Argument Against Wal-Mart

The biggest challenge now is whether or not Wal-Mart could afford to pay its employees better with medical benefits while keeping customers happy. The simply answer that Reich points out for many reasons is no. No, Wal-Mart cannot afford to compensate its employees better while keeping customers content. Wal-Mart will no longer remain competitive if it adds the extra costs of benefits for its employees. The extra spending would come at the cost of the customer. Profits would need to go up in order for Wal-Mart to spend more on employee benefits. Would Wal-Mart keep its customers if prices went up? Most likely not. Wal-Mart’s customers would end up going to its rival stores such as Target and Kmart. Reich does the math for the average person. Common sense tells us that in order to spend more, you must make more. It is a very basic concept. Not only would Wal-Mart lose customers in search for better prices, it would also stand to lose investors. As Reich shows, it is a cycle that few understand. Society understands a small portion of what is really …show more content…
As Reich writes Chapter Four: Democracy Overwhelmed, he speaks about the “ever-rising flood of corporate money into Washington and other capitals” (131). Many believe that the flood of corporate money into politics has created a problem by allowing government and large corporations to join forces. At this point, it was clear that corporate entities took over politics. Reich mentions how he witnessed this action firsthand when he was working at the Federal Trade Commission. Corporations would pay their way through about anything including “expert” testimony in many cases (158). In short, Reich summarizes this section by saying that citizen voices are no longer being heard because big corporations are engaging in competition for “political outcomes that advantage them over their rivals”