Arthur, As students read in my economic class, part of the job of Capital is to replace itself. It must also provide Interest enough for the lender to lend, and provide Labor with enough production advantage for it to be worth borrowing. They are the three jobs of Capital.
When things are tough, the easiest thing for both corporations and governments to do is to delay (or forget) the replacement of Capital. No-one notices that the corporate lathes haven't been replaced in the machine shops - even though they are going downhill fast - perhaps producing ovals rather than circles. No-one notices that bridges, dams, and roads are patched rather than maintained. (People do notice and complain about the potholes which gets them a little tar - but little regular maintenance). In the US there are apparently umpteen thousands of pieces of infrastructure that have been "forgotten" while bureaucratic pensions are increased. As the direction of an advancing economy is toward cheaper manufactures, one must wonder why you blame these deficiencies on Wal-Mart. You have your present standard of living because of the constant market pressure downward on prices. But, you know that. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, November 07, 2003 12:08 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Harry, we are living through the "race to the bottom" Looks good for a while. Wait until the bottom comes to a place near you. Why replace and keep infrastructure in good shape? Why maintain universal public health standards and health care? Maintaining standards in society is like keeping the mold at bay in your shower. You can let things go for a while. Relax and do other things. But the mold is still "doing its thing" arthur -----Original Message----- From: Harry Pollard [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 9:24 PM To: Cordell, Arthur: ECOM; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Arthur, What steep price to the "national community" will be incurred by people being able to buy good qualities at lower prices. By golly, you sound like the local Chamber of Commerce, or any of the national corporate monopolies. Harry -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 06, 2003 7:59 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... Quote from the Ruth Rosen article: "Now, the challenge is to convince Contra Costa County voters that the lowest possible prices come at a steep price for the entire community." arthur suggest, The lowest possible prices may come at a steep price for the national community as well (despite Harry P's protestations to the contrary) -----Original Message----- From: Robert E. Bowd [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 6, 2003 8:42 AM To: FW Subject: [Futurework] Wal-Mart... http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=17118 Wal-Mart Shops for Voters By Ruth Rosen, San Francisco Chronicle November 5, 2003 Imagine that you earn $8 an hour working for Wal-Mart. Then, you learn that the store is recruiting workers, at $10 an hour, to convince neighbors and shoppers to vote against a law that would limit the size of "big- box'' stores in unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Great, you think. I'll apply. But Wal-Mart won't hire its own workers because the corporation isn't sure it's legal to use them to promote a political campaign. When you realize that Wal-Mart will pay higher wages to those campaigning to keep your wages low, you get angry - which is how I've learned about the Arkansas retailer's countywide plans to repeal the ordinance. Last June, the Contra Costa Country Board of Supervisors passed the ban when it recognized that Wal-Mart's seductive low prices come with hidden costs to residents. The retailer's subsistence wages drive down the pay of other workers; its huge super-centers undermine local small businesses and create more traffic congestion. Taxpayers, moreover, end up paying for workers' health care because they can't afford costly benefits on such low pay. In response, Wal-Mart - which never takes no for an answer - immediately parachuted in paid workers to gather 27,000 signatures to force supervisors to either rescind the ban or place the issue before the voters. Supervisors have put the question on the March 2 ballot. To fight off these restrictions, Wal-Mart has just launched a campaign to convince the community to vote "no." At its Martinez, Pittsburg and Antioch stores, Wal-Mart has hung banners and posters advertising its new "Consumer Action Network (CAN)," a rather transparent effort to persuade shoppers to vote against the limiting ordinance. Last week, workers at Wal-Mart handed out flyers that describe CAN as a "good government" program. (Many low-income shoppers, who receive some form of government assistance, might mistakenly think CAN is a government-sponsored program.) In exchange for signing a membership card (and providing your personal information), you get "a personal membership card, free newsletters, important bulletins and an invitation to special events." You also get a chance to fill out a voter registration application, which is conveniently mailed to Wal-Mart's CAN, rather than to the registrar of voters. If you want more information, you are referred to an 800 telephone number. But 20 calls to the number elicited the same response: "Only 'Kathy' knows about the program, she's on the other line, so just leave your name and number." Is it conceivable that Wal-Mart has hired only one person who is familiar with CAN? Or is this just a ploy to gather names and phone numbers to enlist shoppers in its political campaign? Meanwhile, a coalition of community activists is gearing up to support the ordinance. They include the nonprofit group ACORN, which promotes affordable housing and open space; union members; and religious, environmental and "smart growth" organizations. But they face a formidable enemy - the largest corporation in the world, which has unlimited funds to reach their intended goal of building 40 new super-centers in California. Supervisor John Gioia knows that "Wal-Mart will have a great advantage. It will also turn it into an anti-union campaign. So we need to appeal to the good sense of Contra Costa County voters and explain that this is about losing open space and taxpayers subsidizing Wal-Mart. It's also about Contra Costa County - not Wal-Mart executives in Bentonville, Ark. - having the right to make its own decisions about local planning. " Now, the challenge is to convince Contra Costa County voters that the lowest possible prices come at a steep price for the entire community. _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://scribe.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
