The thing is Ymarsakar, I quite agree with you that this really is a weird position for a conservative to take. Most conservatives would agree that market forces should be the sole determining factor in how a business should operate, i.e. whether or not the market can support certain business enterprises.

However, this is one of the areas where I am on the liberal end of the spectrum. My political philosophy is more akin to the Harry Truman and Scoop Jackson variety, which is very strong on defense but fairly liberal on the domestics. I just can’t in good conscience advocate a business practice that would force a man to work 60 to 70 hour weeks just to keep his head afloat at minimum wage. There’s just got to be a better way of doing it.

I had this thought before, so I might as well say it now, Thomas. That this is a weird position for a conservative to hold. About a living wage. Independent of whether anything above a minimum wage should even be a living wage, why focus on raising the wage, a union cause, instead of having more jobs, not a union cause?

SGT Dave

I do hate the crowds at Walmart, but I also hate looking for downtown parking. Like DQ, I try to shop at 8 a.m. and patronize the very few stores open at that time.

What logically follows from the imperative of the modern scientific view of the world, ie, conquering nature for the relief of man’s estate–that if a thing can be done, it will be done–applies largely to economics as well. The inexorable march toward ever more sophistication in business and finance will continue apace, almost as if beyond our control, very much the way cutting edge biology threatens the very definition of the human. All of these are part of what make living in the modern world a blessing; but our knowledge gives blessings with one hand, and harms us with what it takes away with the other. The shift in the retail business model led by Walmart is just one aspect of the continuous evolution of the economic part of modernity.

BTW, I go to Walmart for things that are likely to be a lot lower in price, or that are out of stock elsewhere. I am an infrequent shopper.

It’s sort of similar to how someone who has always lived underground or indoors, can have agoraphobia. But it is reversed, because space was plentiful in America, people and families have grown up throughout the generations expecting space. And if you don’t get your space, you have this tingling mental discontent going on.

This also has big problems when Americans interact with different cultures, such as the Arabs, who will get into your personal space and start yelling in your face, for almost no reason at all. As a negotiations ploy even. It is also the cause of the friction between white cultures and the black culture here in the US. There is a strain amongst blacks to be confrontational, to get in someone’s face, and have it out via an argument. Whereas Anglo-Saxon culture tends to be more reserved, if only because of the duello code back some centuries ago. America still had the Code Duello even after Europe banned it, just so ya know. In fact, one of the Founding Fathers got killed in a duel. A big reason to be polite and reserved when facing someone you dislike or find disagreeable. Not present in certain segments of black families, because… of some unknown variables.

I shop at Wal-Mart between 7 & 8 a.m.

That’s one way to avoid the crowds.

Walmart is neither good nor bad. It is not part of a morality play.

Well maybe it is part of a larger world-wide morality play. I worked off and on in England in the period just before super-markets came into vogue. After a hiatus I returned to England and Supermarkets were very popular. Many people profess to hate them; but people crowd into them for their own particular reasons. Just like Walmart, English supermarkets serve a purpose for many people. Just as in the U.S. many people regret the passing of the familiar; but, they adapt to change.

I really love the one about Walmart forcing manufacturer’s to leave the states and go to China. I did not buy my Buick in Walmart; but it was not manufactured in the U.S either. My previous car was built in Mexico. But, my Pick-em-up truck with the Japanese name was built in the U.S. I suggest anyone who believes that it is Walmart forcing manufacturering overseas might take a closer look at the merchandise they are buying in other outlets.

It is ridiculous to say that Walmart does not offer good merchandise. No they do not offer designer clothes, nor do they offer decent fly-fishing equipment. But, for the most part they offer the same popular brands as any other outlet. They have the same brands of tooth paste; the same brands of small appliances. I can pick up distilled water for about half the price I can at a chain or specialty supermarket–and I use quite a bit of distilled water.

If price were no consideration, I might never enter a Walmart, because I also really hate to be to be crowded or jostled. I love to feel that I am the focus of attention of a knowledgeable sales person. I do enjoy when the cashier at the local hardware tells me “Thanks for stopping in, Hon”. (But, that may only resonate after your 70th birthday). If special merchandise or specialty service is the goal I don’t head for WM now. On the other hand, price considerations aside, I know that I can buy a wide range of ordinary necessities with one stop.

I do not consider WM evil; I consider them useful.