Unions, Walmart, Cost of Living, Jobs and the Poor

We've been discussing the plight of Chicago's public school children, many if not most of whom come from poor families.

Now let's take a brief look at unions and New York's political class, and how their "caring" nature works to the detriment of the those struggling to find good jobs and puchase essentials at Walmart's low prices as well.

Big Labor vs. the Poor captures the story and it implications for New York's poor:

"Labor unions, liberal activists and Democratic politicians were cheering Friday night after Walmart announced that it had dropped plans to construct a big-box store in an economically depressed section of New York City. Jobless New Yorkers can be forgiven for not joining in the celebration.

The unemployment rate is 8.1% nationally, but it's 10% in New York City and 14% among black residents of the Big Apple. "More than half of all African-Americans and other non-Hispanic blacks in the city who were old enough to work had no job at all this year," reported the New York Times back in June. "And when black New Yorkers lose their jobs, they spend a full year, on average, trying to find new jobs—far longer than New Yorkers of other races."

 

A new Walmart store would of course bring thousands of jobs (along with low-priced goods and services) to a part of the city that desperately needs them. The left claims to care so much more than conservatives about the well-being of the poor. But labor unions and the liberal politicians who carry their water would rather have these ghetto residents stay poor and jobless if the alternative is allowing them to work at a Walmart that won't bow to union demands. Democrat Christine Quinn, the City Council speaker, is a leading opponent of the project. But then, she has a job.

The Census Bureau reported last week that the national poverty rate in 2011 was 15%, about the same as the previous year. But the poverty rate among blacks was a whopping 27.6%, and it grew.

"Walmart's withdrawal," said Stephanie Yazgi of Walmart Free NYC, "shows that when New Yorkers join arms, even the world's richest retailer is no match for them." It also shows that the actual needs of the underprivileged take a back seat to the left's political agenda. People in the ghetto just can't catch a break from liberals. Teachers unions work to keep poor kids in failing schools, and labor unions work to keep poor parents unemployed."

Summing Up

Why don't we just close all Walmarts everywhere?

Or better yet, why not let them open new stores everywhere they wish, and then let the union leaders and their Democratic Party allies boycott Walmart and shop elsewhere if they so choose?

When unions rule in concert with their political allies, the poor suffer the most. It's ironic, but it's true.

Thanks. Bob.