War on The Rich: Dumbest Idea in History of Man

[Boss]

Amazing how so many card-carrying liberals continue to shop at Walmart when there's a Nordstrom's right there near their mansion.

Well I don't know about Nordstrom's, but there are plenty of small Mom & Pop businesses in every town where there is a Walmart, and that's who I try to do my business. I'm not "boycotting" Walmart, but I haven't been in a Walmart in over 3 years.

Of course, I am financially well-off enough that it doesn't bother me to pay a little extra to help out the Mom & Pop, but everyone is not in my same boat. Walmart is an almost vital resource for low-income families, providing products at the lowest possible prices. But as the OP points out, this is yet another example of how DUMB the "war on the rich" really is. They want to literally drive Walmart out of business because they think that somehow hurts the Walton family.

 

[Contumacious]

Price cutting competitors who also have to pay the same increased rate for labor?

Yes!

WalMart's competitors pay their employees a relatively fair wage, thus they take less profit than the Waltons -- who have managed to hoard ninety billion dollars and who advise their underpaid employees to apply for food stamps and other government (taxpayer funded) subsidies.

If the Walton's paid their employees a decent hourly wage they need not raise prices to do so. But there would be fewer billions in their hoard -- and fewer WalMart employees receiving food stamps along with other subsidies.

It doesn't call for a Ph.D in Economics to realize the pivotal factor in this equation is the pathology of greed.

Look , WalMart has determined that there are people willing to work at an average of $12 an hour.


WalMart has not agreed to pay a "living wage" - you can take or leave it - WalMart is a well managed corporation

Uncle Sam declared bankruptcy in 1935 and only stays afloat because it can tax and print paper money.


WalMart can't do neither.

.

 

[MikeK]

Amazing how so many card-carrying liberals continue to shop at Walmart when there's a Nordstrom's right there near their mansion.

I'm not a "card-carrying Liberal." But in spite of my strong socialist inclination I occasionally shop at WalMart for two reasons. One is they usually have what I'm looking for, and my not shopping there would have no constructive effect on anything. But I do feel sorry for the employees and I hope a union manages to take hold in that chain.

 

[MikeK]

Walmart's average employee is paid slightly above the industry standard. Plus, they are given an attractive stock option purchase plan which their competitors simply don't match. Plus.. Walmart associate's children are eligible for scholarships from their foundation.

WalMart employees make $10 an hour. CostCo employees make $20 an hour. And CostCo's prices are competitive with WalMart's.

CostCo's CEO doesn't have a multi-billion dollar hoard. But he is relatively wealthy, as he should be, and he seems like a really nice fellow.

For WalMart to offer a stock option plan to employees who rely on food stamps for basic survival is a cruel joke.

 

[MikeK]

Well I don't know about Nordstrom's, but there are plenty of small Mom & Pop businesses in every town where there is a Walmart, and that's who I try to do my business.

[...]

"Study Proves It: Walmart Super-Stores Kill Off Local Small Businesses.

Opinion Study shows Walmart kills small biz - NY Daily News

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

Amazing how so many card-carrying liberals continue to shop at Walmart when there's a Nordstrom's right there near their mansion.

I'm not a "card-carrying Liberal." But in spite of my strong socialist inclination I occasionally shop at WalMart for two reasons. One is they usually have what I'm looking for, and my not shopping there would have no constructive effect on anything. But I do feel sorry for the employees and I hope a union manages to take hold in that chain.

You know why a union doesn't take root at Wal Mart? Because the employees don't want one.

WM is not the bogeyman you all think they are.

 

[Boss]

Walmart's average employee is paid slightly above the industry standard. Plus, they are given an attractive stock option purchase plan which their competitors simply don't match. Plus.. Walmart associate's children are eligible for scholarships from their foundation.

WalMart employees make $10 an hour. CostCo employees make $20 an hour. And CostCo's prices are competitive with WalMart's.

CostCo's CEO doesn't have a multi-billion dollar hoard. But he is relatively wealthy, as he should be, and he seems like a really nice fellow.

For WalMart to offer a stock option plan to employees who rely on food stamps for basic survival is a cruel joke.

First of all, Costco (a wholesale membership club) is not the same classification of business as Walmart. The equivalent to Costco would be Sam's Club. Second, Costco starting pay is $11.50 an hr., not $20. Sam's Club employees start at about $10 hr. Costco is well above industry standard. [btw... none of the aforementioned wages qualify for food stamps.]

Your $20 figure comes from a CNBC documentary on Costco where they interviewed an employee who made $20 an hour... he'd been with the company 19 years. Ooops!

Costco Wholesale Salaries Glassdoor

But hey.. I'm not knocking Costco, they have a business model that is working and they are happy with it. That's the beauty of free market capitalism and it's why "greed" simply doesn't get a capitalist very far. Some less greedy capitalist comes along and takes your business.

As for the stock option plan Walmart offers... the "cruel joke" ...well, a personal friend of mine is laughing that joke all the way to their financial planner, their stock options were worth $1.2 million when they retired from Walmart after 30 years. Now... truth in advertising here, that number is highly due to the fact they got in on the ground floor and bought stock when it was very cheap, before Walmart really took off. But still... very nice cruel joke indeed.

I can't count on both hands the number of times I've heard this "Walmart employees on food stamps" story from left-wing socialists. I guess MSNBC did a hit piece or maybe Michael Moore-on did a "documentary" about it? Nevertheless, you cats seem to be getting the mileage out of it. Hey...maybe those people should go apply at Costco?

 

[Boss]

Well I don't know about Nordstrom's, but there are plenty of small Mom & Pop businesses in every town where there is a Walmart, and that's who I try to do my business.

[...]

"Study Proves It: Walmart Super-Stores Kill Off Local Small Businesses.

Opinion Study shows Walmart kills small biz - NY Daily News

Yep, and you still shop at Walmart. MORON!

 

[MikeK]

First of all, Costco (a wholesale membership club) is not the same classification of business as Walmart. The equivalent to Costco would be Sam's Club. Second, Costco starting pay is $11.50 an hr., not $20. Sam's Club employees start at about $10 hr. Costco is well above industry standard. [btw... none of the aforementioned wages qualify for food stamps.]

Your $20 figure comes from a CNBC documentary on Costco where they interviewed an employee who made $20 an hour... he'd been with the company 19 years. Ooops!

(Excerpt)

At Costco, hourly workers make an average of more than $20 an hour — well above the national average of $11.39 for a retail sales worker — according to a 2013 Businessweek story. For employees who put in 40 hours per week, that works out to about $43,000 a year.

Read more: Costco Pays Retail Employees 20 An Hour - Business Insider

(Close)

 

[Boss]

First of all, Costco (a wholesale membership club) is not the same classification of business as Walmart. The equivalent to Costco would be Sam's Club. Second, Costco starting pay is $11.50 an hr., not $20. Sam's Club employees start at about $10 hr. Costco is well above industry standard. [btw... none of the aforementioned wages qualify for food stamps.]

Your $20 figure comes from a CNBC documentary on Costco where they interviewed an employee who made $20 an hour... he'd been with the company 19 years. Ooops!

(Excerpt)

At Costco, hourly workers make an average of more than $20 an hour — well above the national average of $11.39 for a retail sales worker — according to a 2013 Businessweek story. For employees who put in 40 hours per week, that works out to about $43,000 a year.

Read more: Costco Pays Retail Employees 20 An Hour - Business Insider

(Close)

Right. 1) Costco is NOT a "retail sales outlet" so you you are comparing Apples and Oranges. 2) the $20 figure factors in mid-management employees who have been there for years. 3) most "retail outlets" pay mid-management employees salary instead of hourly. 4) "Businessweek" does not mean "impeccable journalistic standards." 5) I've already said... GOOD FOR COSTCO! It's where you should shop instead of Walmart! It's where the Walmart employee on food stamps should go get a job! More power to ya! ...Ain't free market capitalism beautiful?

 

[zeke]

OMG boss. Wtf? Four different brands of gas stations sitting on a corner. All are selling the exact same product for the exact same price.

If that ain't monopolizing a market place, then you don't know what the fuck a monopoly is.
Below is Websters definition. So we don't quibble.



mo·nop·o·ly
noun\mə-ˈnä-p(ə-)lē\
: complete control of the entire supply of goods or of a service in a certain area or market

Boss buddy, you are a complete fucking buffoon.That evidently can not read and comprehend much of anything.


Just keep on ranting dude. You got people on here as stupid as you who will cheer every bit of bullshit that you write.

 

[zeke]

OK professor, instead of being a smug dick, why don't you give the class an example of exactly how not sharing all your wealth a competitor will and drive you into bankruptcy.

very very simple. If you elect to take 2 billion in profits a competitor can elect to take only 1 billion and use the other billion to lower prices and thus drive you into bankruptcy.
Now perhaps even you can see the pure beauty in capitalism?

You are more fucking stupid than boss. And that's saying a lot.

But really, a business takes a billion less in profit so that they can bankrupt a business with 2 billion in profits.

Read that a couple times.

Now perhaps even YOU can see the pure unvarnished truth that you are a fucking idiot. I mean insane.

 

[MikeK]

Right. 1) Costco is NOT a "retail sales outlet" so you you are comparing Apples and Oranges.

[...]

Whether CostCo is a retail or a wholesale business is not relevant to this discussion. CostCo is a business which operates for profit and its CEO has decided to share a comparatively fair and generous amount of that profit with the employees whose labor makes the profit possible.

What is relevant to this discussion is the absence of greed on the part of CostCo's CEO.

 

[Boss]

Right. 1) Costco is NOT a "retail sales outlet" so you you are comparing Apples and Oranges.

[...]

Whether CostCo is a retail or a wholesale business is not relevant to this discussion. CostCo is a business which operates for profit and its CEO has decided to share a comparatively fair and generous amount of that profit with the employees whose labor makes the profit possible.

What is relevant to this discussion is the absence of greed on the part of CostCo's CEO.

It IS relevant when you are trying to compare Costco with Walmart or other retail outlets. It's not a retail outlet, so there is not a comparative analysis which is valid. People who work for a unionized auto plant make more money per hour than people who work for McDonalds. You can't compare the two, they are two different jobs in two different industries. What you are trying to do is criticize a Chevrolet by comparing it to a Ferrari.

I have already addressed the subject of greed in capitalism. Because of the nature of how free market capitalist systems work, greed is necessarily mitigated. The greed boogeyman doesn't exist in capitalism because anywhere you find a greedy capitalist, you will find a less greedy capitalist eager and willing to successfully take his business away. It happens all the time.

You are actually presenting an example of this argument in practice!

 

[MikeK]

It IS relevant when you are trying to compare Costco with Walmart or other retail outlets. It's not a retail outlet, so there is not a comparative analysis which is valid.

How does a comparative analysis differentiate between employees who receive and sort shipments, stock shelves, and check out purchases at a retail establishment and a wholesale outlet?

Also, I'm not sure how valid your description of CostCo as a wholesale outlet is. The simple fact is Costco markets bulk quantities in a typical retail manner.

People who work for a unionized auto plant make more money per hour than people who work for McDonalds. You can't compare the two, they are two different jobs in two different industries.

The major difference between the two jobs is one is unionized the other is not. If McDonalds becomes a union shop you will see a substantial change in pay and conditions.

I have already addressed the subject of greed in capitalism. Because of the nature of how free market capitalist systems work, greed is necessarily mitigated. The greed boogeyman doesn't exist in capitalism because anywhere you find a greedy capitalist, you will find a less greedy capitalist eager and willing to successfully take his business away. It happens all the time.

Greed is to most successful capitalists what opiates are to the addictive personality. One is addicted to drugs, the other to money. In both examples the affliction increases in intensity and is limitless. In both examples denial attends the compulsion's progress.

And free-market (laissez-faire) capitalism certainly does not mitigate greed but rather facilitates it.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

OK professor, instead of being a smug dick, why don't you give the class an example of exactly how not sharing all your wealth a competitor will and drive you into bankruptcy.

very very simple. If you elect to take 2 billion in profits a competitor can elect to take only 1 billion and use the other billion to lower prices and thus drive you into bankruptcy.
Now perhaps even you can see the pure beauty in capitalism?

You are more fucking stupid than boss. And that's saying a lot.

But really, a business takes a billion less in profit so that they can bankrupt a business with 2 billion in profits.

Read that a couple times.

Now perhaps even YOU can see the pure unvarnished truth that you are a fucking idiot. I mean insane.

dear can you explain where the insanity is exactly or must you admit as a typical liberal you lack the IQ to defend what you said?

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

And free-market (laissez-faire) capitalism certainly does not mitigate greed. It facilitates it.

how would you possibly know as a liberal with a typicially low IQ??. If you are greedy in capitalism by taking too much profit your competitor can undersell you and drive you into bankruptcy.

Is the easy enough for a liberal to grasp?

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

Please pardon the repetitive posting of the same message (above). It appears to result from a flaw in this new format -- along with the flaw that prevents deletion.

its caused by your liberal IQ I'm afraid.

 

[Boss]

It IS relevant when you are trying to compare Costco with Walmart or other retail outlets. It's not a retail outlet, so there is not a comparative analysis which is valid.

How does a comparative analysis differentiate between employees who receive and sort shipments, stock shelves, and check out purchases at a retail establishment and a wholesale outlet.

Also, I'm not sure how valid your description of CostCo as a wholesale outlet is. I would say Costco markets bulk quantities in a retail environment.

Well that is what Costco is, I'm sorry if you disagree with my description. Costco is a wholesale members-only club and NOT a retail outlet. There are quite a few major key differences between a Costco and a Walmart. Membership fees is one. The number of items is another. The number of outlets is another. The amount you have to purchase is another. So you are comparing one thing to another thing that is different and trying to argue they are the same.

People who work for a unionized auto plant make more money per hour than people who work for McDonalds. You can't compare the two, they are two different jobs in two different industries.

The major difference between the two jobs is one is unionized the other is not. If McDonalds becomes a union shop you will see a substantial change in pay and conditions.

Yes, you will see a substantial difference in pay and conditions if McDonalds becomes unionized.... McDonalds will go out of business and those who work for them will be unemployed former hamburger flippers.

I have already addressed the subject of greed in capitalism. Because of the nature of how free market capitalist systems work, greed is necessarily mitigated. The greed boogeyman doesn't exist in capitalism because anywhere you find a greedy capitalist, you will find a less greedy capitalist eager and willing to successfully take his business away. It happens all the time.

Greed is to most successful capitalists what opiates are to the addictive personality. One is addicted to drugs, the other to money. In both examples the affliction increases in intensity and is limitless. In both examples denial attends the compulsion's progress.

And free-market (laissez-faire) capitalism certainly does not mitigate greed. It facilitates it.

Nonsense. The CEO of Costco makes quite a nice income, and Costco reports a very nice profit. They wouldn't stay in business if they didn't. No capitalist is in business out of the goodness of their heart to help the masses. They all do it to make a profit. As I said... IF the capitalist becomes too greedy and wishes to make too much profit, there is another less greedy capitalist more than willing to take their business... Like a Costco! You've presented a PRIME example to prove my point, and I thank you for that contribution.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

No capitalist is in business out of the goodness of their heart to help the masses..

wrong wrong wrong. If you get an MBA or read the big business best sellers like Good to Great you learn the oppposite. If someone is doing it just for money or greed he won't do it nearly as well as someone who really cares about serving his customers. This is why they go on long after they have made millions. They love what they do.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

What is relevant to this discussion is the absence of greed on the part of CostCo's CEO.

thats so stupid!! As if other don't want to be as successful as Costco!! Of course they do and obviously if they could copy the formula they would in an instant!. You are like a child, but then what do we expect from a liberal.

 

[Boss]

No capitalist is in business out of the goodness of their heart to help the masses..

wrong wrong wrong. If you get an MBA or read the big business best sellers like Good to Great you learn the oppposite. If someone is doing it just for money or greed he won't do it nearly as well as someone who really cares about serving his customers. This is why they go on long after they have made millions. They love what they do.

Perhaps you misconstrued what I am saying. A capitalist is not in business to break even and not realize a profit from his efforts. Yes, most successful capitalists are doing what they love and genuinely want to serve their customers. And they want their customers to be happy as well. They are not greedy, they are not doing it "just for money" and I didn't say that. However, a "capitalist" who sets out to simply provide something without realizing any profit financially, is called a "philanthropist" and not a "capitalist."

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

No capitalist is in business out of the goodness of their heart to help the masses..

wrong wrong wrong. If you get an MBA or read the big business best sellers like Good to Great you learn the oppposite. If someone is doing it just for money or greed he won't do it nearly as well as someone who really cares about serving his customers. This is why they go on long after they have made millions. They love what they do.

Perhaps you misconstrued what I am saying. A capitalist is not in business to break even and not realize a profit from his efforts. Yes, most successful capitalists are doing what they love and genuinely want to serve their customers. And they want their customers to be happy as well. They are not greedy, they are not doing it "just for money" and I didn't say that. However, a "capitalist" who sets out to simply provide something without realizing any profit financially, is called a "philanthropist" and not a "capitalist."

No capitalist is in business out of the goodness of their heart to help the masses..

wrong wrong wrong. If you get an MBA or read the big business best sellers like Good to Great you learn the oppposite. If someone is doing it just for money or greed he won't do it nearly as well as someone who really cares about serving his customers. This is why they go on long after they have made millions. They love what they do.

Perhaps you misconstrued what I am saying. A capitalist is not in business to break even and not realize a profit from his efforts. Yes, most successful capitalists are doing what they love and genuinely want to serve their customers. And they want their customers to be happy as well. They are not greedy, they are not doing it "just for money" and I didn't say that. However, a "capitalist" who sets out to simply provide something without realizing any profit financially, is called a "philanthropist" and not a "capitalist."

great points!