We recounted earlier this week, how Wal-Mart is attempting change its image in the court of public opinion, but just as Wal-Mart is trying to revitalize its image, others are trying their best to reinforce negative images of the world’s largest retailer. Critics have produced a documentary entitled: Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. This documentary levels a number of charges against the retailer, though they weren’t able to tie Wal-Mart to the Lincoln and Kennedy Assassinations. Among the assertions leveled critics contend, Wal-Mart pays low-wage and offers limited health benefits. And for this Wal-Mart should be ashamed? Wal-Mart should be praised. There is no legitimate argument for why Wal-Mart should be assailed. Only in a leftist world can a successful business be maligned for doing a good job. There is no justifiable reason for Wal-Mart to pay its workers any more than they do already. Employers should pay their employees based on the value of their work. Frankly, the vast majority of Wal-Mart staff are un-deserving of a higher wage as it would not be justified by the work they perform. Many Wal-Mart employees do not require specialized skills or training. It is conceivable that a trained dog or monkey could perform many of the same tasks now performed by Wal-Mart employees. Wal-Mart is a business not a charity and should not be expected to pay people what they want simply because they lacked the skills that are in demand to secure a higher paying job. Wal-Mart is not the reason these people earn such paltry salaries. The employees themselves are to blame for the lifestyle choices they have made, by disregarding education, by raising children they couldn’t afford, by cultivating self-destructive and poverty enhancing habits. If anything, Wal-Mart and other retailers should be praised for giving these people a job at all.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/2005-10-26-wal-mart-film-usat_x.htm