August 30, 2010
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Choices
I recently posted a link on my Facebook page about WalMart. Everyone seems to have very strong feelings one way or the other. Some folks would not know how they could manage if they did not have them to get everything they need as cheaply as possible, others are convinced that WalMart is to blame for many of our society’s ills today by doing things like threatening our environment, exporting jobs overseas and overburdening our government assistance programs by referring their associates to them when they demand living wages from their employer.
The choices about where we shop all come with consequences, but it seems to me that there is very little difference in the ultimate cost of each choice. For example: If I decide that I do not feel like going to the trouble of cooking dinner tonight, I have lots of other choices. Purchasing food that is already prepared is going to cost me more than something that I need to cook, so I will pay a bit more money for this choice. I am also giving up some of the options about which ingredients that food might contain if I purchase prepared food, unless I take the time, trouble and expense to locate and trade with a company whose nutritional philosophies mesh more closely with mine. If I am low on cash, don’t have a lot of time and do not care that much about what is in my food, there is a McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Taco Shack all right around the corner, so I have lots of choices.
With each of the choices we make, there are consequences for those choices. The relationship between our choices and the consequences for those choices are little like those energy laws in physics. You can convert it, burn it, store it and maybe even do stuff we haven’t even figured out how to do with it yet, but the equation has to balance in the end. You can’t make up energy from nothing and you cannot get rid of any that already exists either, no matter how clever or devious you are. No matter what you decide to do with it, the equation still comes out the same.
I see very little difference between these widely varying choices that I have for dinner. Why? The “ultimate cost” is the same. Home cooking meals is a lot of work, but I would save money and not have to worry as much about what might be in them. Places like TerraBurger are awesome with organic meat and gluten-free buns that rock my socks, but $5 for a burger and having to drive to one of the only two locations in the city is not too cheap or easy. Eating junk food may be cheap and easy, but there will be more “cost” to pay later as my health declines and I spend all that time and money on doctors and medicines to try and undo the damage to my body. The only real choice here is pay now or pay later.
When we shop at WalMart, eat junk food and take out a sub-prime mortgage to purchase our home, we are opting to pay later. In some circumstances, that choice makes sense, but we must always remember that the initial cost of each decision may not be the ultimate cost. If we are not willing to meet all of our own obligations for our choices and leave them for future generations to pay for us, that is also our choice and that choice says a lot about us. Every choice we make reflects our values. Where and how we spend our resources (time, money and energy) is a pretty good barometer of what we value individually and as a society.
What is it that your choices say about what YOU value?
Comments (8)
Burp!
Walmart is evil. They have systematically eliminated choice.They have started the trend that is turning North America into a service industry society….kiss manufacturing goodbye.
The company that got started by boasting everything was “American Made” now deals virtually solely with the Chinese, who produce inferior products, and pay their workers pittance thereby killing North American manufacturers who pay their workers a living wage.
And soon, when there is no choice at all…we will REALLY be screwed.
@Bricker59 - i have the same concerns about the big boxes, too, but as long as people see it as the best choice for themselves and do not see the harm in their choice, there will be companies like walmart out there to get all they can while they can and leave the rest of us to deal with the consequences…
Not a big Wal Mart fan. I just prefer to shop elsewhere. Not even sure why. It just doesn’t appeal to me. Yes, we all have to make choices and live with the consequences. I like that statement.
Thank you for bringing it to my attention (on Facebook) that what we send through the scanner at the checkout lane, that’s our “vote” for what we want more of. If we buy at Walmart we are voting that we want Chinese clothing made by slave labor…we want cheap lead paint on our children’s toys…we want our fresh meat to be the cheapest there is ( least expensive WM can get from among many beef, pork and poultry growers) and we are voting that we do not want a Main Street with stores owned by our own local people. We are also voting that we want our stuff made anywhere else but the U.S.A. and that we want factories in other countries, not here.
I’m just wishing that our town had voted to not let a Walmart store in our town.
I realize this is not just a Walmart issue. There are a lot of places that people “love” that concerns our future. I just think Walmart is the best example. And I’m familiar with Walmart because there are very few places to shop here since WM came to town. (stepping down from soapbox now)
I like Walmart. I haven’t been in one in probably two or three years… oh wait… I was in one back in April I think… I don’t need most of what they sell… Lori buys a lot of Gatorade for me from them. They don’t sell tree deabrking tools.
@dingdongdingbat - i pretty much feel the same way you do. not much there i really want or need. also not a big fan of figuring out what i need on my own and then having to stand in a long line to pay for it if i actually do find it. i do have to admit that it was really nice to have the 24 hour one in our neighborhood the night i needed to replace an electric razor for donkey before our early morning flight on one of our last trips, though…
@LGailGarrett - there is very little food that walmart sells i would actually feel good about eating knowing that their focus is on lowering costs rather than offering greater quality. i have always been quite picky about what i eat and have even gotten to the point lately that i have decided that if i am going to consume the calories, my food (or drink) darn well better really nourish me and also make it SO worth the effort i will have to expend working it off! for those who need to save money because they have blown their food budget on starbucks and kentucky fried chicken, i suppose shopping there does makes some kind of sense…
@Aloysius_son - i do have to admit that when the kids were growing so fast that they needed clothes every time i turned around, i would get some of them at walmart because i knew that they would be too small long before they fell apart. same thing with those faddish toys if we got any of those, too. sorry you were not able to find tree your debarking tools there, but if you needed them to last long enough to build that entire cabin, it was probably for the best…
@FlashFosgitt - Of course when it comes to food…I prefer Wegman’s!