> Why? Why wouldn't whatever stores sold stuff > instead of WalMart hire > workers? Even if Target and K-mart had not been as > good as WalMart at > cutting costs; that would not have meant that they > would not have hired > almost as many workers if they filled that niche.
I think Gautam hit it on the head -- economics. Look at workers as a commodity to be "bought" (via wages). When the "price" for workers is high (i.e. high wages) the natural tendency (all other things being equal) is for the demand to go down. But when the "price" for labor is low (low wages), demand goes up. Actually, according to Penn State class nomenclature, this is Macroeconomics 001. > This requires governmental intervention of some sort > or other because the > natural tendency of the market is for wages to keep > falling until a bottom > is found. Since people are willing to do whatever > it takes to feed their > families, when push comes to shove, I don't see > how...outside of > legislation facilitating unions or minimum wage, > that a floor can be kept > under retail wages. Not neccessarily true. The natural tendency for wages is going to be dictated by both the supply and demand for labor. Here locally (Lehigh Valley, PA) the demand for labor has traditionally been higher, so the starting wage in most retail outlets has been slightly higher than minimum wage (most people start out at between $6 and $6.50 for a retail job; my fiancee earns $6.25 doing retail). If for some reason the local economy goes down, then I would expect wages to drop (i.e. the demand line shifts). Damon. ===== ------------------------------------------------------------ Damon Agretto [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." http://www.geocities.com/garrand.geo/index.html Now Building: Legends Aussie Centurion Mk.5/1 ------------------------------------------------------------ _______________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Declare Yourself - Register online to vote today! http://vote.yahoo.com _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
