>Well,
>
>I believe in supply and demand and free markets. Walmart has a fiduciary responsibility to maximize shareholder value, as every other publically traded company has. Walmart offers the jobs, people accept them, what's the problem. If the jobs were not being filled, they would have to up wages, improve benefits, etc to draw the applicants.
>
>The real problem is workers don't have enough or the right kind of skills!
>
>Also consider that Walmart has actually increased the standard of living of many americans by allowing them access to goods and bargain prices, the biggest beneficiaries of this are the poor.
>
>Yea, their scum in their own way, but thats the american way.
>
>Just my $.02
>
>Bob

Good morning Bob;

You have described the American way. A cold but ture analysis. I tend to think that in many cases a person has a skill set that is not needed or a lack of opportunity exists. A good number of people are termed “under employed”. That is they work at jobs to survive, as there is nothing better available.

Small communities have one type of problem especially when they are dependant upon one or very few types of employment. Large communities have many opportunities but there are employment shifts on a recurring basis. Take Silicon Valley as one example:

1. In 1967 85% of the electronics manufacturing in California was done in Los Angeles.

2. In 1970 85% of the electronics manufacturing in California was done in Silicon Valley.

3. From about 1975 to 1990 IC and semi conductor manufacturing were important to Silicon Valley.

4. 1990 saw 60,000 electronics engineers fired (no work). Manufacturing moved to Austin, Texas.

5. Besides electronics engineers there were technicians, manufacturing and quality personnel – the exact number of which I do not know.

6. Engineers had to train for a different career field or move. That is how I got into programming as a profession.

7. Then we have the Dot Com era. 192,000 jobs lost in our area according to state figures. Many of those jobs did not return.

You do what you can to survive. Sometimes we make wise choices and sometimes not. :)

Tom