Given my two Wal-Mart inspired articles a few days ago, I thought this was germane.
[mainbodyad]Wal-Mart is ending its profit sharing plan and upgrading it to include a $1,000 contribution to employee health care accounts so there is a greater cushion before workers have to pay medical deductibles plus moving to a system whereby they will match employee retirement contributions 100% on the dollar up to 6% of pay! This, along with other changes, had a net effect of a 4% raise for employees who have worked for the company more than a year.
Union-backed advocacy groups such as WakeUpWalmart, see this as a pay cut! Why? Because they don’t think low-paid, entry-level sales associates should have to contribute to their own retirement accounts in order to get matching funds!? You can’t make this stuff up! In other words, it is only a pay raise for responsible associates that save money. Those who don’t save money through their retirement account are getting a pay cut. Why the hell are they complaining about this?
Image © iStockphoto/Thinkstock
There are a lot of differences in opinion I respect in life. But to say that it is unreasonable for someone to save money on their own … that is evil. It is saying they have no responsibility for themselves and we should reward bad behavior.
[mainbodyad]I hope, with everything in me, that every person who works for a living retires a millionaire but only if they did what was necessary to achieve it. If I were in charge of the world, everything would be pay for performance if possible.
If you have been working for an employer for 10 or 15 years and you are still earning too little upon which to live, you are either lazy, stupid, incompetent, unable to manage your household finances or some combination of the four. If you took away everything I have, including my college education, and made me start at a retailer, I guarantee you that within a few short years I’d be working my way up the corporate ladder. It’s just not that hard. You outperform everybody, you get rewarded. You underperform, you get punished. Figure out how to outperform without cheating or hurting people and the rewards flow to you.
Reader Comments (4)
Comments are presented chronologically, with replies indented beneath the comments to which they respond.
Nameless On An Odessy
June 25, 2013
"It’s just not that hard. You outperform everybody, you get rewarded. You underperform, you get punished."
That actually isn't always true. It certainly should be, but unfortunately it isn't. Sometimes it is very true, but you know as well as I that the world rarely works like a theoretical model, and that businesses - being made up of people - are subject to all sorts of behaviors that break the mold. For instance, the management at some retailers will specifically target the over-achievers and ensure that they don't get promoted because after all, their replacement isn't likely to work nearly as hard - they're actually likely to be lazy incompetents. Sure, these are some of the people who would bring in even MORE to the business if promoted, but not everyone in charge is thoughtful.
In a scenario where jobs are scarce - even retail jobs - quitting and abandoning your kids/family/bills to unemployment to find a new work place with better management isn't always an option. It's really not an option if you're ignorant to other possibilities, and very few have the background to know what they are. Not everyone understands what management is supposed to look like, or expects a different outcome just because the scenery changes. In fact, we live in a culture that tells us management is trying to screw you no matter where you work.
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of lazy incompetents out there. Heck, no small portion of people get fired at the minimum wage level for idiotic things like stealing. Stealing! But it's a hasty generalization to say that anyone who's been in a bad position for an extended period of time is simply an idiot.
Joshua Kennon
June 25, 2013
Replying to Nameless On An Odessy
Excellent, well-argued points; you get no disagreement from me. I happily amend the statement with the caveats you list. =)
bd1143bc
March 29, 2016
Walmart also gives a quarterly bonus to all employees based on surveys, sales, shrink, etc.
noelle292011
August 20, 2017
I would personally rather have a ROTH IRA than a 401K!
Also AS Walmart makes BILLIONS a year they should pay out more to their employees and end the bs of having to wait a YEAR working part time to be eligible for benefits!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!