Argumentative Essay: Is Wal-Mart Good For America?
Argumentative Essay
December 1, 2013
“Is Wal-Mart Good for America?”
Wal-Mart comes into communities to help build them up and add jobs. It succeeds in both things, but leaves much to be desired in the ways of treating their employees, which makes Wal-Mart is both an asset and a detriment to communities. While Wal-Mart contributes to the community by providing a place to purchase goods cheaply and obtain jobs that do not require much experience, they mar this goodwill through compassion-less practices such as cutting of employee's health insurance and pushing out "mom and pop" stores.
One reason Wal-Mart is such a beneficial establishment is that it provides jobs to those who otherwise might have a hard time finding a job. Some people who fall into this category are single mothers trying to enter the workplace, high school dropouts, and high school kids trying to get some first job experience. In the workforce, especially today, employers are less and less willing to hire just anyone. Employers want someone who has a good deal of experience even for the most menial of jobs. Running a cash register is not that difficult of a task, and almost anyone can do that, likewise with stocking shelves. Therefore, Wal-Mart is an ideal place for people who do not have a vast skill set. …show more content…
High school dropouts do not have much hope after that point in their life, according to society, so Wal-Mart giving them a job is the next best thing.
While Wal-Mart giving people who need these jobs is a good thing, treating them badly is not a good thing.
Many establishments permit workers to mobilize and form unions, but Wal-Mart is incredibly anti-union. “Wal-Mart routinely violates laws protecting workers' organizing rights (workers have even been fired for union activity)” (Featherstone, 640). Unions keep employers in line, and when employees feel like something is wrong with where they work, they can go to the union without fear of being fired afterwards. Wal-Mart employees, unfortunately do not have this luxury. Even moreso, if an employee were to go to one of their managers with an issue, they would more than likely be
fired. One benefit to working is the ability to get health insurance through your workplace. Without this job at Wal-Mart, most people would never have any sort of access to a cheaper form of healthcare. For many employed by Wal-Mart, this is the only form of health insurance they will ever receive. Likewise, this healthcare extends to their spouses and/or domestic partners, who may also not have access to health care.
In contrast, Wal-Mart is an employer infamous for working their employees just under 30 hours so that they cannot access the healthcare that they most desperately need. Employees make too much in a week/month to get health care from the government, but not enough hours to get the insurance from their employer.
Similarly, for those employees who have managed to make it into the select circle of people able to get health insurance, Wal-Mart will underwork that employee so that they lose their insurance. Wal-Mart provides goods and services that are cheap in comparison to surrounding stores in the area in which they are located. This is good for the people in the community who cannot afford the goods and services at other stores. The pricing between Wal-Mart and the other grocery stores in the area are competitive, but still give you the option to choose between the two stores, provided you do your research.
Unfortunately, because Wal-Mart has such good price-matching ability, this often forces smaller “mom-and-pop” stores to have to close their doors because their usual clientele can no longer afford to shop at the places they used to frequent. When your “mom-and-pop” down the street closes, and you no longer see the people you usually see (others who frequent the store, the owners, etc.), you start to lose a little of your identity in the sense that you’re no longer doing the things you used to do/socializing with the people you normally see. When you shop at a “mom-and-pop” for many years, you begin to know the people who own the place, and they become friends somewhat. So when those store close, you do not see them much anymore. In conclusion, Wal-Mart brings jobs and money into the communities in which they build, but they do not always treat the employees that they have well. Wal-Mart also makes decent goods available for cheaper prices than their competitors, which in turn unfortunately drives other businesses out of town.
December 1, 2013
“Is Wal-Mart Good for America?”
Wal-Mart comes into communities to help build them up and add jobs. It succeeds in both things, but leaves much to be desired in the ways of treating their employees, which makes Wal-Mart is both an asset and a detriment to communities. While Wal-Mart contributes to the community by providing a place to purchase goods cheaply and obtain jobs that do not require much experience, they mar this goodwill through compassion-less practices such as cutting of employee's health insurance and pushing out "mom and pop" stores.
One reason Wal-Mart is such a beneficial establishment is that it provides jobs to those who otherwise might have a hard time finding a job. Some people who fall into this category are single mothers trying to enter the workplace, high school dropouts, and high school kids trying to get some first job experience. In the workforce, especially today, employers are less and less willing to hire just anyone. Employers want someone who has a good deal of experience even for the most menial of jobs. Running a cash register is not that difficult of a task, and almost anyone can do that, likewise with stocking shelves. Therefore, Wal-Mart is an ideal place for people who do not have a vast skill set. …show more content…
High school dropouts do not have much hope after that point in their life, according to society, so Wal-Mart giving them a job is the next best thing.
While Wal-Mart giving people who need these jobs is a good thing, treating them badly is not a good thing.
Many establishments permit workers to mobilize and form unions, but Wal-Mart is incredibly anti-union. “Wal-Mart routinely violates laws protecting workers' organizing rights (workers have even been fired for union activity)” (Featherstone, 640). Unions keep employers in line, and when employees feel like something is wrong with where they work, they can go to the union without fear of being fired afterwards. Wal-Mart employees, unfortunately do not have this luxury. Even moreso, if an employee were to go to one of their managers with an issue, they would more than likely be
fired. One benefit to working is the ability to get health insurance through your workplace. Without this job at Wal-Mart, most people would never have any sort of access to a cheaper form of healthcare. For many employed by Wal-Mart, this is the only form of health insurance they will ever receive. Likewise, this healthcare extends to their spouses and/or domestic partners, who may also not have access to health care.
In contrast, Wal-Mart is an employer infamous for working their employees just under 30 hours so that they cannot access the healthcare that they most desperately need. Employees make too much in a week/month to get health care from the government, but not enough hours to get the insurance from their employer.
Similarly, for those employees who have managed to make it into the select circle of people able to get health insurance, Wal-Mart will underwork that employee so that they lose their insurance. Wal-Mart provides goods and services that are cheap in comparison to surrounding stores in the area in which they are located. This is good for the people in the community who cannot afford the goods and services at other stores. The pricing between Wal-Mart and the other grocery stores in the area are competitive, but still give you the option to choose between the two stores, provided you do your research.
Unfortunately, because Wal-Mart has such good price-matching ability, this often forces smaller “mom-and-pop” stores to have to close their doors because their usual clientele can no longer afford to shop at the places they used to frequent. When your “mom-and-pop” down the street closes, and you no longer see the people you usually see (others who frequent the store, the owners, etc.), you start to lose a little of your identity in the sense that you’re no longer doing the things you used to do/socializing with the people you normally see. When you shop at a “mom-and-pop” for many years, you begin to know the people who own the place, and they become friends somewhat. So when those store close, you do not see them much anymore. In conclusion, Wal-Mart brings jobs and money into the communities in which they build, but they do not always treat the employees that they have well. Wal-Mart also makes decent goods available for cheaper prices than their competitors, which in turn unfortunately drives other businesses out of town.