Dear Editor:
In response to Mr. Reese’s letter on my stand against socialism,
I submit the following:
Dear Editor:
In response to Mr. Reese’s letter on my stand against socialism, I submit the following:
First, let me say that I am in no way related to Wal-Mart other than as a customer. Does Mr. Reese really believe Wal-Mart can pay a living wage? Yes, Wal-Mart is a successful retailer. Does that mean they are required to profit-share with their employees? No. They share their profits with investors who risked money to buy stock in the company. Many of those investors have had to ride out some very rough terrain in the last two years.
The sad fact is; a livable wage may just not be possible for this type of business in this area. I imagine a livable wage in Gilroy would have to be pretty high given the high rent and mortgages. If Wal-Mart paid $50,000 a year per employee, I imagine a 25″ color TV would cost $1,200! Mr. Reese states, “Wal-Mart doesn’t care about its’ employees.” I just returned from picking up my pictures and was thanked by one of the greeters for writing my letter.
As far as the 40 complaints in 25 states against Wal-Mart’s “anti-union practices”, my response to that is, “Is that all?” With all the union agitators and their army of blood-sucking lawyers, I am surprised it isn’t 40 per state! And regarding United Airlines pilots’ salaries verses a cashier’s wage at Wal-Mart, I couldn’t agree more. A pilot has to go through at least four years of college and then it’s off to flight school. Even after that, the airline invests tens of thousands of dollars in testing and certifying pilots. Does Mr. Reese believe that we should all make the same income? If all airline employees made the same as the executives and pilots, a ticket from San Jose to LAX would be several thousand dollars. Using that logic, Bruce Springsteen should give up a portion of his income until the local record store clerk makes the same income as “The Boss.”
Mr. Reese favors a socialist government rather than a capitalist one. If a person’s life choices have left them in dire straits, Mr. Reese would have the government and Wal-Mart play the roll of the great protector. If an employee doesn’t like Wal-Mart’s pay or benefits, they could always go to work for the union or the federal government, two great socialist organizations. It may sound cold to you Mr. Reese, but every day I run my business, there is a chance I may not make it due to economic conditions or just plain bad luck. But, I would rather live with that risk than live under a socialist regime that would take 80 percent of my income to pay for single mothers and others down on their luck. If unions get their way, only their members will benefit at the expense of the consumer in the form of much higher prices.
Mark A. Zappa, Gilroy
Submitted Monday, Feb. 24 to ed****@****ic.com
