Mary Beth Danielson judges American and Ukrainian values based on recent events--Ukrainians protesting election fraud, and lower than expected sales at WM:
I think these two stories lay out a hard question.[Emphasis added]Which nation is stronger? The one with so many shopping choices we can't see straight? Or the one where hundreds of thousands of educated citizens took to the streets to forcefully, non-violently, and resolutely demand the one clear choice they made? There's no simple answer, but I think the question is worth asking...
I've bought one present so far this season, a plastic toy for my toddler nephew. I bought it at a store whose corporate offices are in a city far from here - and the toy was made in China. Exactly HOW does this purchase make our nation and community a more robust place to live? By employing the clerks and stockers at the store who earn less than $10 per hour and have sparse benefits? By making richer the people who own stocks? Are stockholders, in general, the kind of people who will flood city streets to demand reform when reform is needed? You know what I wonder? I want to know how to foster citizens as brave, committed and empowered as the citizens of Ukraine. (If someone wants to buy me a ticket to Ukraine, I'll go ask them how they do it.) I think the key lies somewhere in the work and power of choosing....
Do we want our teenagers to spend their energy choosing among 17 kinds of shampoo? Or do we want them to know the difference between capitalism and democracy, that the two things are not the same?
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Posted by Kevin on December, 4 2004 at 10:13 AM
Ian S. wrote:That woman's ignorance is annoying. Doesn't anyone teach basic Econ 101 anymore?
A small sampling of people employed by your buying a "Made in China" toy at a local store includes the cashier, the stockperson, various management, various IT/telecommunications/satellite techs, truck drivers, possibly railroad personnel and/or airline pilots and/or FedEx/UPS/DHL personnel, and dock workers.
Also, the stock market hasn't been a rich people only playground since at least the early 90s. Thanks to ESPP and options programs, a large majority of Americans own at least one stock. And thanks to discount and online brokers, more of them than ever actively "play the markets".
-- December 4, 2004 04:56 PM ∞
pril wrote:weird. this is the second or third article i've seen people berating walmart's stockholders in. Weird because a lot of walmart employees are walmart stockholders. I wish i knew what the percentage was.
-- December 6, 2004 02:44 PM ∞
Scipio wrote:I can answer Mary Beth Danielson's question, as can millions of Chinese dissidents, and the people of Ukraine and Georgia and the Czech Republic and Slovakia: you get citizens as "brave, committed, and empowered" (thank God she didn't say "proactive', or I would have had to track her down and viciously murder her) by oppressing them for decades.
If she'd ever read Macchiavelli (or anything, for that matter), she'd know the answer to all of her questions.
-- December 6, 2004 03:55 PM ∞
Keivn Brancato wrote:Scipio,
She knew there was a difference between capitalism and democracy, so shouldn't she get a few bonus points?
Ian S. & pril,I can't recall the stats on WM associate stockholders, and I don't have it on hand...
I use tricks and games to remember stuff, and I stuck it in my head that a lot of WM associates have very small amounts in stock, but something like 2-5% could buy a double-wide with their stock.
-- December 6, 2004 04:05 PM ∞
