Ok, well i guess they sell things cheap

[thomez]

Originally Posted by WickedLou9

then they could afford to treat thier employees better if they were inclined.

there is no way they could make their minimum pay 8 dollars an hour and give everyone healthcare, they'd be broke

50 cent or dollar raises? maybe

healthcare is very expensive

[DosEquis]

Originally Posted by kinggovernor

if they were inclined to go out of business

come the F on there is a fine line between better pay and benefits and going out of business. No where is it said that they need to pay until they can't pay anymore. They could pay more without it hurting their business, and it may actually HELP them by keeping employees longer.

Just think the money they save on turn over. Thats less people to train all over, less people who have to learn the system. A guy who has done it for 3 years is going to be very efficient, but if they quit all the time you will never see that efficiency.

[thomez]

I'm standing in Walmart right now

lol @ haters of capitalism's pride & joy

[R-Type]

Originally Posted by Kytro

I didn't say they have no other responsibilities, just that the primary responsibility is to thier shareholders, and this will take precedence.

It might be in the shareholders' best interests to simply dump hazardous wastes into the environment because it is cheaper than proper disposal, but that doesn't mean it's ok to do it.

Originally Posted by Kytro

Socially responsible companies may or may not be profitable, but it is a choice the companies make. Wallmart is not obliged to be socially responsible beyond it's legal requirements. If it chooses to do so, that is a bonus.

They would still be profitable because the field would still be level. Prices would rise. Legal requirements need to be stiff enough to keep business expediency from ruining the living standards of the people it employs, the muncipalities it does business in, and, if applicable, even the physical environment. Obviously, going too far with legislation has equally damaging effects on the economy, but if the market is allowed to take its course unfettered at all times, most of the wealth will simply flow upwards to the people on top and then stay there. Big companies have A LOT of gravitic pull on the economy. Tell me something, if you owned a $5million house somewhere, would you want some waste conglomerate building a landfill right across the street simply because they have the money to buy the land? Of course not, but if we were to let the market do its thing without any avenue for interference, that could very well happen.

Originally Posted by kytro

The same thing applies to people. As long as you don't break the law, you can step on people all you like. It may not be nice, but companies don't have the same sense of morailty as people.

Most laws are based on the concept of treating others with respect, and companies ARE just organizations of people.. Destroying 'life, liberty, and happiness' of mass numbers of people with economics is no better than doing it with legislation. If we are to expect government to respect these things, then we should expect other powerful organizations to do the same.

Originally Posted by Kytro

Things like groupthink interfere. Companies have thier own culture.

This is true..just like with countries. I view corporations, especially large ones, as mini-governments, and as such, need watching just like big ones.

[Diesel66]

Originally Posted by thomez

I'm standing in Walmart right now

Cant cut the online tether long enough to go shopping

[thomez]

lol

I was standing there waiting on my mother to find some cheap shoes (hers randomly fell apart today, dry rot I think, they had been sitting a long time, so we needed a quick and cheap replacement) and thought of this thread and figured it would be fun to show off my Walmart love