The Race To The Bottom

The Race To The Bottom was Originally Posted on May 7, 2014 by

On a consumer forum there is a discussion about Walmart and how little they pay. One person said that they led the race to the bottom, meaning that they pay less her hour than anyone, etc. A responder said he would not set foot inside Walmart because their owners were making billions while their employees were not pain well.

I did a bit of research and when I posted the following, the discussion seemed to stall. It is funny how facts can sometimes derail an argument.

Since Walmart is not the only company paying low wages, I assume you are not stepping foot inside Kmart, McDonalds or restaurants that pay minimum wage and say their waiters and waitresses should be able to make a living off tips?

In 2012, the minimum wage a Walmart associate would be paid was $8.00 per hour.

Of course the average mentioned below is an “average”…

“Today, Walmart employs more than 1.3 million U.S. associates at more than 4,700 stores and clubs nationwide. Every year, we promote about 160,000 people globally to jobs with more responsibility and higher pay. In the U.S., the average, full-time hourly wage is $12.81.”

Kmart shows a lower rate as low as $6 an hour.

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/…y-Pay-E370.htm

McDonalds as low as $5 an hour

http://www.glassdoor.com/Hourly-Pay/…y-Pay-E432.htm

Subway as low as $6 an hour

http://www.glassdoor.com/Salary/Subw…ries-E2994.htm

 

I shop at Walmart, and Kmart and Ross and Target and many other stores. I shop where I can find what I want, when I want it. Oftentimes I shop online because what I need isn’t available locally.

For those who want a bit of eye-opening info, read the book “The Walmart Effect”. I saw the author discuss it on TV in a book review once and bought the book because it was fascinating. Inside, an economist refuted the notion that Walmart comes into a town with low prices, puts the competition out of business and then raises prices. It doesn’t happen and she investigated prices in every Walmart town before, during and after Walmart came to town.

In another story you learn that when Walmart salesman were sent to supplier locations, they were not provided pens. The thought from corporate was that they are already staying in a motel and those motels supplied pens in the rooms, so just use that. :-)

Walmart did not directly force suppliers to manufacture things overseas, but they constantly encouraged their suppliers to drop the price of the products. That cased the manufacturers to cut costs and perhaps to have the products made overseas. For many companies, being able to have tremendous sales in a nationwide chain like Walmart was enticing. However, they sell their soul if they thing that their greed will not cause problems in the future.

So sometimes people tend to believe news bites or talking points of others without any facts. In this case the book shows that although Walmart is not a dream company, it is not as evil as many people make it out to be.