I’m All for Exploiting the Developing World – As Long as I get a Cut!

I’m All for Exploiting the Developing World – As Long as I get a Cut!

So, I’ve read a lot about Wal-Mart, and seen the documentaries.  I have to say that they are easily my favorite company.  Look at their mission statement:   We save people money so they can live better.  That’s a pretty admirable mission statement.  In the PBS documentary Is Wal-Mart Good for America, we learned how Wal-Mart squeezes manufacturers to the brink of bankruptcy in order to keep their prices low.  Good.  That’s how capitalism is supposed to work.  I want all retailers to squeeze manufacturers to the brink of bankruptcy.

The other main criticism is that so much manufacturing happens off shore.  Well it happened before and it’s going to continue to happen in the future.  The difference is, with Wal-Mart the savings incurred from that off-shore exploitation are passed on to me.

Now, for those of you who think this is short-sighted and heartless, here’s a sad economic fact:  our western lifestyle is achieved at the expense of the rest of the world.  Raising the living standard of other nations can only come at the expense of our own.

I think it’s OK to buy an inexpensive loaf of bread from Wal-Mart.  Those who don’t can buy it somewhere else.  But please provide people with the option, and allow the markets to deliver inexpensive food to those who can’t afford anything else.