Could There Be A Changing Of The Guards Outside That Citadel Called Capitalism?

There are more ways to skin a cat but one...

Goodness, you'd think the Pope had come for a visit, the way this bit of news was covered by the financial media. Of course it is a big deal to raise the minimum wage, the way that Walmart has finally done.

The debate is still open whether it had a bit of an altruistic motive behind it or if it was a realization that workers are important. Let's favour the high road on this.

Did Adam Smith envisage a society where the general workforce could not even afford a lot of the things they helped produce? A free market is good, but how free are our markets when one considers that most politicians are helped to their office by the generous support of lobbyists.

He who pays the piper chooses the tune...

might be mere conjecture but could have an inkling of truth to it. Why does it matter? Well, government puts the rules in place where the gladiators in the capital arena can do their thing. Who is favoured by most of the laws and who gets a few road blocks put in their paths?

Another little fissure is the fact that some big public companies want to return to the tranquility of being private. Dell, for one has done so and can now focus on their customers and staff, instead of always having to worry about satisfying the shareholders with their incessant thirst for more dividends every few months.

Raising the minimum wage to a threshold, where workers can live comfortably, has so many positive implications.

( If I was king for a day, I would instantly pronounce a reasonable jump in every one's wages...let's not forget, that every worker is also a customer. Wouldn't you like your customers to have the money to buy your produce? )

We all know that things made in China are very inexpensive. Be they food, clothes or machines. Once you don't have to stress about making ends meet every single month, you can afford to buy items made locally. Every time you do, you help lessen the environmental damage and even help create more local jobs.

There is nothing wrong with capitalism, but it must be a fair one. At the moment, it has a slight likening to that era before the French Revolution...a lot of Sun Kings with even more hungry and exhausted workers enviously watching from the gloomy sidelines.

Biggi