Big Stick Economics

In a true capitalist state a business stays in business if it can produce its products, sell them on the free market, and make enough money to cover its costs. The money left over after its costs are paid is profit. Profit is the reason people go into business. It’s really that simple.

Have you listened to your countrymen lately? What are they asking for when they ask the government to punish Wal-Mart? Wal-Mart’s success is destroying mom and pop’s corner store, they cry. We must protect moms and pops from the evil mega store! These same people tried to stop Henry Ford from mass producing cheap automobiles because of the devastation his success was reaping upon the horse and buggy business. Nathaniel Brandon calls this sort of thinking “the divine right of stagnation.” American workers are led by their unions and political leaders to believe they have a right to a job, the same job for thirty years or more. Thinking of this kind squats on the face of reality in a free market economy. Change in a capitalist economy is not determined by the needs of the workers: the skill sets of the workers must change to meet the needs of a changing economy.

I pulled the following off a John Edwards' Why Wal-Mart Must Change website:

Wal-Mart has become much more than just a small corner store in rural America. In the past 10 years, Wal-Mart has grown into the largest retailer in the world -- number 1 among the Fortune 500 -- and is America's largest employer. With more than 1.4 million employees and over $10 billion in profits, Wal-Mart is a giant company with giant responsibilities. First and foremost, Wal-Mart has a responsibility to all Americans to set the standard for customers, workers and communities, and to help build a better America.

Wal-Mart has no responsibility whatsoever “to help build a better America.” Wal-Mart is not a government-owned or financed enterprise. Wal-Mart is a creation of what’s left of free enterprise in this country. Its board of directors has a responsibility to its shareholders…period. A better America will be built by free individuals acting in the pursuit of their own happiness, one Sam Walton at a time. The greatest threat to that future is a cannibal politician with a “vision” and a club.

The truth is that Wal-Mart has let America down by lowering wages, forcing good paying American jobs overseas, and cutting costs with total disregard for the values that have made this nation great. Wal-Mart has needlessly exploited illegal immigrants, faces the largest gender discrimination lawsuit in history, forced workers to work in an unsafe environment, and -- incredibly -- broken child labor laws.

There is no such thing as an “American job.” The who, what, when, where, and why of a cooperation in a free world is nobody’s business but there’s. Nobody is forced to do business with Wal-Mart. Nobody is forced to work at Wal-Mart. Every employee signs on willingly. Every employee can give notice and leave at any time. If wages are low in this country [and I believe they are], the principal cause for this problem is government interference in the first place. The minimum wage laws artificially hold down wages across the economy. It’s an arbitrary, government-created benchmark that enables companies to start employees at ridiculously low wages. “Everybody starts at the minimum wage…you’ll have a review in six months.” Wages and benefits are a private matter between the employee and the employer. If both parties agree to terms they have a contract. If the employee believes his work is worth more than he is currently being paid, he can try to renegotiate that contract. If the employer disagrees and refuses, the employee is free to leave and find better work elsewhere. An employee’s PRODUCTIVITY is what gives him leverage with his employer. Great companies can not afford to lose their most productive workers.

America's largest employer must reflect America's values. But, Wal-Mart will never change on its own. Lee Scott, Wal-Mart's CEO, mistakenly thinks he only answers to a few wealthy shareholders who own Wal-Mart stock. Lee Scott is wrong. Wal-Mart and Lee Scott must answer to the American people.

Free enterprise, capitalism! IS an American value. Mr. Edwards, and statists like him, always forget this crucial American value when they are trying to score points with uneducated, needy voters. They use capitalism in their own personal lives to achieve great material success. Then they rise on the political stage, feeling your pain, bashing the very system that made them possible.

We are the ones who shop at Wal-Mart.

The American people are free to shop, or not to shop, at Wal-Mart. Every business must answer to its customers. Wal-Mart’s success is proof positive that they are giving consumers exactly what they want.

Together, we have the power to change Wal-Mart.

Together, we can hold Wal-Mart accountable and improve our America.

A politician promising to “hold any business” to account is an open threat. Government has only one tool at its disposal in any effort to hold any individual or corporation to account. That is FORCE. Edward’s is promising his constituency that he will club a great company to death so that the American people can collectively pick its bones.