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Re: Holy Retail Flashback Batman!
Author: mook
Date: 06-17-2013 - 21:35
Margaret ... you don't understand ... the nation is not the people it's the money. And capital knows no nation. It goes wherever it can get the best return with the least effort. Therefore the lowest-cost always gets the nod absent some regulation requiring otherwise. There's also been a very successful effort going on to destroy unions in the US since the 1960s; they're almost gone now, so at the national level we can expect REDUCED minimum wage in the future not increased. As for living wage - how long do you want to go on living? The medical cost epidemic will be fixed when people starve to death when they can no longer "produce" as slaves; can't develop cancer if you don't live past 30.
[/sarcasm]
Frankly, I agree with you, and I suspect that a lot of people do, but they're too busy trying to make a living with 2-3 jobs to spend time posting here (on a train board??) about deep economic thoughts. Instead, we get the ones who are into the fallacy of total individualism. The American Dream in the original form (get a job, work hard, advance, get paid well, put some away, then start your own business or have a comfortable retirement) doesn't work any more. It got too cheap to ship things from places with slave labor, so now we have to jump into the same pit. I hope not, but things don't look real good for the country right now unless you have enough money to be an owner. California is at least trying a few experiments in social & environmental improvement even if they aren't always successful, and despite the naysayers there IS business here (can't avoid it, with all the customers).
And yes, I'm sad that OSH is dying, but really it's a result of their being owned by largely financial (not actually retail any more) companies that frankly can't care less about employees or service - only their (CEO's) profit. And OSH hasn't really been a CA company for quite a while anyway. They've been mostly part of Sears. On the plus side, they got the Craftsman line to sell which has a few good items in it. On the minus side, they got roped into a company that is surprising only in its ability to avoid the final dive. So if Lowes actually rescues part of it there might eventually be a benefit for the customers, and Sears and its vulture capitalist partner get a few more $Million to postpone the inevitable a bit longer.
[/sarcasm]
Frankly, I agree with you, and I suspect that a lot of people do, but they're too busy trying to make a living with 2-3 jobs to spend time posting here (on a train board??) about deep economic thoughts. Instead, we get the ones who are into the fallacy of total individualism. The American Dream in the original form (get a job, work hard, advance, get paid well, put some away, then start your own business or have a comfortable retirement) doesn't work any more. It got too cheap to ship things from places with slave labor, so now we have to jump into the same pit. I hope not, but things don't look real good for the country right now unless you have enough money to be an owner. California is at least trying a few experiments in social & environmental improvement even if they aren't always successful, and despite the naysayers there IS business here (can't avoid it, with all the customers).
And yes, I'm sad that OSH is dying, but really it's a result of their being owned by largely financial (not actually retail any more) companies that frankly can't care less about employees or service - only their (CEO's) profit. And OSH hasn't really been a CA company for quite a while anyway. They've been mostly part of Sears. On the plus side, they got the Craftsman line to sell which has a few good items in it. On the minus side, they got roped into a company that is surprising only in its ability to avoid the final dive. So if Lowes actually rescues part of it there might eventually be a benefit for the customers, and Sears and its vulture capitalist partner get a few more $Million to postpone the inevitable a bit longer.
