The perils of Capitalism, as experienced in its own home - America.
I found this fascinating quote today:
Just when you think your opinion about Wal-mart might be changing… Just when you think that maybe, just maybe, Wal-mart was learning to be a better citizen…
Wal-mart turns around and does something really … despicable.authenticorganizations.com, Wal-Mart Knocks Off the Girl Scouts, Aug 2009
You should read the whole article.
New Year - Old Routine
The new year is already 3 days old and it has been boring as ever. On new years eve we went out for dinner and visited a desi night club... and believe me this is one place which is definitely not Texas Size... the cramped place was crawling with people... all in various states of drunken stupor dancing away to glory... trying to usher the new year....
Feeling claustrophobic and suffocated by the wafting cigarette smoke we beat a hasty retreat. I was shocked to see a long line of people waiting in the biting cold to get into the night club. "These guys are crazy" I thought... wanting to get into that cramped, suffocating, airless space.. wonder what they were expecting to do there...
Anyway since that day I have been hanging around at home doing nothing much but reading books. I finished the book How Walmart is Destroying America and the World in which veteran journalist Bill Quinn explains the various negative impacts of the largest retailer in the world. How Walmart has virtually closed down most of the independent grocery stores and drugstores? How Walmart is a greedy company with no sentiment? How Walmart exploits its employees (associates) by paying measly wages and no health and other benefits? and other important questions are answered in this book. The author explains that for every 100 jobs created by Walmart, 150 people lose their livelihoods... not just jobs but they lose livelihood... the sole source of their living.
Reading this book it is scary to think what might happen to India when this retail giant enters and conquers the country. Already there are more than 800 million who eke out a living with less than $2 daily... there might be more added to that number. That is so much for bad news. Let me finish here before I get too cynical....
Bright and sunny at last
After several days of wet, gloomy and foggy weather we had sunlight today.... but getting out of home is still a little dicey because of the cold and bone chilling winds that blow across here. So long as one is indoors with the heater on there is no problems at all... it can get down below freezing like it did last night but we will be snug and warm.
The apartment closed public water taps because water froze and pipes would have burst. Nights are really cold. But one good thing about the administration is that, the roads are maintained well so that there is very little or no ice on the roads.
Roads and cars are life of America, people say that it not crowded like in India. I agree but then there are so many cars on the highways, roads and every car has just one occupant. According to some statistics I found on the web America has 5 vehicles per capita. There are over 250 million cars on road as of today. That is almost one vehicle per person... America's population is around 300 million and leaving out children and those ineligible to drive it makes one car per person. And sometimes I wonder whether everybody is on the road because there are so many cars on the road... I am not talking about the city but the interstate highways and federal routes (national highways).
It is crazy I feel, but if people are not in the rat race they can't live here. If you don't have a car you can't go because there doesn't exist even a half-decent public transport system (at least in Dallas). I have probably seen 10 taxis since I came to Dallas about a month and half ago. And nothing is less than 2 miles from our home. So if you want to get grocery you have to drive... if you want to go to a restaurant you have to drive.... there is no concept of walking to the friendly neighbourhood grocer... All grocery stores are big national/ international chains.
A model I wonder if it will work for India. With a small population it is working pretty well here, but I wonder with arrival of Reliance Fresh, FoodWorld, Walmart what will happen to the small stores and how India will be 20 years down the line. Will the small players be forced to close shop? Will they be able to survive the onslaught of these mammoth corporations... wonder what will happen.... only time will tell....
