday planning meeting this month to rein in expenses by cutting worker hours they’ve added beyond those allocated to them based on sales projections.
The request has resulted in some stores trimming hours from their schedules, asking employees to leave shifts early or telling them to take longer lunches, according to more than three dozen employees from around the U.S. The reductions started in the past several weeks, even as many stores enter the busy back-to-school shopping period.
A Wal-Mart employee at a location near Houston, who asked not to be identified because she didn’t have permission to talk to the media, said her store had to cut more than 200 hours a week. To make the adjustment, the employee’s store manager started asking people to go home early two weeks ago, she said. On Aug. 19, at least eight people had been sent home by late afternoon, including sales-floor associates and department managers.
The employee said she’s covering an area once staffed by multiple people at one of the busiest times of the year -- the back-to-school season. On a recent weekday, she had a customer who had to wait 30 minutes for an employee to unlock a product the shopper wanted to purchase, she said.
The staff at a location in Fort Worth, Texas, were told that the store needed to cut 1,500 hours, according to a worker who asked not to be named for fear of being reprimanded.
So there you have it. Further proof that across-the-board wage hikes - like socialized medicine and free college - is a concept that sounds good when considered in a vacuum, but when implemented is subject to economic realities that conspire to make the end result look far less desirable than proponents might have imagined.
And therein lies the problem. Projecting how these "experiments" might turn out isn't difficult, which makes one wonder how policymakers and corporate management teams seem to get them wrong on a fairly consistent basis. Then again, when you live in a world governed by the principle that the cure for debt is still more debt, it's easy to see why some still believe, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that you can have your cake and eat it too.
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Imagine a big metal box, poorly stocked with low-quality goods. Fat customers rolling around on overly-burdened scooters and not an employee in sight to help them reach the box of detergent on the top shelf. That's WalMart.
1 + 1 - 1 = 1
Imagine a big metal box, poorly stocked with low-quality goods. Fat customers rolling around on overly-burdened scooters and not an employee in sight to help them reach the box of detergent on the top shelf. That's WalMart.
I'm going to Walmart today and to Community Supermarket. The goods are the same in both places ( I like the produce at Community better) but Walmart charges me up to 40% less on most items. The customers are just as fat in both stores. As far as getting things off of top shelves, I have no problem stepping up and helping an old lady get something of a shelf or load her groceries into her trunk. I don't know where you live but Walmart is no different from any other store anywhere near me with the exception of the low prices (which is great for those of us with poverty level incomes) and the fact that it pays employees a higher starting wage. Hate on.
"exception of the low prices (which is great for those of us with poverty level incomes)"
Got to love that positive feedback loop.
What part of Walmart pays more than other stores in my area did you not understand?
What part of shopping at Walmart isn't good for average Americans did you not understand.
The average American in my community who works retail is better of if they are employed by Walmart (which pays more) and shop there (where prices are lower). Supporting stores which pay employees less while costing me more doesn't help poor people. Quite the opposite.
If you continue to insist that making less money and paying more for food is a good thing may I suggest that you give back some of your paycheck to your employer and insist on tipping the owners of the stores where you shop. Then tell me how much better off you are.
i only shop at walmart because i don't need a rewards card or a membership....when "food 4 less" closed up walmart was the only option left
I don't use "rewards cards" either and Walmart doesn't have them which is nice. But they do ask for ID when buying ammo so I shop for that elsewhere. Don't track on me.
i load my own, so id isn't a problem. if i shopped for ammo and i was carded i'd find another place too.
More evidence of the Robust Rekovery. Add that to Obamacare costs and we have a Winner!
Here is more Edumacasion for the Central Planners from the "who coulda know'd" archive:
Jackson Hole Has a Worrying Message for Draghi & Co."Mario Draghi may have skipped the Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole symposium this year, but he can’t dodge its conclusion: central banks can’t steer inflation as well as they thought."
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-30/jackson-hole-questions...
Oh what a recovery, Sad sad
Layoff List: http://www.dailyjobcuts.com
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Whoever wrote this article is totally unfamiliar with how retail actually works. They ALWAYS cut employee hours after back to school is over. September is usually the slowest month along with January. Part time workers typically only get 15 hours a week during those "dead" months and they should be thankful for it because smaller places usually find it more satisfactory to let workers go. When business picks back up for Christmas, hours are increased, laid off workers get re-hired, and new hires come in.
This article is trying to tie the typical seasonal cycle with a paltry increase in wages.
The Waltons are still worth tens of billions, so $1B is pocket change to their oligarchy.
As for the other commenters blaming Walmart for killing Main Street USA, that's old tired canard from the early 1990s. Main Street USA is now online, and has been for the last 2 decades. For example, Walmart stopped carrying AR-15 rifles in their stores recently because they can not compete with online gun shops. Online gun shops are typically holes in walls with several employees and that's it.
Walmart has a big box business model that is slowly on its way out, as they can not compete with smaller more efficient startups online. The only thing keeping Walmart relevant today is their acceptance of EBT and their transportation logistics system. If Amazon can get their drone system implemented to drastically cut transportation costs and their dependence on UPS, then Walmart is finished.
It's so funny reading about retail from the perspective of academics or cubical dwellers, as they have no idea what the heck they are talking about. I spent way too much time in the trenches of this unrewarding sector, and am glad to get out. Unfortunately, when one grows up in a low-income area; retail, call centers and food service are the only opportunities in the community, and then you just end up stuck.
When I go to Walmart now I only see blacks, Indians and Mesicans. Maybe 1 or 2 honkeys will wander in because they forgot how to log into Amazon or FleaBay and get it cheaper and usually better.
However, it might be the only place to buy fashionable incontinence lingerie:
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34104229?post_id=839024042846876_875769...
"Economics 102"
For those hwo have never taken University-level "Economics"...
"Economics" (a subset of Sociology) is a set of "theories" that tries to "quantify" human exchange behavior, after the fact, by assigining (subjective, random) measuring methods to actions and exchanges of goods, services, money, monetary "instruments" and more made-up shit that is pulled out of arrogant elitist's asses, like "Derivatives".
There is nothing in "Economics" that states "labor must be shat upon at all costs".
A going concern can lower costs by purchasing cheaper wholesale goods, lowering investment in the company, lowering Manangement costs, or lowering the overall cost of goods sold (marketing, overhead, rent, etc.).
To assume and encourage that the "ONLY" way workers (who have had only negative "real" income growth) can get a raise is to short the workers more, is to applaud this fraudulent Roman debauchery called the US "market" for taking this country backward to the Robber Barron era.
Most of the stuff you buy at Wallmart ( non food items ) are manufactured over seas and imported. Way back before NAFTA and the other insane free trade treaties, that stuff was higher priced in real terms, but was made in America by americans with blue collar middle class jobs.
Free trade created Wallmart, and free trade has destroyed the American middle class every bit as much as the continuous devaluation of the dollar. While it is true, we do get a benefit of lower prices from free trade in the short term, the long term impact can be seen in our rust belt, labor force participation rate, and wealth distribution.
Our politicians and bankers have been long term fucking us for short term benefits.
Free trade created Wallmart, and free trade has destroyed the American middle class
Politicians brought us so-called "free trade," and productive individuals and companies had to find a niche within that compulsory system in order to survive. Those who condemn Walmart for profiting in such an environment might as well condemn the deer who eat residential landscaping because the local government destroyed their natural habit while building soceer fields in the local park.
Most of the stuff you buy at Wallmart ( non food items ) are manufactured over seas
Can you show me any other stores which are stocked with a majority of American made goods? There aren't any around here. Everybody stocks the same stuff as Walmart. And a suprising number of items I buy there are made in the US.
Let's not forget the fact that no one forced us to buy cheap imports rather than support our own industries. WE did that. Sure government policies and big business made it easy, but still, WE did this.
So feel free to always buy the best deal, and never ever wonder if that deal will put your neighbor on unemployment....because something for nothing IS OUR RIGHT!
So feel free to always buy the best deal, and never ever wonder if that deal will put your neighbor on unemployment....because something for nothing IS OUR RIGHT!
You've got that backwards. If my neighbor can't produce a product or service at a price that is competitive and he tries to shame me into buying it anyway then he is the one asking for something for nothing.
The trade deficient is simply a matter of monetary policy. The dollar is the world's reserve currency so dollars are produced for use around the world which means that other nations must send us products in exchange for our paper. And the result is the trade deficit. This system was not instituted by regular Americans who wanted to put their neighbors out of business, it is a system by, for and of the bankers. Why pretend otherwise?
So you are saying we have no choice but buy foreign goods. We MUST buy Toyota and not buy Ford. Further we MUST hire illegals rather than the neighbor kid, simply because he REFUSES to live in a cardboard box.
This is the problem we face. EVERYTHING is someone else's fault, someone far far away that is beyond our reach yet saddles us with these unfortunate choices. We MUST buy the Chinese shit made by slave labor in a country who's support for human rights and freedoms is as distant as Pluto, because it's our fucking right...
We have the right to own a gun, but it doesn't make it right to use it...just because you have it. Freedom is only retained through responsible acts, and to suggest that monetary policy FORCES you to dissolve you own nations employment base is BULLSHIT. More rationalization for what are ultimately self destructive acts for short term benefit. There are people selling crack on the corner, and as far as I'm concerned, you have every right to imbibe. Just don't come telling me some shit that it ain't your fault you're an addict and your life has gone to shit because someone was selling it outside your door.
If you live a subsistence life at or near poverty, and yet STILL do not understand WHY your income is falling and job opportunities are fading, then Billy, you are well fucked.
If you don't understand that the economic system is defined by the monetary regime then you'll never understand the problem let alone find a solution. Perhaps you'll appreciate Adam Smith's explanation better than any I can provide. Here he shows how domestic and foreign industry support each other but his example assumes a sound money regime. Take away the sound money, replace it not only with fiat currency but with a world reserve fiat currency and the entire system breaks down.
"But the annual revenue of every society is always precisely equal to the exchangeable value of the whole annual produce of its industry, or rather is precisely the same thing with that exchangeable value. As every individual, therefore, endeavours as much as he can, both to employ his capital in the support of domestic industry, and so to direct that industry that its produce maybe of the greatest value; every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it. By preferring the support of domestic to that of foreign industry, he intends only his own security; and by directing that industry in such a manner as its produce may be of the greatest value, he intends only his own gain; and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest, he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. It is an affectation, indeed, not very common among merchants, and very few words need be employed in dissuading them from it.
What is the species of domestic industry which his capital can employ, and of which the produce is likely to be of the greatest value, every individual, it is evident, can in his local situation judge much better than any statesman or lawgiver can do for him. The statesman, who should attempt to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, would not only load himself with a most unnecessary attention, but assume an authority which could safely be trusted, not only to no single person, but to no council or senate whatever, and which would nowhere be so dangerous as in the hands of a man who had folly and presumption enough to fancy himself fit to exercise it.
To give the monopoly of the home market to the produce of domestic industry, in any particular art or manufacture, is in some measure to direct private people in what manner they ought to employ their capitals, and must in almost all cases be either a useless or a hurtful regulation. If the produce of domestic can be brought there as cheap as that of foreign industry, the regulation is evidently useless. If it cannot, it must generally be hurtful. It is the maxim of every prudent master of a family, never to attempt to make at home what it will cost him more to make than to buy. The tailor does not attempt to make his own shoes, but buys them of the shoemaker. The shoemaker does not attempt to make his own clothes, but employs a tailor. The farmer attempts to make neither the one nor the other, but employs those different artificers. All of them find it for their interest to employ their whole industry in a way in which they have some advantage over their neighbours, and to purchase with a part of its produce, or, what is the same thing, with the price of a part of it, whatever else they have occasion for.
What is prudence in the conduct of every private family, can scarce be folly in that of a great kingdom. If a foreign country can supply us with a commodity cheaper than we ourselves can make it, better buy it of them with some part of the produce of our own industry, employed in a way in which we have some advantage. The general industry of the country being always in proportion to the capital which employs it, will not thereby be diminished, no more than that of the abovementioned artificers; but only left to find out the way in which it can be employed with the greatest advantage. It is certainly not employed to the greatest advantage, when it is thus directed towards an object which it can buy cheaper than it can make. The value of its annual produce is certainly more or less diminished, when it is thus turned away from producing commodities evidently of more value than the commodity which it is directed to produce. According to the supposition, that commodity could be purchased from foreign countries cheaper than it can be made at home; it could therefore have been purchased with a part only of the commodities, or, what is the same thing, with a part only of the price of the commodities, which the industry employed by an equal capital would have produced at home, had it been left to follow its natural course. The industry of the country, therefore, is thus turned away from a more to a less advantageous employment; and the exchangeable value of its annual produce, instead of being increased, according to the intention of the lawgiver, must necessarily be diminished by every such regulation."
"Can you show me any other stores which are stocked with a majority of American made goods?"
Nope, not any more. Sears, JC Penny, Montgomery Wards in 1960 were almost exclusively American made goods. Tools, furniture lawn and garden products, probably a majority of textile items as well. The free trade policys have demolished almost all American manufacturing. I also suspect our politicians brought us free trade at the behest of their campaign donators and lobbyist friends, who are the ones that have made the long term gains since the implementation.
Behind the policy is someone gaining from the policy. Maybe Wallmart? Home Depot? Target? or any of the others.
"productive individuals and companies had to find a niche within that compulsory system in order to survive" No doubt there are plenty of nimble business people that saw this coming and positioned themselves accordingly.
Free Trade should have been call Job Export.
Freemoney, that's why I believe Republicans actuallty want illegals here since labor costs are much less and Rep profits much higher. As crazy as it is, the Dem voters should be fighting for their jobs by sending illegals back home. Dem voters are so gruberized they don't have a clue that Barry's flood of illegals results in massive job losses for them.
D vs R is irrelevent. They are the opposing faces of a 2 headed snake.
The snake does as its told. How does a Senator with a $200K salary say thanks to donor(s) of the $25Million for the re-election campaign?
and the non-food stuff at Meijer, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, Kohl's, Kroger, Dick's, etc is all manufactured in America by Americans.
LO fucking L
At least WalMart used to sell Sig Sauer ARs before they quit selling Sig Sauer ARs, because they are scary.
+1 Bunghole
Every canard pinned on Walmart is true on their competition too.
I laugh at the morons who brag about shopping "elsewhere" when elsewhere pays their employees min wage and import the same foreign made products.
I do the majority of my shopping online, buying products manufacturer direct, and having them shipped to my front door.
Sorry, but I ain't gonna buy lettuce online!
Guv'mnt knows what it's doing... in order to project some semblance of maintaining our standard of living while devaluing our currency it passed legislation encouraging the displacement of jobs to other countries (China, etc.) resulting in lower cost goods. Their chronic illness is that they borrow from the future. Problem is those who lose jobs become dependent on guv'mnt (taxpayer/debt) funded programs which become more bloated and unsustainable. It's a sefl fulfilling calamity that grows exponentially until it crashes like a trainwreck. We're getting close to that end.
Cut .gov subsidies for wal-mart workers (Wm: the most famous 'merican shit-fest institution for shit lovers everywhere) and see the whole place shut down right quick'
As far as economics 102, it's more 101:
But total quarterly revenue only jumped 1.4 percent to $131.6 billion. Analysts had expected that figure to eclipse $132 billion. Walmart stock fell Thursday morning, at least in part as a reaction to the morning’s underwhelming revenue news.
http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/02/19/walmart-to-raise-wages-de...
Cut .gov subsidies for wal-mart workers (Wm: the most famous 'merican shit-fest institution for shit lovers everywhere) and see the whole place shut down right quick'
I'll say it again. Walmart has a higher starting wage than other retailers in my area. If benefits were cut then Walmart workers would be better off than those who work elsewhere.
Why do you and others hate Walmart so much that you condemn them for charging customers less while paying their employees more than any of the local competition?
Can you explain why stores which pay employees less than Walmart and charge more for the same products are good for the poor?
base employees get raise and cut hours.
mgt gets no raise and must cover subordinates hours being cut.
sounds about right.
Billy, I hear ya'. All good points! But you asked and this is why I hate Walmart --- It's UGLY, BUTT UGLY!
Everything about it is unappealing: the building, the customers, the parking lot, the staff, the merchandise, the drive over there through the surrounding squalor on crumbling roads crawling with sub-prime SUVs, the litter, everything.
Not that any of this is 'Walmart's fault', or that they are all that different from other retailers - they all suck -- purveyors of 'stuff'.
I'll get along just fine without their crap, thank you.
Litter... I live in a small town that has one WalMart because we are the county seat. Across the street is a ranchers field. The fence line stays covered in WalMart plastic bags. Pisses me off everytime I drive by. WalMart should have a worker out there everyday picking their trash up but they do not.
Becasue WM, not the slob customers, put them there? Correlation/causation fallacy?
Work less hours for the same pay. Seems like a win for the employees.
Last week this woman was going through the scanner but I noticed that she left here purse wide open when she put it in the plastic bin. I told my co-worker Dan to create a diversion when she exited the scanner.
Her wallet had $3000 in it. I told Dan it had $300 and he was good with the $100 I gave him.
I call it my banker bonus. I'm going to retire early.
WM is not the worst, they have just been traditionally one of the biggest drivers in the race to the bottom (not just in US but globally). They've also been the premier recent symbol of rapidly advancing technology being combined with insatiable greed.
And at the end what have they produced? Shitty products for broke people. Not exactly the greatest outcome of capitalism.
On the other note, if peoples options are between working at WM or working at an even worse company, that's real unfortunate but no hate on that.
The problems you cite were created by government. Bipartisan legislation brought us so called "free trade," central banking and a host of other regulations which are designed to siphon off money from productive individuals.
There's nothing wrong with being angry about the state of the economy but misplaced anger doesn't help the situation, it makes it worse. The politicians love to see the blame put on a company like Walmart which enables low income individuals the ability to purchase sufficient food while it is the politicians themselves who provide nothing but obstruction while profiting handsomely. Politicians love it when you talk about the "greed" of productive companies. "Greed" is a word which the envious use to designate their marks.
The problems you cite were created by government. Bipartisan legislation brought us so called "free trade," central banking and a host of other regulations which are designed to siphon off money from productive individuals.
Uh, who do you think was pushing these policies?? Hilary Clinton was on WM board of directors 1986 - 1992 (Bill was governor of arkansas), during this period WM engaged in a famous fight against their labour + lobbied for 'free' trade.
When I said one of the biggest actors pushing the race to the bottom, I meant not by 'trying to get by' in corrupt system i meant by CREATING THAT SYSTEM.
Seriously, some of you guys seem to be up on a lot of stuff and thick as mud on other shit.
Unless you'll agree that much smaller (or no) government is the solution to economic success you'll be a part of that bad system yourself. Without the raw power of government to force individuals to do things against their own will and against their own interests then no corporation could benefit by exploiting that power.
thick as mud on other shit
Kind of like those who believe that giving an elite class a monopoly on the use of violence helps the little guy, huh?
Unless you'll agree that much smaller (or no) government is the solution to economic success
Successful governments have historically been related to structure not size. Though obviously a very large government is problematic, ditto for very small (see: any poor country).
Without the raw power of government to force individuals to do things against their own will and against their own interests then no corporation could benefit by exploiting that power.
Third world countries demonstrate how it works, private armies do the bidding of private corps while the weak govs get payouts. This is business as usual all over the globe. Corps can easily act as their own governments, any concentrated source of capital / resources can if allowed space.
Kind of like those who believe that giving an elite class a monopoly on the use of violence helps the little guy, huh?
huh?
Here's a piece straight from the lobbyists mouth, 2004, on WM. Comical to read these thoughts in 2015:
http://www.cato.org/publications/commentary/is-walmart-good-america
I know "the state" is the favorite whipping boy of the Austrian School cult. The joke is that with the free market capitalism that these cultists worship so much led to "the state's" growth in the first place.
When we had a free market capitalist system, it allowed robber baron monopolists free reign. Hence the Rockefellers were the clear victors under that system. Once they achieved power and influence, they were no longer interested in the free market capitalist system that allowed them to flourish. So they created "charities" and bought off politicians, or some cases became politicians to advocate their one world order agenda.
Progressivism was founded at the turn of the century to combat the robber baron monopoly system and give the average working man collective bargaining to get their crumbs of the big pie. Of course the Rockefellers hijacked that movement and mutated it to its present form.
I find it ironic that Von Mises got his angel funding DIRECTLY from the Rockefellers! Hence that's why its disciples promote the very system that allowed the Rockefellers to flourish and the average working man to be reduced to peons for slave wages to be used at the company store.
The Austrian School advocates want to "go back" to the 19th Century economic model, and they decry any talk of "moving forward" as some Marxist communistic plot. Time only moves forward according to human perception and wearing nostalgia goggles and reminiscing only bits and pieces of the past is silly.
I applaud the advocates of cryptocurriences and applaud advocates of the Resource Based economies and I applaud Bucky Fuller for at least having economic models that use automation as inputs as opposed to labor.
I find it ironic that Von Mises got his angel funding DIRECTLY from the Rockefellers! Hence that's why its disciples promote the very system that allowed the Rockefellers to flourish and the average working man to be reduced to peons for slave wages to be used at the company store.
Not that ironic.
I applaud the advocates of cryptocurriences and applaud advocates of the Resource Based economies and I applaud Bucky Fuller for at least having economic models that use automation as inputs as opposed to labor.
People seem to be noticing that all jobs are being replaced by computers.. Eventually it'll be impossible to ignore across the board and people will insist on new economic models, it's already happening organically on smaller scales anyway.
It's not the creative destruction that's bad (it's good in the long-run as long as everyone can be retrained and find new work), it's the RATE of creative destruction, whereby it drastically outpaces retraining, adjustment to market conditions that's a negative for about 15-20% eligible working population.
Not me of course - I was able to train my Fanuc (an awesome brand of robot, made in Japan) to take Statistical Process Control data and load parts for me (rather than an operator). Now all I have to do is hit "F5" in my office and publish the results for the customer, and robot runs at a near-0 PPM (no defects). It freed up my time to do Weibull decision studies (in ordert to make prudent business decisions); and reduced my company's variable labor costs, which will increase my bonus at the end of the year.
Hopefully, I'll be retired by the time the Fanuc can program other robots and make decisions using Weibull studies.
I find it ironic that you clearly have a poor grasp of history and economics, yet you have a loud (and wrong) opinion about both.
When we had a free market capitalist system, it allowed robber baron monopolists free reign. Hence the Rockefellers were the clear victors under that system.
Actually, the Rockefellers were victims of progressive trust busting when Standard Oil was dismantled for committing the crime of serving 64% of consumers. It was after the progressives broke up Standard Oil that the Rockefellers learned to play the government influence game themselves.
So the fault is not that of the free market but is a matter of the perversion of markets by progressives. They drove the Rockfellers out of the business of providing a good product at a good price and into the business of making the corrupt system work for them rather than against them.
Government is like Tolkein's One Ring. Its power is based on evil and it can't be wielded for good purposes. It should be cast away and used by no one.
Sigghh... history shows that in the abscence of big government the big corps just hire private armies and you end up with the exact same problem. I don't have an answer... I think we're at least 10,000 years of evolution away from being able to build big systems that don't fuck almost everybody.
Sigghh... history shows that in the abscence of big government the big corps just hire private armies and you end up with the exact same problem. I don't have an answer... I think we're at least 10,000 years of evolution away from being able to build big systems that don't fuck almost everybody.
@the9thdoctor - I just logged to say I enjoy reading your posts.
and then though I'd thow in my 2-cents:
As I understand the Rockefeller history, briefly - he started out as an oil drilling supply company. He supplied much of the wildcats will drilling equipment. At the time they were using bath tubs to store newly drilled oil. In the 1850s & 60s oil was easy to get at, and the barrier to entry was relatively easy to overcome. The obvious end result was huge supply glut of oil (and not from geopolitical market manipulation). So, a lot of the drillers went bankrupt, and Rockefeller bought up all the distressed wells at pennies per dollar, creating Std. Oil.
Clearly, he had a monopoly- I'm not debating that. But, what this monopoly allowed for was growing the energy storage and transfer infrastructure at the fastest, most efficient way possible (i.e not government). Also, since this was a free-market with intellectual property being created and destroyed, a new class of engineers arose with wages (salaries) commensurrate with their abilities. I would agree the work of rough-necks working the oil derricks was probably hard and low-pay, but a new source of middle class arose as result of those market conditions.
Also, see AT&T - beginnings to 1986 and Microsoft - 1986 to about 2001 (when they were blackmailed by congress over the Netscape cantango and won).
"Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem." R. Reagan, President who cleaned up the mess left by the second worst President.
Also the president who tripled the federal debt, raised taxes + spending... http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/4f246aa2ecad04fa2500002f/chart.png << that's adjusted for inflation lol. Details details...
Sure, Reagan talked the talk but didn't walk the walk. But deficit spending and increasing the size of government are every progressive's dream. So why the hate for Ronnie from Team Blue?
Ummm... as the article tries to point out... Your point is moot because they are now cutting hours.
Wal-Mart pays less than Fred Meyer (regional chain here in FEMA region X), and has poorer benefits. Freddy's is just as low priced as Wal-Mart on most items, and carries higher quality goods.
That's great. A well run business is a beautiful thing. But how many bus transfers is that from Western Pennsylvania?
Fred Meyer is a Kroger owned chain.You may have a Kroger brand in your area.
I will shop at Freddie's, I will avoid Wal-Mart unless there is absolutely no other F~cking alternative.
No Kroger's 'round here since back in the 70s. It's funny to think of the name again, it used to be so familiar but that was in another life.
Dunderheads should not comment on topics they don't understand.
Cheaper goods have never made society poorer in the past, and they will never make society poorer in the future.
Or maybe shopping at Whole Foods and designer outlets at the mall should be mandatory and enforced with violence. Then we'd all be super duper rich.
"...those of us with poverty level incomes..." You have time to post shit talk on ZH why don't you better yourself and get out of the FSA. You will help others but yet you won't do a thing to get yourself out of poverty? Really? Walmart is a shit store due to the clientel.
I am semi-retired, self employed with property and a nest egg which will last the rest of my life. The way one makes that work is by living within one's means without assistance.
I do this because my time is more valuable than obtaining useless consumer goods and because the less I make the less I have to support the welfare-warfare state. Tomorrow while you're at work getting reamed by your boss I'll be at the river cutting firewood, having a few beers and taking a swim.
sounds great Bill! I'm jealous. Don't let the jerks around here spoil your good attitude.
Thanks, friend.
I enjoy the back-and-forth or I wouldn't get involved. I do fault myself for thinking that by discussing this and other issues in a reasonable, fact based manner that I might help some benighted individuals improve their own attitudes but that usually ends in disappointment. So much for altruism, I'll just have to get my satisfaction from the fisticuffs and forget the didactics.
My mentor says: "You can't tell an azzhoe, he's an azzhoe."
And your lifestyle is reflected in your measured tone. Props for doing your thing and making it work. +1
@takeaction2 It's C L I E N T E L E, Dipshit -
Prose should be perfect if you are intent on an ad hominem attack.
F A I L
I've pretty much stopped going to Walmart. They've discontinued carrying dozens of items, including many things I used to buy there. And if I have 10 items on my list, the local Walmart is usually out of stock on at least 2 of them.
Examples:
Large size Dawn dishwashing liquid - out of stock.
Spray bottle of regular Windex - out of stock.
They've also raised prices to the point that my local grocery store is competitive with Walmart, and the grocery store has the items I want to buy on their shelves.
I don't hate Walmart, but I'm not going to waste my time going to a store that stops carrying and/or runs out of stuff I want to buy.
What abuot the XXXXL thong underwear?
:)
Do you get yours from the "gently used" bin?
Only if the skid marks are clearly visible.
Looks like those Walton's are forcing you to live in filth.
Or you could just buy the Windex refill and quit wasting money on another spray bottle.
I don't hate Walmart, but I'm not going to waste my time going to a store that stops carrying and/or runs out of stuff I want to buy
That's perfectly reasonable human action on your part. You no longer find Walmart to be a good value in comparison to another store so you've switched allegiance. What I don't understand is people who have a knee-jerk reaction to Walmart and insist that it's a bad place because it pays employees less (although it pays them more) and because the people who shop there are fat (but no fatter than those who shop elsewhere).
For what it's worth I used to be a Walmart hating liberal. But you've got to grow up sometime and if you can save a buck and support a company with better than average wages for local workers at the same time then that's even better.
I used to enjoy looking over Walmart's Confederate flag collection but that's been replaced with Al Snapton plaster busts, posters and his action figure.
F you. Aldi, and their sister store Trader Joes, is cheaper than Wal Mart and they pay a lot better. Wal Mart went to Germany and threw in the towel because Aldi kicked their ass.
Aldi is also a family store (Christian family) while the Waltons are busy buying soccer teams like The Gunners in London who shit up the Premier.
I mean bloody hell. Swansea City and Crystal Palace are ahead of Arsenal. The Premier has become the African league.
Isn't there a free range negro somewhere nearby that you should be keeping an eye on?
I shopped at a local Aldi.
Once
Arrogant employees, cart deposit, and a general feeling of shoddy 2nd rate goods. Lots of seconds. Fat people in narrow aisles. German, you say? Makes sense. Prefer Harris Teeter with on-line coupons - saved (did not spend) about 1,200 fiats last year.
Don't hate on Aldi due to fat shoppers in narrow aisles. That could describe lots of stores & customers. And... you should have gotten your cart deposit back. Takes approximately 5 seconds to plug in the chain & retrieve your quarter. I can't speak as to the employees you encountered - ours here are very nice.
http://www.haaretz.com/business/.premium-1.620427
Israelis took to the streets and boycotted a national dairy company inspired by Aldi's low prices, compared to Israel's.
Billy - I love a lot of your comments. however I must say that Walmart starting wage is s*** that is why so many people that work at Walmart are getting subsidized by state benefits such as food stamps and Medicaid. I shop at Sam's which is better deals, Publix for 2 for 1 deals and occasionally Wal-Mart where it is 88 degrees and no habla Ingles except for the cashiers.
I am no poor boy, I eat well and healthy but I will be damned before I pay $15 a pound for grass fed beef or a $80k car. I'll invest the savings instead in hard assets.
I've worked some low wage, soul killing jobs in my day so I know what it's like. But most retailers around here start you at minimum wage. Walmart pays a couple bucks an hour more than that.
Obviously the minimum wage needs to be raised higher to offeset the lost hours. /s
In other news, corporations don't really pay taxes either. (Hint, the consumer pays them).
LordyLord2,
Certainly the consumer pays for the increased costs. You don't work more for less and corporations don't either. Open a business and suddenly, that fact will become very clear.
Shhhhh.
It's a secret that you aren't supposed to talk about. The 'Tax the Rich' crowd think the rich will actually get "taxed" if they get their way.
They simply don't understand that costs get passed along to the consumer as higher prices.
Higher taxes mean less money in your pocket, not in theirs. They write the tax codes and pay for the Reps name on the bill submitted to Congress to vote on.
The delusional saps still think they can 'fix' the system by tweaking a knob or two of the machine, not knowing that the machine tweaks the knobs at the other end to produce the same result even if they 'win' their objective.
The skim goes on because it's objective is to grow incrementally larger as you are lulled to sleep with entertainments and distractions.
Wetting their beak is not enough. They want two straws in your milkshake and they get it.
Higher taxes on anyone just makes their straw bigger than yours.
Walmart earning a billion less than the 16 billion they made last year would not be tragic. Somehow, the company could survive and the Walton's could still own fleets of planes and rooms full of Van Gogh's on a paltry sum of $15 billion in yearly profit.
It will probably cost much less than a billion, the estimate assumes that all 500,000 employees eligible for a raise are working 2000 hours a year (definitely not). The final cost should be less than 5% of net income, hardly a devastating blow but the upper management bloodsuckers will cut and trim to get that % as close to zero as possible to keep their stock options flying high.
they use detergent?
I was going to say "Cap'n Crunch cereal" but that would be like all racist and stuff.
That would be:
'Rayciss 'n shit'. For clarification...
You tell him, proper grammer will no longer be tolerated
Any more, ANYTHING is all racist and stuff, including (especially?) this.
When your muffin top spills over the sides of the scooter and rubs on the tires, you have to use something to get the rubber marks off the pants.
What did the FSA Walmart worker expect???? Sure we will pay you all 60$ an hour, but only one of you lucky 7 employees will win that loto, the rest, bye bye.
Brand new Walmart here in my town has at least 20 checkout lanes and 10 self serve checkout lanes and I've never seen more than 2 registers open at a time.
Only darken the doors of that place to buy dog food and chlorine for the hot tub....and 22's on the miraculous days where there is a box left on the shelf
White collar pay for blue collar work. You need a union to pull off that trick.
The 14 million illegals Barry and Hitlery plan to legalize should help these workers out ... stabilize their jobs, right?
Ya'll are just bitter clingers....get over it, Obama fixed everything
bitterclinger a crazy fanatic over guns usually someone that doesn't like democrats or is a nutjob Tom: Why do you need guns? You scare me.Jon: Guns don't kill people. People kill people.
Tom: You bitterclinger! As defined in a public press conference,by #44 ,as those people who are not progressive,socialist,or liberal.
They are the people who cling to their guns and religeon,rejecting socialism because they prefer freedom.
They support the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
They prefer to earn their own way rather than to have things given to them by the government.They prefer smaller less intrusive government and lower taxes. Bilo"Man I don't like that guy Steve!"
Wally "Why not?"
Bilo" Because he thinks he should be able to have freedom of religeon and 2nd amendment rights as granted under the constitution."
Wally"Oh yeah you are right,the fucker is a bitter clinger!!! He should trust or government more."
Wal Mart's food prices are high because free EBT/WIC for the FSA. Also all food has kosher taxes if they have a U, K or pareve on the box or bottle. The goyim must pay.
https://www.radioislam.org/judaism/kosher.htm
In the year 2000, this is now a trillion dollar racketeering scheme, in which ever nation on Earth pays the KOSHER TAX.
wow, talk about cutting them some slack. That was a generous description; nothing like the walmart in our area. Plus you didn't even mention the occasional customer kill by pigs in blue just for looking at a knife set.
That's the New America.
...that's Wall Mart.
Thats everywhere I go. I would think shop lifting is rampant.
No, that's Merica.
Sorry folks, grandpa Joe won't be there to greet you as you fill up on cheap chinese made crap and artificially colored food stuff.
Wally is slow paying its vendors, something's up with them
And this is why I NEVER work for Wal-Mart or the bloody federal government. Fuck em all.
For as long as it lasts, I would take a government job tomorrow. Those are the only guaranteed income for now. Obama policies and regs have destroyed the middle class entrepreneurs.
Thanks for your honest display of anarcho-capitalist moral relativity.
Our co has done biz with them since the mid 70s. They paid like a bank all those yrs . But something's happened , started this April
Yo stant, yes indeed, something is up with them. WMT (a TLA) is incapable of hiding the truth of the woeful status of the "real" economy. The Elysium dream that the elites are trying to install is currently insulating them from the true state of the world. They see the world through "academic" lenses. I fired WMT about five years ago because the price/quality ratio became unacceptable. WALMART IS NO LONGER A GOOD DEAL!!!, and people are slowly waking up to that fact. Since WMT is one of the main pacifiers of the FSA, TPTB are running scared. Time is definitely getting short.
;-D
I told my wife relatives and niegbours about 3 yrs ago in 5 yrs Wally would most likely be gone or down sized.
I don't think so, WMT receives more than 50% of it's income from EBT transfers. .gov cannot allow Walmart to die because there is no other place for the plebes to go to get their CCC (Cheap Chinese Crap) and factory foods... Wht I do expect is that WMT will continue to deteriorate and eventually the plebes will get pissed off at the crap that is being foisted on them. Even the FSA is not that stupid... In fact, I think WMT will get bigger wiht EBT transfers approaching 80% eventually.
Welcome the the "Great Society",
;-D
Someone on ZH a year or two ago did a good analysis on WMT. I forget the details but they said the supply chain would break as China's crap gets more expensive, Americans have less money, WMT cannot play the float as long, inflation wages and other issues cause the entire model to implode.
One of the best written things on ZH. I wish I could find it.
That article was gold Jerry, I tell you it was gold..
More Obama Legacy....
More Oligarch legacy.... in reality land.
The family that owns WalMart are nothing but fat,greedy basturds.The lowest form of scum known to man.
Herdee,
Many, many Walmart items are a dollar cheaper per item or more. I want to shop elsewhere, but it is too expensive. Say what you want, but blaming the family for making money is juvenile.
Too bad government policies made it more profitable for businesses to move overseas.
Sweet Cheeks
You obviously miss the point that
the government overseas trade and finance policies are formulated and implemented
at the behest and sponsorship of the "businesses"!
(Do some research about TPP, for example)
it does not matter if big sugar or big labor shoves a box of cash into the face of a public servant, it is that persons choice to accept the bribe and sell his soul. Your fucking parents didn't let you get away with that shit excuse (maybe they did and you also got a trophy for showing up which would explain your position) so why are you convincing yourself that elected officials are being drugged and hypnotized by greedy corporations and unions. If they are not above reproach than they need to resign or not run at all.
Bigger picture
The Walmart model is based on cheap long-range transportation, cheap foreign workers, and cheap domestic workers.
If transportation costs increase, foreign wages go up, or domestic wages rise, the business model will fail.
Thus Walmart supports foreign interventions to keep the petrodollar dominant and transportation costs controlled. Global 'Big Ag', and monoculture farming will also be supported. Food independence will be eliminated, as well as local sustainable farms and businesses.
Walmart pressures and bribes foreign governments and businesses to suppress labor rights and environmental standards.
After promoting the exodus of good paying domestic jobs which could support a family,
Walmart offers (competitive in the race to the bottom) retail jobs with lower pay and benefits.
The price to be paid for "competitive" wages and "low-cost" items is not immediately apparent.
The politically correct Walmart has also decided to stop selling AR-15s. It has absolutely nothing to do with politics though.... or so they say.
Walmart needs to take The Donald's approach and quit apologizing and trying to be PC.
Funny story. In the area I grew up in, some dude went to Wal-Mart, bought a shotgun and shells, then drove to a restaurant where his ex-wife worked. He then proceeded to walk in through the backdoor then shot the cook she was banging. All in the same 1 hour.
lso, no they didn't stop selling shotguns then.
I see your point ... on the top of your head.
Try not to be stupid on this website. Anyone, including felons, can buy a shotgun over the counter. No background check required in most states.
Did the cook make it or did the guy need more range time?
Munch, munch, eh, what's up Doc?
WMT is a TLA (see above...)
;-D
Doc,
They also said no more shotguns with 18" barrels and grips, because nobody uses those for hunting.
They want to get back to hunting and sporting rifles, only.
That pesky .223/5.56 round aint no good for huntin', don't cha know.
So if they keep raising the minimum wage pretty soon I can work a five hour week - one per day - and be paid for a twenty-nine hour week?...Sounds like Congress.
This means the employees will also have fewer hours to steal shit while they are at work . It's a win-win for corp Wal-Mart.
Same Pay for Less Hours worked, that is a win for the workers.
"On a recent weekday, she had a customer who had to wait 30 minutes for an employee to unlock a product the shopper wanted to purchase..."
Yeah, I go thru this once a week when updating my LR22 stock. I bring lunch for both of us. First time I heard her complain about it. I'm a nice guy and all.
Walmart is losing sales if they make customers wait for service, and we all know the shelves are often bare.
On the rare occasion I go there, if the lines are long with just a few cashiers I just park my cart off to the side and walk out the nearest door. I'll be damned if I'm going to let them waste my time. I'm not willing to be a sheep in a pen.
New phrase entering the workplace:
"WalMart Me"
To RIF someone. To Lay Off, to Fire, to send someone to the Unemployed farm. To offload a person to the Welfare ranks....
Old phrase still operative:
Made Redundant !
Paycheck ROLLBACK!
ALWAYS!
The root of the problem, of course, is that Walmart is still clinging to the yesteryear notion that they want to make a profit. They didn't build that profit! That is the people's money! Anyone knows in the USSA that a well-run company finishes each year at $0, having dispersed all overages (formerly known as profit) back to the hard working employees.
You're probably confusing employee with policy holders. If you divide net income by #employees everyone would make $128k which I doubt is the case. Many insureance compnaies are owned by their policy holders. Profits are dispersed to the policy holder via lower policy rates. Its just another way for a company to structure itself so those with an equity stake share in the benfits.
Why don't we just agree to pay for the true price of goods? That would include "living" retail wages, non-slave labor manufacturing, the loss of our manufacturing base and local businesses. That WalMart shit is pretty expensive, but not at the check-out.
Yea, no. If you're the main provider for your family, and your plan is to do it on Walmart stockboy wages, you're dumb. If you think that Walmart owes it to you to support 3,4,5 kids on those wages, you're living on planet dumbshit. Sorry, get a career before you expand your family past one. If you can't, expect to live real cheap. Or not, we can all live at the same, low standard of living so it's not as painful being dumb. Smoke a lot of weed and it sounds like a great idea.
woah... this isn't 1950.
The federal govt. is the "main provider for your family", 5 kids = 5x the govt. subsidy you are entitled to recieve.
The incentive here is to work less. In this case, work less hours per week for the same take home pay. This is progressive economics 101.
Tough to accomplish because the subsidies to offshored production are so ingrained and hidden, average American will have a hard time comprehending them.
For example, the US Navy, by subsidizing corporate maritime security costs, has been a major source of corporate welfare since the beginning. I wrote papers about this while a military officer, and even my professors couldn't 'get it', but savvy wonks understand it and smirk.
The Military is a subsidy machine for future non-military employment.
This was all explained to me years ago by a Bird Colonel who was never going to make General stars because he got caught banging his secretary and his wife was BFF with his commanders wife.
No problem. Quit the military, get the pension (part of, really) divorce wife, marry the secretary and become a VP of a major defense contractor with an expense account big enough to choke a horse and a condo on the 9th green.
The amounts of money on the table for awarding contracts to vendors are truly staggering and his former job in the Pentagon as a contract reviewer made him a prize catch to influence his former associates in the approval process.
The hookers and blow at the luxury Caribbean golf resorts are the least of the stories told about the hardware business of the military juggernaut.
He believes he worked hard for his present circumstances and he deserves them because he refused the Cayman bank accounts while he was in uniform while others didn't.
"My problem was that I was honest and that made me untrustworthy to those around me and a possible whistle-blower. My personal life was just an excuse to move me out of the way."
I believe him. He may have bought that condo with a mortgage, but it's sure as hell paid off now. He vacations in Europe now because he got tired of the many free trips to the Caribbean.
well, in a rational world the prices would go up a few cents to make up that extra labor expense. but the fact of the matter is that the us economy is spent and people cannot afford those price raises anymore. and walmart must undercut the competition, because that's their entire model. no one LIKES shopping there, it's simply what is affordable by most now. the instant there is an option that costs less, walmart dies.
I guess I am the exception, I like shopping at Walmart, why would I want to pay more for anything when I have an option to pay less. Now some products like paint, I like to get at homedepot, but for most things wal-mart is cheaper. Most of the time you can't beat their prices on ammunition, even with online retailier, once you add in shipping wal-mart is still cheaper
I find 5.56 and 45 acp cheaper online than at WalMart.
Wikiguns.com
You cant beat their Mobil 1 prices though.
I agree on the 556, but for hunting quaility 308, and even for the 250 round UMC remington rounds, by the time you ship, it's more expensive. Of course you can find some off brands for the same price as shipping but if I am at walmart I check to see what they have.
This is why I work only one hour a year at a rate of $100,000/hr. It's so simple, I don't understand why everyone doesn't do it. Morons.
Where can I overnight all my money to you so I can learn how to do this?
In the end, most stores are going to be giant rooms full of vending machines.
Virual rooms and virtual vending machines on the internet. It's already happening.
It's a living wage, just so you don't count bus fare between your seven jobs.