If these are the fault lines, what is the earth quake going to look like?

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Is this elitist? Reich is writing about extremely privileged people - investors and middle class consumers - and is ignoring that many Walmarts are located in rural areas where they are the only choice, and where there is a lot of poverty. If I am not mistaken, Walmart got its start exploiting poorer, rural areas, where there wasn't much or any competition by other department stores. By doing so, Walmart made easy pickings of whatever small businesses that were in those areas. As they gained dominance in rural areas, often becoming the only option for shopping, they branched out, eventually becoming the largest employer in the US. As they branched out, more consumer options were eliminated. My point is, consumers throughout large portions of this country simply no longer have a choice - Walmart is the only store in town.

Reich also fails to mention that many have been deceived by the public relations efforts of stores like Walmart, which has done an excellent job portraying itself as an inherently American company that is part of the American community.
It isn't a choice to shop at Walmart as much as it is a necessity or simply not thought about.

Reich also fails to discuss the resistance to Walmart. There are plenty of consumers who refuse to shop there. There are plenty of consumers who start campaigns to keep Walmart out of their communities.

The problem isn't consumer choice; it's hegemony, and right now, Walmart represents it. Walmart is a naturalized part of the capitalist economy. For many, it is not a choice, but part of an unconscious acceptance that it is perfectly natural to shop at Walmart. Reich is stuck in an elitist, Enlightenment grand narrative about free will and independent choice.

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It is interesting to observe the different attitudes of people outside the US, esp. in Europe or Canada for instance.

People there are not so much focused exclusively on money as in the US. They value main street with it's little shops, even if it is much more expensive to shop there. They also don't seek status through rich possesions as much as Americans, and leisure, lifestyle, and environmental quality issues are generally considered more important than working long hours to make lots of money.

I'm not sure if these attitudes are why they have such a strong social safety net, with strong health care, retirement, and worker protections, or if the safety net is what fosters the attitudes. Maybe they both simply go hand in hand.

When most Americans visit these places at first they are shocked that the values and attitudes are so different. But after spending some time there, you start to think that maybe Americans need to consider changes to their own attitudes.

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Americans can now revel in the fact that the vast majority of them are COMPLETELY AND HOPELESSLY DEPENDENT on mass retail to meet nearly all of their daily needs. So you think that you are an 'independent' and 'capitalist' American beholden to no one? Uh, I think not.

Do some research and you will find that even the goddamned fascists of the 1920s-30s-40s were EXTREMELY protective of local/regional economies and their native industries, bucking the trend of Soviet style globalization/centralization that was beginning to occur at that time.

So yes, while we Americans continue to feed and feed and feed at the disgusting trough of 'globalization' local economies continue to be wiped out and America's citizens are made more and more HOPELESSLY AND UTTERLY DEPENDENT on international corporations run by money hungry CEOs and number-crunching computers to meet their daily survival needs. This is no longer CAPITALISM because there is no longer any possible competition except at the most minor of levels -- we are living under some freakish form of international crony billionairism with a bizarre resemblance to an extreme form of Soviet-style centralization...only in this scheme THE WORKERS obviously don't own the means of production (nowadays it's actually become the "means of importation"), it is owned by these international billionaire capitalists that aren't really based in any single location.

Far from being independent, Americans are becoming more DEPENDENT with each passing day. Unless some rather drastic measures are taken rather soon and local economies can be partially restored, we will continue to fade in to this abyss of centralization, globalization, and SLAVERY.

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Those of us who watch the economy and social problems know that Reich is either naive or pumping optimism into a market that is dependent on human moods to function well, according to Alan Greenspan. Or, worse, he thinks we're ignorant enough to believe this here and now romantic tale of how great lower wages and lower prices are for consumers. I hate to be the barer of bad news.

Which came first lower prices or lower wages?

I believe our economy is being purposefully reset to maximize profits. The consumer/worker has little to do with the transformation, except in how their wages can be slashed by smiley faced icons in order to achieve low, low costs and savings for producers/employers.

The passage of NAFTA, CAFTA and the opening what is called "free trade" internationally has been instrumental in forcing the new economy down our throats. Free trade has neutered unions and forced workers to seek bargains in the interest of maintaining a lifestyle that is commensurate with their falling wages. We had no choice in the matter.

Big ticket items of lasting value rise at rates higher than inflation. Besides house prices rising, Reich failed to mention the rising costs of higher education, so that this next generation will not be able to afford college or they will be up to their necks in student loans, thus making them indentured servants to student loan companies and employers they may not like.

Moreover, workers are more likely to spend their hard earned dollars on health care costs that are rising faster than Viagra sales. And, our current crop of presidential candidates' solution is to offer us more deregulated health insurance. Lower prices at Wal Mart do little to compensate workers for lower wages and big ticket costs.

Transportation costs are growing exponentially, and political leaders refuse to demand higher CAFE standards from automakers or improve public transportation. And, alternative energy is no where in the political discussion.

The growing gap between the rich and working people of america is nothing to lovingly wax poetic. This is not about microwave ovens and color TV's; it's about the disproportionate distribution of wealth and power, the weakening of our democracy and the earth destroying nihilism inherent in all of these radical economic changes that benefit the few.

Peace

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10$ is pretty good, considering I graduated from a trade school in Automotive, and the starting pay in the field is about 6.75 an hour as a lube tech, no benefits.
I gave up that field, after spending damn near 20,000$ on school.
There's a middle class? how do I apply?
If you want to be REALISTIC try checking out the help wanted section of your local newspaper.
very few jobs have a salary attached unless you have gone to school in that specific field.
then, if you are lucky, you are middle class, selling oil or insurance or something ridiculous.
I wish people would just STOP BASHING WALMART as the cause to all their woes.
who cares if a Walmart employee bagman gets a pension or not.
you won't see it in your local grocery store either.
The audacity!
90% of my income is spent at Walmart! that is all I can afford!
make a big deal about wages, and I can't buy groceries or clothing for my family. so, this is fair?
do I care if "they" have benefits and a higher wage, when I do not? hell no!!!!
And, this is the common sense I see lacking. When I am one day driving around in my new lexus, I seriously doubt I will be shopping at Walmart, preferring a nicer place with better quality merchandise.
that is, if it ever happens.
furthermore, if Walmart ever becomes one of those "trendy stores" selling nicer things at higher prices, and I am in the same predicatament, I doubt I will shop at Walmart. For now, they are affordable, and have some great basic shirts on sale for about 3$ on sale.
since I make a whole whopping $6.75 an hour, at least half an hours worth of work will goto a new t-shirt, and not to the competitions 11$ shirt for the same thing.
that is just good shopping sense.

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"Low Prices--Always"

Wal-Mart's prices aren't the lowest, period. You might save on one item, but you can pay up to thirty percent more for the same item than at places like Save A Lot, Walgreen's, Dollar General, Big Lots, Target, etc. Discount grocery stores are usually much cheaper than Wal-Mart. Health-and-beauty, office supplies, groceries, cleaning stuff--it's all at or above prices you see elsewhere. If it is cheaper, it's a matter of a few pennies.

I'm continually astounded that people still say, "You can probably get it really cheap at Wal-Mart" when it demonstrably isn't so.

You can get a printed t-shirt that will fall apart next season for only $12. Rejoice.

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Boy, is it a relief to see it laid out like this! In the early 1980s I worked for a small independent bookstore. We carried or could get just about anything in or remotely related to our specialty. The small staff could make knowledgeable recommendations about books, records, and what was happening around the city. Anyone could post notices on the bulletin board or in the housing and job notebooks. At this time chain bookstores were starting and growing (growing, growing . . .). A big chain started in our city, advertising "If you paid full price, you didn't buy it at XYZ Books." Pretty soon our regular customers were buying most new books in our specialty from the chain -- but coming to us for the mid-list books, the independent-press books, the university-press books, and the short-discount books that the chain wouldn't touch. How to explain the problem to the customers, and the community at large? We tried, over and over: "It's sales of the high-turnover books that make it possible to carry all these books that sell two or three copies a year, and to special-order single copies without charging for the service." Yadda yadda yadda. On the whole, our customers were well educated and politically savvy -- often politically active as well. Most grasped the principles, and could have afforded to pay three bucks more for a new best-seller, but they still made a beeline for the bargains at XYZ Books. (A few even thought we were fleecing them because we couldn't discount the way the heavily capitalized chain did.)

That experience woke me up to what I still believe is the fundamental problem with capitalism as practiced in this country: it only values things that can be measured in dollars and cents. Intellectually our customers valued the customer service and community resource our store provided, but since it didn't come with a price tag they had no easy way to measure it against the three bucks they were saving at XYZ, where the clerks knew little about the books they were selling. Over the years I've seen plenty of "you don't know what you've got till it's gone": towns and cities that cut deals with big retailers, seeing only Jobs! Lower taxes! Cheaper goods!, and realize belatedly that the neighborhood has been gutted, the jobs are menial, and the traffic is out of control. Yeah, the PC I bought in 1985 (the one with the humongous 10MB hard drive [g]) cost almost three times more than the one I bought last fall, but it also came with excellent documentation and the tech support was awesome. These days, if you can't find your own answers, you're probably shelling out a fair amount of money for how-to books and computer consultants.

This excerpt from Robert Reich's book doesn't address what may be the most important issue, though I'm sure his book does: What happens to democratic institutions when we only know how to value things that come with a price tag attached? A glance at the headlines should give you an idea. Political corruption is nothing new, of course, but it seems to me that influence peddling and outright bribery escalates when the free-marketeers are riding high -- and why not? It's the good ol' market at work. Why shouldn't votes and public offices go to the highest bidder? And why shouldn't a conscientious company invest big bucks to ensure that an important vote goes its way?

The fix lies in regulating the market in such a way that it values the intangibles. It can be done if there's a will to do it. The question is "Do we love our bargains more than we love democracy or community or justice?" It's not really a new question. Most of us who know the story think Esau was short-sighted (literally) when he traded his birthright for a mess of pottage. What would it take to convince us that we're doing the same damn thing?

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...when WE are strapped for cash. It's how they keep going, when we know what they're doing is wrong.

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I think the walmart-as-a-steamroller analogy is quite apt. The steamroller rolls on, flattening prices, squashing wages, squeezing jobs out of the country, and bulldozing mainstreet. Who's driving the steamroller? It's not H. Lee Scott, it's the consumers and investors. Consumers feel squeezed because their wages are dropping. They have "no choice" but to shop where they can get the best deals. They might realize that by shopping at sprawl-mart instead of down town they are driving their own wages down, but do they care? Investors, on the other hand, pretty much know what they are doing to workers. But that's just a part of capitalism. If you don't like it, move to Cuba, comrade.

We're in a race to the bottom. As real wages decline and prices drop, where are we headed? When everything we consume is made by sweatshop slaves or robots in southeast asia, how will we make money? Will we all work for wal-mart or micky D? The real questions is, will American consumers and investors awake from their apathetic slumber in time to turn the ship around? Why is this country full of selfish zombies who are incapable of comprehending the consequences of their choices?

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It sounds, then, like many are in a relatively good position to enact social change. What do you have to lose, but your $6.75/hour job* and the meager, bottom-of-the-barrel life that it ostensibly supports? I would like people to argue for why this kind of life is worth living, and if it is not why they're not doing something about it.

*One commentator above makes the excellent point that Wal-Mart's tactics are not unique to it. Adding to that from still another comment, all the OTHER low-low price sellers are able to do what they do for more or less the same reasons as Wal-Mart. This extends to every facet of the market.

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There is no aspect of our lives that doesn't lead to "health care costs". It's the reason for everything gone wrong no matter what it is. Granted the costs are out of control. But shouldn't we be looking at other reasons why we are losing ground everyday. Where do people get hundreds of dollars then wait in line for a video game? Lives are filled with expenses that are self infilicted. I don't think we should all be monks, just a little more realistic. Walmart still stinks! ANNA

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There is no aspect of our lives that doesn't lead to "health care costs". It's the reason for everything gone wrong no matter what it is. Granted the costs are out of control. But shouldn't we be looking at other reasons why we are losing ground everyday. Where do people get hundreds of dollars then wait in line for a video game? Lives are filled with expenses that are self infilicted. I don't think we should all be monks, just a little more realistic. Walmart still stinks! ANNA

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Richard Wilkinson's The Impact of Inequality: how to make sick societies healthier informs us that in hierarchies of dominance, low social status creates violent men and depressed (and pregnant) women. It's not just Wilkinson's opinion but an irrefutable compilation of epidimiological evidence.

We can make a better society, so why don't we? Has idealism gone out of fashion? Have we sold our birthright for a jar of pickles? Universal health care impossible? Lincoln said that without vision the people perish. It's literally true.

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[I started this as a reply to a comment and realized its more general and broadly applicable nature and edited it to be a more general comment]

There is something of a saying, a cliche really, among capitalists and their unwitting supporters: vote with your dollar. Our dollar you say! Of course, what that means is that our "say" is proportionate to our dollar. This is the only way that Localism comes into existence in the way you lay out: just buy something different.

AS IF WE HAD A CHOICE

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what is called a forced choice. It is the fundamental, bedrock lie of Capitalism. What it purports is that we have a choice on how to spend our dollar, on who we vote on economically. For too many, though, their choice is limited to, say, Wal-Mart and its big-box entourage. Already, in the comments to this article, people are responding with hostility towards Wal-Mart-basing, as it is the only thing they can afford! The choices are ENDLESS at your ONE and ONLY Wal-Mart. The imperative is to save money for some, but to get by for most others.

We should not think as relatively affluent middle-class and up, liberal-progressives, who read Alter-Net and buy the Red Label Gap-products that send money to starving kids in Africa (for God sake!), that we are really affecting social change by changing who we buy from, because the gesture is still the same---just in a different direction. We cannot forget that relative affluence is bought only at the price of many other's subserviance to low-paying jobs and products of profoundly diminishing real-value---i.e. piece of shit stuff from China. Were those two basic conditions to be atoned for, you would see the middle-upper and upper-class crash down into the real-life awakening of making a living.

No, social change, social revolution if that's your flavour of terminology, will not happen so nicely and within the scripted bounds of the present economic order. It will not only put a frown on Mr. Money-bags. It will upset people from every level of the economic chain of being, because their whole lives are invested in its fundamental lies. These lies, no less, are not simply put over their eyes to keep them from seeing the truth, in the old false-consciousness sense, but are lies that they live in the midst of, produce and embody with their every, minute daily ways of living.

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Thanks. I admire Robert Reich a great deal. He is correct to ask about the correct balance.

To me its all cyclical.

But as a nation we are definitely consumeristic to a pathological degree.

Beyond basic needs (which I agree some of don't even have) IT'S RELATIONSHIPS AND MEANINGFUL WORK THAT COUNT (NOT THINGS). He who "dies with the most toys" is a cruel myth.

We will grow up someday and realize that before it is to late.
We are a young and immature nation. But our destiny still is greatness.

Be Well All,

Dr. Rick Lippin
http://medicalcrises.blogspot.com

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Excerpts from Albert Einstein’s classic article "Why Socialism?" -- from the Monthly Review, May 1949 -- + full article found @ http://www.monthlyreview.org/598einst.htm

* But historic tradition is, so to speak, of yesterday; nowhere have we really overcome what Thorstein Veblen called "the predatory phase" of human development. … Since the real purpose of socialism is precisely to overcome and advance beyond the predatory phase of human development, economic science in its present state can throw little light on the socialist society of the future.

* Man is, at one and the same time, a solitary being and a social being. As a solitary being, he attempts to protect his own existence and that of those who are closest to him, to satisfy his personal desires, and to develop his innate abilities. As a social being, he seeks to gain the recognition and affection of his fellow human beings, to share in their pleasures, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to improve their conditions of life. … It is evident, therefore, that the dependence of the individual upon society is a fact of nature which cannot be abolished—just as in the case of ants and bees.

* I have now reached the point where I may indicate briefly what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It concerns the relationship of the individual to society. The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence. … Moreover, his position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.

* The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. … Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society.

(continued below)

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Does anyone remember CostCo, Bargain City and Smart & Final, ShopRite and Sam'sClub?

These entities started out well before WalMart and their Bulk Buy hook worked because they would buy the over-stock from other stores and sell it for less. It was a terrific scam and not difficult to put over on the public. WalMart got smarter and it took it many steps further.

See, you get 4 bottles of scope for the price of 3- in order to get a discount- the public became over-stocked- basically Joe and Jane average became mini-warehouses.

The public caught on and people, family, neighbors and friends would shop together, split savings and products.

The monsters quickly caught on and the vast majority of items became 2 for 1's greatly reducing the deals. The deals rapidly became smaller- but there was just enough bulk items to keep the peeps lined up at the doors.

Now these stores (actually warehouses) were located at the far end of town where land was cheaper and they needed lots of space- there was nothing nefarious in this choice until WalMart. People did not realize or take into account the gasoline, time and energy it took to drive out to WalMart and when they realized "ALL THIS" was out there- they began moving closer without thinking. The masses did not see the people traps disguised as stores. The sheeple are easily led and herded to the shepherds destination- not the sheeple's.

There is something far more sinister about all of this than finding a deal. This has much more to do with behavior modification than great discounts. People with very specific income brackets and demographics are being brought together by a motive that has little or nothing to do with retail sales. The designer outlets work the same way- lead the people out of town- then limit their choices to a few stores.

This fact escapes nearly everyone and a little research into this evil entity, its nefarious ways and much can be gained by reading the biographies of its corporate players- a deeper look back into the histories of its corporate players yields the results and information that would keep shoppers in the Mom and Pop stores forever, rendering the parking lots of these megalomaniac malls empty forever.

Sadly, most people will not- cannot or are too lazy to surf and sift out the available information so they can make an intelligent choice as to where to spend their hard earned money.

Is it any wonder why the elite think so little of the masses?

Albert Einstein said, "Religion keeps the poor from killing the rich- which is its only purpose".

Little effort into research will show that within 1 mile of every WalMart is a church, sometimes right across the street- but never more than a mile.

Is this a coincidence that occurs with every WalMart store?

I don't think so. Its another fact cleverly hidden under a pile of discount coupons.

Follow the breadcrumbs people or you may just end up in the witch's oven like Hansel & Gretel.

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I have been listening to Dr Reich's commentaries on NPR's Marketplace for a number of years. He has given me many "I want to punch the radio moments".

Dr Reich, like so many other cheerleaders of the present US economy, tells us how well we are doing, but does not mention that personal debt is at record levels and more and more hours are being spent at work just to maintain a lifestyle.

It is obvious to me that he and the other "ivory tower" academics that spout this drivel don't have to work to earn a living. For instance, Dr Reich has an extensive resume of institutes, of higher learning he has "worked" for, but he has never had to punch a clock or run a cash register or flip burgers to earn a living. He has probably never been without healthcare or for that matter "laid off" from a job because the company moved to China.

I think all economists jobs should be outsourced to India so these folks will have to get in touch with the real economy.

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This article is just idiotic. Anyone who calls themselves a 'consumer' might as well call themselves 'a fattened goose'. This is one of the those issues that makes me doubt the real intentions of the Nader crowd - a magazine called "Consumer Reports?" Please.

The real magazine of the new movement for global sanity is Adbusters. I recommend that everyone reads it! For example, see http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd//

November 24 & 25, every year: Participate by Not Participating!

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I believe Boston, with its large and transient college community, has one of the highest rates of exchange of used items in the U.S. It's widely acceptable, even fashionable, to sell and trade furniture between individuals. Clothes from thrift shops remain popular (though its unfortunate Urban Outfitters capitalized on the idea of mass manufacturing suggestively 'thrift' items).

There certainly isn't a shortage of used items: used clothes from the U.S. is sold in developing countries around the world and (what we as Americans believe to be) totaled cars in the U.S. are sold in countries like Cambodia where they're rebuilt.

You can have great items at bargain prices as long as you aren't picky and don't feel it necessary to have brand new things.

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for consumers to invest in capital corporations because they can never control their behavior which is directed by each corporate bottom line: profit at the expense of those same consumers who own a few shares of stock. Thus, they have invested in their own exploitation!

A far more secure investment is in the land for families to grow their own gardens, sew their own clothes, maintain their own housing and live in balance with Nature and at peace with each other. They won't be rich, but they'll never be jobless, homeless and starving! Observe and study the Amish.

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Kapitals vision of man
is essentially greed and self interest.. period.
Advertisers marketing cigarettes to young people also market
the health care plans that hope to contol the cancer contracted
by the "consumer" who saw the same advertiser help him/her
contract the disease thru cigarette addiction.
Advertisers, marketeers, and P.R. people are not adverse to promoting split personalities and that includes of course, their own well paid persons. See the tobacco spokespersons for more on this.

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There were lines of people throughout the country this week wating to buy a new video. Recently the same phenomenon over a $600 electronic gadget. I can't help but wonder what percentage of the people who made purchases, actually "had" the money. I'm not for depriving people of things or whatever makes them happy, but I do wonder who can really afford some of this stuff. Thanks, ANNA

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This was truly a breath of fresh air!! BRAVO!! No whining about banks picking on the poor, innocent and unsuspecting American consumer who wanted nothing more than a house he couldn't afford or a car she didn't deserve.

Alternet rarely, if ever, has the balls to run articles that suggest WE ARE TO BLAME and not the seemingly impregnable, monolithic institutions that have sprung up around us. It's so tiresome, not to mention boring, when we are bombarded with articles that point the finger at Greenspan (as if he put a gun to your head and made you borrow), Wal-Mart (hate how they pay but love the prices don't ya?) or any number of corporations (you abhor big oil and Detroit but you drive a Toyota Tundra).

No entity or practice simply springs up out of nowhere without the American public's complicity. You've elected these idiots time and again and settle into your La-Z-Boy, mumbling under your breath when things don't go your way. You have run up extraordinary credit card debt on things you had no business buying.

You fail to act. You harp on Bush, Cheney, Gonzalez, Rumsfeld - calling them cowards, morons . . . what have you, but they're acting, albeit in an evil and malicious way, but they're doing, not talking. Republicans have managed to get a stranglehold on this country and you allowed them to do so. You let the Dems get away with their filth. You're the cowards. You have no one to blame but yourselves.

I know this article defies the official "it's was them, we're innocent" mantra that Alterneters truly get off on, but one day, you're going to have to snap out of your pity party and actually do something.

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if all the consumers sold their company stock and invested in parcels of land to grow their own vegetables in cooperation with their neighbors!

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House Votes for New Iraq Blank Check

And not to worry, the Senate and WH will follow shortly !

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I have never walked into a Walmart in my life and have no intention of ever doing so. That Robert Reich sees no problem in acting as an apologist for one of the WORST examples of American capitalism is quite mindboggling.

Yes, Bob, we ALL love low prices. Who DOESN'T want them?But NOT at the expense of my principles. Like every other large American corporation Walmart is NO LONGER American. It is global and it doesn't give a damn where it gets its merchandise as long as it is as cheap as possible. And why is it cheap? Because the workers - whether in China or Asia - are paid virtually nothing, certainly not a living wage. Meanwhile, American jobs are being exported overseas.

It's interesting to note that Henry Ford - anti-Semite that he was - recognized that if he did not pay his workers a decent salary, they would be unable to buy his cars.

Wouldn't you thiink that today's CEOs would have at least a smidgen of the same intelligence. Who will be left to buy the products sold by cheap-o Walmart if they're not paid decently? Already, recently in the news, Walmart and (I think) Home Depot were complaining that in some towns here in America people didn't have enough money to shop in their stores.

And let us not forget how Walmart treats women employees - the sexism, gender bias.

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