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Dunkaroos wrote:

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DatZNasty wrote:

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yall dudes on both coasts wish yall had Wal Marts. 5.99$ for a 2pack of Rayovac AA batteries at Duane Ready is not what's up. I can get a 4 pack from WM for 97 cents.

And what you described isn't extortion, but free enterprise. They're not being literally forced into anything.

WRONG.
Workers in third world countries are forced into working for Walmart.

Walmart moves into a country, takes over, and wipes out all competition. Because Walmart operates on such a large scale, they can cut prices on its products. Even if they make 1 cent rofit on each product, its still worthwhile because they have millions of customers. Local businesses stand no chance against Walmart's prices. So all competition is wiped out and only Walmart remains. At this point, they can raise prices again.

The reason Walmart stays so profitable is because they operate in developing and often corrupt governments.
There are no labor laws, wage rates, environmental regulations, and no competition.

Workers have no rights and work in fear. If workers organize into a union, Walmart simply shuts down the factory and moves elsewhere.

Walmart continues to get away with this because customers buy their cheap products, unaware of their inhumane business operations.

Which country is this that has 100% of their citizens employed by Wal-Mart? It's the same situation in many third world countries. For uneducated rural populations, the options come down to two: either work at a multinational corporation that has a factory in the area (anything from wal-mart to nike to gap) or work on a farm, doing agricultural work.

Guess which one pays better? It's not wading through rice paddies in a field. In most circumstances, the multinationals in that third-world country pay better, with more benefits than the alternatives. Go to some of these countries, and ask people if they hate their jobs, or if they wish the Wal-Mart factory wasn't there. The ignorance of people in priveledged positions like yours is baffling.

Developing countries can only become developed countries through industrialization and infastructure. If anything, more foreign investment is the key to getting through to the other side. Environmental regulations and higher minimum wages come when more foreign investment and dollars start flowing through a country. They are the result of a solid economy and infastructure, not the other way around. It's simply not true to believe that making pay increases and stringent labor laws mandatory will help said country.

A lot of people forget that America and Japan were filled with sweatshops a hundred years ago, when we were developing countries. As economic conditions strengthen, things like stricter labor laws, enviromental regulations and minimum wages come into play.

Wal-Mart isn't the problem here. It's easy and romantic to blame the faceless 'evil corporation'. Yes, they could make do with helping out their employees more. But let's not get it twisted. The way these corporations operate aren't the root of the problem. They're the result of poor government monetary policy and dictatorships immersed in corruption.