[TheForge] walmart (off topic rant)

[Andy Vida]

"terry l. ridder" wrote:

> that we live in a capitalistic society is a lie. the only reason walmart
> ever built a store in dekalb, il is that fact that the mayor of dekalb
> gave them a tax benefit package that he sold to the citizens of the city
> of dekalb as providing more jobs. well guess what there are now less
> jobs because 2 grocery stores have closed, one hallmark store, two
> bakeries, one hardstore, two clothing stores, and others. they could not
> compete against walmart given the tax benefits package they were given.
> not only was walmart given a sweetheart tax benefit package the building
> was financed with tif ( tax incremental financing ) ( the taxpayers paid
> for it. )

	Why is none of this surprising?

> i do not particularly like unions but the tatics walmart uses to keep
> employees from unionizing border on criminal, they are definitely
> unethical ( oh wait that is right there are no more business ethics in
> the u.s.a. sorry i forgot. )

	Generally speaking I despise unions, but the philosophies 
	of the corporate giants have gone so rotten that I believe
	it may need to be stopped.  I don't believe in the union
	way, by and large, but the rest of the nation sits idly by
	and takes it in the neck, so they cannot be counted upon.

	The problems in this nation run far deeper, but that's a
	discussion for another day.

> then it is the we ( collective we ) that are just digging our own lower
> wages and living standard by being really bad at math.

	Bingo.  But the corporate giants are also digging a hole for
	themselves, at least as far as the US market goes.  If you
	are "too efficient" and pay your people too lousy a wage,
	then nobody has the means to buy your goods.  That is the
	beginning of the death spiral.

	What I have proposed for close to a decade now is the establishment
	of local markets that simply ignore the larger market which seems
	to be failing, or is at least failing for most of the people.  The
	giants with more money than they will ever need are making more
	than they ever did before.  The feeding frenzy is excluding more
	and more people, and what it is resulting in is economic feudalism.
	We are in fact entering an economic dark age.  You can map the
	relationships between political and economic feudalism almost one
	to one in equivalent factors and effects.  Welcome to the new medieval
	era folks!  It isn't coming; it is here.