Penn and Teller on Walmart

ojc02 · #1 04-01-2007, 02:59 PM

Linky (NSFW - some boob shots (seriously [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] )) (~30 mins)

Executive Summary: "Walmart hatred is B.S."

I just thought this would be interesting for folks here given all the Walmart debate recently.

Incidently, Penn & Teller's B.S. is an awesome show. I'm working my way through their DVDs and have yet to think they were wrong about anything.

Nielsio · #2 04-01-2007, 03:08 PM

Yeah, I mentioned this episode in the relevant thread already.

[ QUOTE ]
Incidently, Penn & Teller's B.S. is an awesome show.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes. Especially since they became more and more market oriented.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm working my way through their DVDs and have yet to think they were wrong about anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

The one about 9/11 conspiracies is basically 100% ad hominem.

ojc02 · #3 04-01-2007, 03:11 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I mentioned this episode in the relevant thread already.

[/ QUOTE ]

OOPS! Didn't see that...

To mods - please lock / delete if this is overkill.

[ QUOTE ]
The one about 9/11 conspiracies is basically 100% ad hominem.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ah, haven't seen that one yet...

Dan. · #4 04-01-2007, 03:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
The one about 9/11 conspiracies is basically 100% ad hominem.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love the show and own seasons 1 and 2, but almost every episode has a healthy does of ad hominem in it, and they usually find the worst possible representatives for the opposing side.

ojc02 · #5 04-01-2007, 03:17 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The one about 9/11 conspiracies is basically 100% ad hominem.

[/ QUOTE ]

I love the show and own seasons 1 and 2, but almost every episode has a healthy does of ad hominem in it, and they usually find the worst possible representatives for the opposing side.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's one of my most pressing questions each time I watch: "WHERE DO THEY FIND THESE PEOPLE?!?" [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The most terrifying thing is that these people vote. ::Shudder::

neverforgetlol · #6 04-01-2007, 03:49 PM

I think they should get a job at Walmart and see how it goes.

pvn · #7 04-01-2007, 06:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I think they should get a job at Walmart and see how it goes.

[/ QUOTE ]

It would probably suck. So what?

theweatherman · #8 04-01-2007, 07:13 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Incidently, Penn & Teller's B.S. is an awesome show. I'm working my way through their DVDs and have yet to think they were wrong about anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

I saw this episode the other night and, while it was basically spot on, there was a major oversight/ ignoring of some issues.

The main thing that bothered me is that they cited the benefits and salary of full time employees. This is misleading due to the fact that Wal-mart employees very few full time employees. The company purposely hires numerous part timers in order to skirt things like benefits and the like.

SNOWBALL · #9 04-01-2007, 11:54 PM

I resent that they claim that raising wages and benefits raises prices. That's like saying that when my bonii at absolute poker went down, my WR had to go up. wtf? The prices at walmart are set by market forces, and market forces are a lot more complex than maintaining a certain ROI for walmart.

I realize in a lot of cases, prices do go up to cover higher costs, but this wouldn't necesarrily be on of those cases. A number of things could happen. Walmart could pay more, but end up laying off some of the least useful jobs. They could pay more, make less profit, but still do fine at the end of the day.

People who say that higher wages are always passed on to the consumers should ask themselves why employers don't just imagine wages are higher and raise prices anyway. Walmart charges what they charge to be competitive and profitable. It's not like if employees suddenly started making less, then walmart would lower prices even further.

ojc02 · #10 04-02-2007, 12:09 AM

[ QUOTE ]
I resent that they claim that raising wages and benefits raises prices. That's like saying that when my bonii at absolute poker went down, my WR had to go up. wtf? The prices at walmart are set by market forces, and market forces are a lot more complex than maintaining a certain ROI for walmart.

I realize in a lot of cases, prices do go up to cover higher costs, but this wouldn't necesarrily be on of those cases. A number of things could happen. Walmart could pay more, but end up laying off some of the least useful jobs. They could pay more, make less profit, but still do fine at the end of the day.

People who say that higher wages are always passed on to the consumers should ask themselves why employers don't just imagine wages are higher and raise prices anyway. Walmart charges what they charge to be competitive and profitable. It's not like if employees suddenly started making less, then walmart would lower prices even further.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, margins in retail are RAZOR thin; Walmart achieves their impressive profits by having very low admin costs and by selling a gigantic amount of merchandize. If labor costs go up in any kind of meaningful way, it is definitely going to impact prices on the shelf.

If employees did start making less, Walmart might lower their prices, it depends on the elasticity of demand of their consumers. I honestly don't know if they would or not, it's a tough question to figure out if dropping prices like that would raise their profit.