Jimspeak

I was listening to AM 1150 last Friday on the drive up to Summit County for our end of the ski season party at Arapahoe Basin. There was a discussion going on comparing Wal-Mart and Costco. The discussion was a comparison of the conditions based on employee treatment and shareholder concerns. All signs seemed to be pointed towards Costco being the better alternative (based on pay, atmosphere and benefits) until a guy called up who had been a manager type at both. His opinion, based on his experience, was that it's 6 of one half dozen of another. Yes, Costco pays more and has better benefits, but he said that salaried employees are overworked and always under pressure. He did not really comment on the condition of hourly employees. It sounded though, based on benies and cash that Costco would be a better place to be an hourly employee. But Wal-Mart would be a better investment. Interesting conversation. One stat that I found very interesting was about Wal-Mart.

Do you remember a few years ago when Wal-Mart's big campaign was "Buy American"? Seems that's a slogan they've discarded. According to this show, last year (I believe) Wal-Mart accounted for 10% of all of China's exports. 10%!! I just found this article. Check it out. Here is a quote:

If it were a country, Wal-Mart would be China's eighth largest trading partner. Wal-Mart imports represent 10 percent of all Chinese imports, Evans says.

Pretty wild, eh? Wal-Mart is huge! There is more in the article about salaries and turnover rates. And this article also has some interesting things to say, with a lot of discussion about Vlasic and their experiences with Wal-Mart.

And are they completely on the up and up or do they contribute to degeneration in peoples' lives through things like sweatshops? Seems they may be helping to keep some sweatshops in business.