Wal-Mart To Stifle Latinos
According to this article Wal-Mart is going to open Hispanic focused supermarkets complete with spanish speaking employees and signage.
Retail giant Wal-Mart
(WMT) will open its first Hispanic-focused
supermarkets this summer in Arizona and Texas. The stores will feature
Spanish speaking staff and new layouts, products, and signage that will be
"relevant to local Hispanic customers."
The stores, dubbed Supermercado de
Walmart, will appear in converted Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market stores in Phoenix
and Houston. Separately, the company also plans on converting a Sam's Club
warehouse into a Hispanic-themed Más Club.
Ol' BC wonders what kind of kudos Wal-Mart will receive for helping to relegate the latino population in the Houston and Phoenix areas to the lowest rungs of the economic ladder. Wal-Mart should lead the movement to encourage immigrants to the U.S. to assimilate, learn English and give themselves a chance to be successful in this country. Wal-Mart has the financial wherewithal to have an impact in this area. Of course, then again, maybe they prefer to have pool of those who will do grunt work cheaply because they can't speak English. This will help keep that pool viable for quite some time.
Just a thought.
posted by Ol' BC @ 3:43 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
I saw this in the Houston Chronicle. It really pissed me off. I know of one WalmMrt in the Houston area that has for years displayed signs in Spanish, had a money transistion counter, and all the trappings of Mexico City. If you get far enough into the store, you think and feel like you are in Mexico.
I think this is debate is so interesting because the things you complain about are actually being brought about by Capitalism. Can we honestly fault a company for catering to their clientele?
We stock our shelves and advertise according to market influences and demands, not along ideological lines because this is a Capitalistic system. I am not knocking Capitalism, but I find it funny when we laud an economic system without seeing any of the inherent problems.
Anyway, I find it amusing.
Mark
Supply and Demand, the basis of our economy.
Seriously, if I owned a business, and there was a large Hispanic population, I would be an idiot to NOT put in Spanish language signs and employ Spanish speakers to reach those customers. As a business owner, their dollars are just as good as anyone else's. Why not cater to them, get their money, and support my family?
That is capitalism at its finest - find a way to make the sale, then support myself and my family from that.
Mark, Amazingly, I agreed with you until you mentioned a "problem."
There's no problem here. It's Walmart responding to what it believes to be its market, in these areas. I live in an area loaded with Hispanics, both legal and illegal. As long as they're working productively, I have no problem with either.
I work with a lot of Hispanics, and find them, by and large, to be hard working and honest. My local Walmart has its aisles labeled in both English and Spanish, and carries many Hispanic-targeted items.
That's capitalism, and that's not a problem.
strya
Well, the problem being referred to was the perceived problem by others, not by me. So, we are in agreement.
I have no problem with it at all since it was a company decision and not a government decision. I'm merely pointing out one of the results. Same with no smoking establishments. If the owner wants it that way, he should have that right. I object to legislating it at any level.
BC,
I can agree with that, 100%. Government has no Constitutional role in this area. Those in government who make these insane laws should be indicted, tried and hanged for acting to destroy the letter and spirit of the Documents they've sworn to uphold.
crobo
tangstel
I have always found it incredibly strange that certain people hold the Constitution in the same unswerving reverence as the Bible or some other holy parchment. It is a living document and subject to change. Just because the Constitution does not "allow" government interference in business does not mean that there should be no government interference.
I am not arguing either way on this particular issue. I am simply stating that sometimes government interference in commerce, trade, and world markets is necessary.
Actually the Constitution was written as it stands for a sepcific purpose - to limit the scope of the central government as the founders saw first hand what happens when it gets too big. This is why most left England for the colonies. The Constitution is not a living breathing document, it is merely a document that states what it states and empowers the federal government with specific limited powers. The 10th amendment allows for changes in conditions at the state level, where the power was meant to lie.
I was not saying that its purpose was not to limit government. I said it was living, meaning that it is subject to amendments and alterations.
I will restate my original intent: Just because the Constitution says so is no reason to alter our viewpoints about the role of government. Government intervention in society as we have it today is necessary, and it must change according to the needs and demands of the people.
Mark
But usually at the state or local level. It is amendable, but most of the power grebbed by the central government has not been in the form of amendments.
The fact that our elected traitors consider the Constitution to be something to find a way around instead of using the included amendment process.
And, no, there is never a need for government to meddle in the noncoercive affairs of individuals. The problems we have today are caused by government's having overstepped its Constitutional authority. One has to enter the marketplace very carefully, not knowing when and in which way the government will choose to persecute him. And government persecutes us all.
revendi
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