Monday, December 10, 2012

Evil, Evil Walmart doesn't produce in the US

I never understood the dichotomy prevalent in leftist/rightist thinking that led them to think about foreign policy as internationalist trans-national and on domestic policy the reverted to nationalist talking points. On the right is of course vice versa. How can you make up for it in consistency?
It seems most just ignore it. Just take this article on Walmart and "Goods not made in the US".
On the topic of Wallmart, I think almost everything is said. I can just point you to some discussions here and here.

So Wallmart is one of the biggest companies, employing more people than the US Army and yet people complain about supposed jobs shipped overseas. Now, you have to be a real nationalist and egoistic person to think that people in China, Honduras and India don't need jobs, perhaps even need them MORE than we do. What recourse does a worker in Honduras have, when he doesn't find work? Well, not much as it turns out. Now, taken that into account and the fact that it is easier to live with not much money in a rich country (see Freegans) than in a poor one, I'd say that they need the jobs first. For them a manufacturing job is bigger marginal improvement than for any American worker (except he was unemployed and became a CEO).

Now, I am always skeptical, when someone claimed that efficiency optimization meant killing more jobs that were ultimately created. I am especially irritated by a number as high as 133.000 jobs. Goods from the US would have meant price-levels of the US and thus less consumption or different consumption and thus less jobs, because less supply is necessary. Certainly there are some jobs destroyed in the US, but others are created as in new Walmart jobs. Well, of course, some might prefer the pay of working a nickel or lithium mine, most however would pass the job up, because of the health-risks associated. A Walmart job pays less, but is also considerably less painful.

Now, Unionism is not a bad thing, especially when it is done like in Germany f.e. but the more entrenched Unions become, like the US teacher union amongst others, the worse the run-off.
Like any political party, heck, like any emperor in the past, the longer he sits a thrown, the less valid his claim becomes, because the more he uses his power for evil.

In this case, evil means unproductive decisions that help no one and don't secure any jobs in the long run. They might even destroy jobs by new entrants to the market. It is pretty much the same way, big companies lobby in Washington to bar entry to their market segment to new and innovative small businesses.

So, I don't see how anti-unionism leads to less jobs in the US, and even a sweatshop is a stupid idea if you see US suppliers compared to Chinese or Hondurian.

So, there are two final issues I have with these leftists and rightists:
- Why is a US job worth more than a Chinese? If so, why isn't a US life in general worthier than say an Iraqi? (Bonus Question for the Left)
- Even if pay under Walmart is lower than under a different retail company, would there be the same amount of welfare and jobs available or would red-tape and regionalism just suck it up?

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