Greed Gets You Nowhere – The CostCo Conscious

As a business person myself,  I feel strongly about paying  employees a decent, living wage.  It is simply the right thing to do.   Greed is one of the things in life that sickens me the most.   I see greed in many different manifestations…  from corporations to religion.

On the religious front,  I often think of a church leader wanting to my buy grandmother’s house (that was close to his parish) for pennies on the dollar, all the while living in one of the biggest mansions and fanciest neighborhoods in my area.   Not that this is wrong in and of itself,  but I strongly disapprove a church leader living the “good life” while guilting  his parishioners into giving money “to the church”… when many of them probably have problems putting food on the table.  This same preacher often proclaimed to my grandmother “What would Jesus do?”..   He wanted her house for a daycare or other important church project.  I often felt like saying to him,  ” Well,  Jesus wouldn’t live in a mansion and pull up in a Cadillac trying to get my grandmother to give you her house for practically nothing.”   In the end,  he did get the house but it was not used for the purpose my grandmother thought it would be.   She went to her grave thinking she did the right thing,  in reality she just contributed to this person’s greed.   I’m not saying anyone is a bad person per se,  everyone has to answer for themselves,  I’m simply illustrating  how I perceive greed and its many manifestations.

Maybe I’m different,  but how could you run a company, church or other enterprise,  live a life of opulence, all the while your employees, parishioners or whatever they may be,  suffer while doing your bidding or worse, GIVING  you money?  But it’s for the church “they” say… well I beg to differ if the flock’s leader has no other income to speak of except that which is derived from his Godly activities.    But even the people at the bottom of the pyramid in your organization deserve to have a living wage and not  be  dependent on government services.

I honestly believe if corporate America and churches (yes churches,  look at all the mega church preachers flying  around in private jets, etc) would be even a smidgen less greedy,  the entire world would benefit.  History has taught us,  empires rise and fall,  especially when the gap between the poor and upper class narrows.   Many of the businesses, corporations and churches can be considered empires in and of themselves…  so they will eventually reep the rewards of the bad frequencies they are transmitting to their fellow man.   I plan on building my business along side those who help me,  because without them, I would not have a business.   People need to be treated fairly,  it is just good Karma.     Greed gets you nowhere in the end.

Corporate America can take lessons from Costco,    I particularly like this  paragraph from a PolitucusUSA article,  “Despite what both Wal-Mart and Republicans have been saying, companies can prosper and still have a conscience. When companies pay a living wage, workers benefit. When workers make more money, they spend more money. When people spend more money, the economy is stronger. When the economy is stronger, the nation as a whole benefits.”

Below is an article I pulled from PoliticoUSA ,  thier site was not “mobile friendly” so I decided to put in on my blog and give credit at the end…

 

Costco is proving Republicans and the Wal-Mart wrong by paying workers a living wage while also earning record profits.

While Wal-Mart experienced February sales that were considered, “total disaster,” Costco’s earnings for the second quarter of the year climbed 39%. The New York Times reported, “Costco Wholesale’s net income for its second quarter climbed 39 percent as it pulled in more money from membership fees, sales improved and it recorded a large tax benefit.”

Costco CEO Craig Jelinek openly supports raising the minimum wage to $11.50 an hour, “At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense for business. We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low. An important reason for the success of Costco’s business model is the attraction and retention of great employees. Instead of minimizing wages, we know it’s a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment and loyalty. We support efforts to increase the federal minimum wage.”

Costco is proof that the Republican idea that labor must be stomped on in order for our economy to prosper is wrong. It is possible for companies to earn record profits while respecting their workers and paying them a living wage. Wal-Mart embodies the conservative ideology that the country functions best when wealth is concentrated at the top. To match the Walton family’s fortune, an average Wal-Mart employee would have to work for the company for 7 million years. This model is what Republicans are advocating for the entire country, and it is failing to lead to prosperity.

Given Costco’s record profits, Wal-Mart’s blaming of the payroll tax and gas prices for their decline in sales doesn’t wash. Costco’s customers also faced higher gas prices and payroll taxes, but their sales were up six percent during the first quarter of the year.

Despite what both Wal-Mart and Republicans have been saying, companies can prosper and still have a conscience. When companies pay a living wage, workers benefit. When workers make more money, they spend more money. When people spend more money, the economy is stronger. When the economy is stronger, the nation as a whole benefits.

Costco Proves Republicans Wrong By Paying a Living Wage and Watching Profits Soar was written by Jason Easley for PoliticusUSA.

© PoliticusUSA, Tue, Mar 12th, 2013 — All Rights Reserved

 So,  though starting out I may not be able to afford to pay employees what they rightfully deserve,  there are a million and one ways to find the right people who believe in you to get things done and make it up to them in the end.  It would be difficult for a small business to conform to a $11.50 minimum wage,  this is where my libertarian ideologies surface,  so I don’t necessarily agree that it should be government mandated,  but it should be strongly encouraged in other ways,  with tax credits or other methods of doing so.  Perhaps put stipulations on the minimum wage depending on how big the enterprise is…  this is just one way of encouraging businesses to do the right thing.  But why do we have to be FORCED to do the right thing?   Why can’t we as a business community suppress our urges to be greedy?   I watched a very good documentary called “The Corporation“,  I urge you, if so interested,  to study it for a deep understanding of how corporations are set up NOT to serve the community but to rape and pillage through it.  Not that they should “serve the community”,  but in the end doesn’t it just make good business sense to treat employees fairly?    I’m off to study Costco.