The Ash Heap of Economic History
At long last, the city of Clevland, Ohio is getting a Wal-Mart. And the citizens are lining up. But not to shop there (at least not yet): they are lining up to apply for jobs, at a rate of 20 applicants per opening.
Cleveland's first Wal-Mart is about to open, and with it comes 300 jobs in a metro area that is struggling economically. The result, according to the Plain Dealer: 6,000 people applied, or 20 applicants for every one job. "We had to recount (the applications) three times," Mia Masten, Wal-Mart's director of corporate affairs in its Midwest division, told the newspaper.
Lest you think that everyone sees this as a good thing, think again:
Most of the jobs are lower-paying, lower-skills positions, and the demand for those posts disturbs some people. "That's Depression-era kind of imagery," Amy Hanauer, executive director of Policy Matters Ohio, told the Plain Dealer. "You can't have an economy that works that way. It speaks to the need to generate a different kind of employment in Cleveland."
Ms. Hanauer and her organization have made no secret of their opposition to Wal-Mart and the way it works. In September 2005, for example she gave testimony before a local congressman about "The Impact of WalMart on Workers, Businesses, and Communities." It sounded like it was pulled right off the WalMart-Watch webpage, like it was taken right out of the High-Cost-of-Low-Price's cliche-ridden screenplay, like it was lifted from a depression-era populist playbook of platitudes. In short, it describes a world where the economy works like it would in Lake Wobegon: people with low skills are guaranteed jobs with a "living wage" (whatever that may mean) not the prevailing market wage; employees get the health benefits at levels that workers' advocates determine are fair; unions are strong and companies are "receptive" to them; and best of all, companies don't ask for incentives and cities don't offer them. In other words, Ms. Hanauer wants a highly-managed economy, managed by people like herself- well-meaning, economically-illiterate, and blissfully ignorant of the fact that her ideas have been assigned to the ash heap of economic history.