Segroves allegedly getting screwed by BushCo.

Total fiction. Wal-Mart is very active in China finding employers who pay well below even the Chinese minimum wage.

 

Actually, I enjoy a serious discussion about media biases (which there are many). I only object to insanely paranoid and ignorant comments about the media.

 

http://www.indyweek.com/durham/2002-05-08/news.html

 

That's what the media want you to think. To prepare for a possible run on the Chinese Yuen. Just like they played up the China demand to drive up the oil price to almost $60 before the election. Oil is now close to $40. So I guess China's insatiable appetite for oil has been satisfied lol? Or maybe it's just that those big money guys who manipulated it up using China as a convenient excuse have now liquidated their positions.

I guess you didn't hear what Snow had to say in his Congressional hearing on the Chinese Yuen just two days ago. Nor do I expect you to. The mainstream media kept silent about it. Snow basically said China did NOT manipulate its currency. In fact China has been more than responsible with the Yuen. China is not Japan in the 80's. China is not an export-led economy. It's internal demand driven. It's already running trade deficits with other countries.

 

What in the world are you talking about? They could quit and get a job elsewhere? As what, neurosurgeons? This may come as a surprise, but the folks who work are WalMart ain't exactly turning away prospective employers. WalMart is pretty near to the bottom rung, and no one "chooses" to be there.

 

I saw both the Frontline on Wal-Mart and the 2 hour "Wal-Mart Nation" on MSNBC. Both alluded to the fact that Wal-Mart's suppliers go to China for labor, mostly because of Wal-Mart's pricing guidelines. Wal-Mart is a retailer, so outside of employees of Wal-Mart in China it doesn't employ labor there. Wal-Mart doesn't manufacture anything.

Look, I'm not saying Wal-Mart doesn't *wink-wink-nudge-nudge* encourage their suppliers to use cheap Chinese labor, they just do it in a way that they have (brace yourselves) "plausible deniability".

Q: "Do you encourage suppliers to use Chinese labor?"
A: "We ask our suppliers to meet a price point"

Q: "And if the only way to do that is with artificially deflated labor?"
A: "Our suppliers make decisions for themselves how to reach that price point"

So, yes, we all know Wal-Mart profits off the backs of deflated labor costs, mostly in China, but they do have an out.

In fact, Wal-Mart recently agreed to let the employees of their retail stores in China bargain collectively as a union, something they do not allow in any other country, so now they can slap themselves on the back for that.

I hate 'em just as much as you, but they're crafty sob's, for sure.

 

What am i talking about? what the hell is the altrernative? get a job elsewhere? At least they get a job with walmart! as opposed to nothing! Thats my point.

Getting a job is something you choose! they can do whatever they want even though the Walmart job may seem like thier best chance at survival, atleast it IS a chance.

 

China's currency is tied STRICTLY to the US dollar, ensuring that it will always be a "bargain" compared to US labor.

In fact, the US has filed a grievance with the WTO concerning this matter.

 

As long as they're doing it according to the laws here and in China, I don't see how it is a problem.

Or maybe the media, for political reasons, needs a friend in the Labor Union so their editors and reporters and talking heads all the sudden start focusing on the negatives and not the postives of economic efficiency? 2008 is just around the corner.

 

Regardless what it's pegged to, within reason, the Chinese labor is a lot a lot a lot a lot cheaper than the US. Basic law of supply and demand.

 

But you said China was not manipulating their currency.

Isn't tying it the US Dollar manipulative, at least with respect to the country who buys the majority of their exports?

If we're going to assess blame, we need to hit everyone: Wal-Mart, their suppliers, and the governments of both China and the US. When China was admitted to the WTO (with US backing, I might add), it was sold to the American people as a chance to open up new markets for US goods. The only market it opened was one for raw materials. NAFTA and China entering the WTO were the 2 biggest economic blunders we've had in the last 50 years.

 

No I didn't not say that. What I said was, just two days ago Treasury Secretary Snow said China did NOT manipulate its currency and the average American did not get to hear it and the reasoning behind it.

 

Non-blogger link please. Specifically violation of Chinese minimum wage.

 

No, the cannot "do whatever they want." No one can. For instance, you could obviously not be an English teacher, even if you really wanted to be one. Someone who works at WalMart clearly has fewer opportunities than the rest of us; this doesn't meant that they deserve to earn poverty-level wages.

 

Are they in violation of minimum wage laws? Which states? Which locations?

 

Tell Sam Walton that.

 

Absolutely, they have way fewer choices. Its this or nothing in most cases actually. All im saying is its not Walmarts fault. Its the way the economy runs, capitalism doesnt have a pretty face. The fact that people get screwed at the bottom of the spectrum is just a side effect of economic success. Its the way this country works and has worked for a LONG time.

 

Rampant reverse anti-semitism? Why my oh my, who are these people? I mean, if it was rampant, you'd see it every few threads, right?

 

It's quite clear here that dreamer and Txtriathlete have no understanding or knowledge of business ethics, or ethics in general.

 

I admit it. I am the cause of all the "Reverse Anti-Semitism" on BS.

It's all included in my new book "How to Win Friends and Influence People with Reverse Anti-Semitism" available at bookstores everywhere (although not a Wal-Mart, for the purposes of this discussion).

 

Maybe its just cool to be an idealist I guess.
Im just a realist, excuse my blatant contradiction to every one's view.

 

Resort to personal attacks again. And you talk about ethics.

So did you need a second shovel digging your head out after all? Get a third one if you need. Still cheaper than getting just one somewhere else.

 

How can you bring "ethics" into any discussion involving Wal-Mart's pricing strategies??

 

No they'er not idealists. They're selective idealists. They're only idealists when it suits them.

 

Or any discussion involving the mainstream media.