Addie
Chef Extraordinaire
And I can see this subject is going to go overboard. Time to drop it and just say we agree to disagree. Nuf said!
Well at any rate I've decided to go to Walmart tomorrow
I don't see Wal-Mart sacrificing profits to pay employees more. Wages go up, prices go up. Prices go up, people don't shop there anymore. People don't shop there, employees are laid off. Ooops.
Well, I have all the apples peeled and cut. Now I am waiting for the pie crust to warm up to room temperature. :
I have a question for all you cooks. When you are peeling a fruit or veggie, do you peel in one continuous strip or in small pieces? I peel round and round in one long strip. The peeling goes much faster. angel:
And I get good deals at Costco, which pays decent wages and has good benefits for their employees.That's not a given. For decades, companies have not shared profits with employees. Gains in productivity and sales have gone to owners and shareholders. If the minimum wage had kept up with productivity increases, it would be almost $22 per hour now.
Unfortunately a lot of people got the education and can only find minimum wage jobs.I will probably get spanked for this, but in my opinion raising the minimum wage only pulls the middle class down. Today the bottom is $7.25 /hour and if the bottom goes up to $15.00/hour then prices and the cost of living will rise to meet that new purchasing power. The rich will still be on top as more of us slide to the bottom of the pile.
I think we need to get young folks to take the long view, stay in school, get an education and aim for a higher calling in life. When the pool of unskilled labor begins to shrink then the Walmarts of the world will begin to pay higher wages.
I'm done rambling and ranting for now.
And I get good deals at Costco, which pays decent wages and has good benefits for their employees.
It is not cost effective for me to shop where I have to pay a membership fee or where they sell such big packages.
I don't feel that the WalMart employees will be better off if everyone stops shopping there and the place goes under.
Her point is that Costco has low prices and still is able to provide their employees with a living wage and benefits. Walmart should be able to as well...
Maybe some of the membership fees do go to offset higher wages, but most members still get good prices when they figure in the membership fee. I have something called an Executive Membership. I get back 2% on everything I buy at Costco except Rx and tobacco. Most years I get back more than my Executive Membership fee.I'll bite on that.
I think what a lot of people conveniently forget is that membership fee.
I don't belong to a shopping club, but I do belong to Amazon Prime. "Free shipping" on Prime marked items... but that free shipping is costing me 79 bucks a year. It's up to me to get my use out of it. So is it exactly free?
I would imagine some of Costco's membership fees goes to offset higher wages. At least it seems like it should, as it's all part of their gross income.
I'll bite on that.
I think what a lot of people conveniently forget is that membership fee.
I don't belong to a shopping club, but I do belong to Amazon Prime. "Free shipping" on Prime marked items... but that free shipping is costing me 79 bucks a year. It's up to me to get my use out of it. So is it exactly free?
I would imagine some of Costco's membership fees goes to offset higher wages. At least it seems like it should, as it's all part of their gross income.
Apparently, Costco's generous pay and benefits policies translate into more loyal workers. Their employee turnover rate is much lower, and according to this, it costs on average 1 to 1.5 times an employee's annual income to recruit and train a new one. This article actually compares Costco and Sam's Club, Walmart's warehouse store.
The High Cost of Low Wages - Harvard Business Review
Sure they/you do. I didn't even mention item pricing. Just that the fees figure into what they can afford to pay.
Apparently, Costco's generous pay and benefits policies translate into more loyal workers. Their employee turnover rate is much lower, and according to this, it costs on average 1 to 1.5 times an employee's annual income to recruit and train a new one. This article actually compares Costco and Sam's Club, Walmart's warehouse store.
The High Cost of Low Wages - Harvard Business Review
I know. This article is comparing apples to apples, though - Sam's Club (owned by Walmart) charges a membership fee, too, but they pay their workers the same low wages that Walmart workers get.
This article is in synch with a CNBC show I saw about Costco. All positive. According to that show, Costco's markup on all their products is never more than 15%. Their massive buying power gets them best available pricing so they can be competitive.
I looked at the executive membership but decided against it as we don't spend enough on an annual basis to justify it. Members can go to the Costco customer service desk and they will tell you how much you spent in the last 12 months so you can decide for yourself.
We are pleased with the Costco experience for the high quality of their products, the pricing and that they are a well run company that's not out to squeeze every penny out of the consumer.
All that said, not every corporation has the same approach. Maximizing profits in the short term to appease stockholders is sometimes counter to the long term health of the business.