M
Mickey_Finn
Guest
I think you are playing games for your own amusement. I should point out that you are making sport of the suffering of others.
ATB
Walmart employee Thanksgiving donations at Canton store cause controversy
- Status
ATB
N
NorthernAdams
Guest
This falls under “no good deed goes unpunished.” I worked at Walmart. They started you out a dollar per hour higher than everyone else in town (jobs in the same category–grocery stores, food chains, etc.)
Love how this article says a lot of Walmart employees are also on government assistance. Yes, as well as McDonalds employees, BK, Kmart, Wendys, etc. You know what those jobs pay.
And ironically enough, it’s people like me and people like them that need Walmart the most. It’s fashionable and trendy to bash Walmart. They have been accused of nothing that other chains have not been accused of and done. Why zero in on Walmart? Because it’s fashionable and trendy to bash Walmart.
We’re going to mess around and bring that whole chain down, and there’s just too many of us whose ends only meet because we can shop there. Kmart is higher. Target is higher. The grocery stores are all higher. Makes me wonder if Kmart and Target are behind it all. You have to compete in this country. I feel for the small mom and pop stores that can’t compete with big chains like Walmart, but they lose business to those other departments stores as well. That segment of the population in this country that needs those cut-rate prices has to have at least doubled in the past 20 years.
This was a benign act by this store’s management to help some of its own employees. They could have just cold-shouldered them like other employees.
Why are double cheeseburgers at McDonald’s still around a buck? Because those employees are making minimum wage. I’ve worked there, too. Those jobs always pay like that. Always.
Love how this article says a lot of Walmart employees are also on government assistance. Yes, as well as McDonalds employees, BK, Kmart, Wendys, etc. You know what those jobs pay.
And ironically enough, it’s people like me and people like them that need Walmart the most. It’s fashionable and trendy to bash Walmart. They have been accused of nothing that other chains have not been accused of and done. Why zero in on Walmart? Because it’s fashionable and trendy to bash Walmart.
We’re going to mess around and bring that whole chain down, and there’s just too many of us whose ends only meet because we can shop there. Kmart is higher. Target is higher. The grocery stores are all higher. Makes me wonder if Kmart and Target are behind it all. You have to compete in this country. I feel for the small mom and pop stores that can’t compete with big chains like Walmart, but they lose business to those other departments stores as well. That segment of the population in this country that needs those cut-rate prices has to have at least doubled in the past 20 years.
This was a benign act by this store’s management to help some of its own employees. They could have just cold-shouldered them like other employees.
Why are double cheeseburgers at McDonald’s still around a buck? Because those employees are making minimum wage. I’ve worked there, too. Those jobs always pay like that. Always.
S
Sarabande
Guest
That’s a good point. My mother came from a third world country - the Philippines. The “just” wages there at the time weren’t so “just” by those who had to work for those wages, even though it was considered “just” by the powers that be. My grandfather had to work in Guam at one point while his wife and 9 children stayed at their home in the Philippines. Many of my family and numerous family friends did something similar. There is a reason why most of my family eventually immigrated to the U.S. with the help of my mother’s sponsorship of them once she became a citizen. She came over as a nursing student and eventually worked here as an nurse. My grandfather insisted that all of his children go to college so that they could escape the poverty that permeated the country and eventually go to the U.S. if they were lucky enough. (This was, of course, around the time when Marcos came into power over there.) He sacrificed time with this children so that they could have a better life and not live in the poverty of “just” wages set by the standards of that country. If things were so good and the “just” wages really were “just”, then there would not have been so many working abroad or immigrating.
While the Church doesn’t say we can’t morally take work overseas, one of the problems I see is that many of the 1st World corporations bringing work abroad are taking advantage of the so-called “just” wages set by out-of-touch and or corrupt 3rd World governments and justifying to themselves that they are doing good by these people by bringing work to them. If they went over there to truly help out the impoverish, that would be a different story. With the exception of a few companies, many do not do this, unfortunately.
S
stinkcat_14
Guest
I don’t think it is games at all, I think it is pure economics. To some extent, economics has a zero sum component to it, i.e. if I buy a computer from one store that store gets my business and the other one loses it. It is not immoral to buy computers from the cheapest source, so the question is: Is labor any different? The Church does not teach that outsourcing is bad.
A
alexandratm
Guest
That’s true - the factories in China do not always produce decent goods. My mother does the ordering for a bridal salon, and one of the undergarment manufacturers just moved their factory back to the US because they were having so many problems with errors and quality control with the factories in China. I’m wondering if we will slowly see a shift back to that.
E
estesbob
Guest
Actually those who oppose outsourcing are denigrating the suffering of those in third world countries because they aren’t Americans.Apparently only Americans deserve jobs and "just"wages? Perhaps if they were paid in condoms everybody would be happy.
E
estesbob
Guest
Bingo! There is much more involved in the process than labor costs.
S
Sarabande
Guest
Actually, I heard a story on the news last year or so where there were some companies bringing their factories back to the U.S. partly due to the poor quality of the products and unsafe conditions of the factories abroad. It seems to be happening more and more. I also found these more recent stories:
economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/23/more-manufacturing-coming-back-to-the-u-s/?_r=0
huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/31/companies-us-jobs-reshoring_n_3340278.html
T
travissbeloved
Guest
Well then I guess the armed forces aren’t paying very fairly
E
estesbob
Guest
Don’t you get provided with housing, which isn’t included in income for purposes of determining SNAP eligibility?
T
travissbeloved
Guest
Not if you live in base housing. It doesn’t show up on my husbands LES (which is like a pay stub) so it doesn’t count towards income. Even if it did though we would still qualify due to having 3 children.
E
Elizabeth502
Guest
This has been my internal question, also, while reading this thread. In my State, “just wage” tends to be defined as ‘what it takes to survive independently in one’s own region.’ Except that when the COL in said region requires a Gross income of 40K minimum for an individual supporting no one else, and not requiring any gov’t assistance, then that would require an employer to pay a Wal-Mart worker $19/hr.
Actually, with Obamacare, that would require about a 45K minimum income, bringing the “just wage” scale up to 21.60/hr for a Wal-Mart employee, or about what a 5-year (4-year degree + professional training) entry-level credentialed teacher earns, who is possibly still paying back educational loans.
Need to add that that allows the employee (again, in my region) to live in the cheapest and least safe part of town. Safe neighborhoods require a minimum annual salary of 70K.for an individual. And these are very recent figures. One of my colleagues just had to move out of State for the second time in a year, due to his profession not supporting any modest lifestyle in the diciest part of town.
From each according to his work—> To each according to his need —> to each according to his desire.
Yes, capitalism is a flawed model, although far more incentivizing than any other economic model tried on a grand scale, to date. Equality and inequality come in various forms. Compare some of the obscene salaries of some slacker government workers and some similar labor union employees, putting out far less effort (in many cases) and being far less skilled & knowledgeable than many workers in the private sector. I don’t consider some of those salaries very “just” at all. Hard work and honest effort is absolutely a Gospel principle.
The fact is, capitalism will always create enormous inequity, because its concept of wealth is built on gigantic profit margins, which also drives stock prices (where applicable) and which also compensates CEO’s, etc.of companies (and their boards) based directly on those profit margins. There could be more regulation of salaries paid to upper management (thus “redistributing income”), but that would entail government intervention directly, in a regulatory way. Until that were to happen, low-skilled employees everywhere in a free market economy will never be comfortable, and no amount of “social justice inspired” suggestions will close that gap without doing violence to our economic system. Good luck getting that through Congress. It would entail putting a ceiling on wealth, by regulation.
M
Mickey_Finn
Guest
I think we are called to do as much good as possible in all aspects of our lives. We don’t get a pass on money. So…
ATB
M
Mickey_Finn
Guest
I think pay is better now, as opposed to when I was in. But if you require public assistance as well than it is clearly not adequate. A soldiers life is hard enough as it is. They should not have to worry about feeding their children.
ATB
S
stinkcat_14
Guest
If we create jobs for Chinese, that is good. If we create jobs for Americans that is good too. One is not better than the other.
E
estesbob
Guest
Pay is adequate for a single man . Not for a married man with three children .How would you resolve that?
T
travissbeloved
Guest
We just had to use NFP very stringently for awhile until he made a higher rank (higher pay) so we could then get pregnant with our third. Soldiers get additional pay once they are married but pay does not go up with each child you have which is fair because neither do other jobs pay. It is still quite low though. Even at the rank he is now which is an enlisted, non-commissioned officer we often live paycheck to paycheck with 3 children. However we also get mostly free healthcare so that is something to add in as well. There are the upsides and downsides to military service.
F
freeRadical
Guest
This is how I made that jump.Not sure how you made that jump from companies not taking advantage of the poor to welfare. But, hey it’s all good.
The answer is - it depends.Welfare can be used to promote evil just as easily as it can be used to promote good.
Sounds like welfare to me. In fact, all forms of public assistance meet the above criteria.
Q
qui_est_ce
Guest
Good catch!
D
Dawnia
Guest
I see. You just read the reply and not the original post.
- Status