Wednesday, October 18, 2017

"Who Likes Me Better?"

                                                                   

Well, Toys R Us has now declared bankruptcy.  If you shop there, don't get your panties in a bunch.  Before Toys R Us totally disappears they will go through several rounds of bankruptcy.  This first one will just be a means to pare down some debt by stripping stockholders of their equity, renegotiate some newer, higher interest loans, then plow on.

I can remember when Toys R Us was the "Nordstrom" for kids.  When my kids were young enough to be into toys I couldn't afford them.  But they certainly were the standard for kiddie retail.

Actually, I have no intention of talking about Toys R Us....only my "so what" reaction to the news.  You see, I have pretty much gone to war with corporate America.  To me, most of them are just retail whores that will do anything, forsake any measure of societal or corporate ethics, if it means an extra ten cents per share on their annual report.

I now take a new approach to corporate America.  I'm like the kid who rushes to his mother after she has declared that she loves a sibling.  I then rush to her lap and ask her if she "loves me more".  Admittedly the "loves me more" approach is poor ass one.  But, when that's all ya got, you go with what  works for you.

For example, I wanted to boycott Coke when they ran those open borders immigrant ads to please our 30 million illegal aliens.  Except that Pepsi is even worse.  I'd like to boycott my local Kroger owned grocery (cause they announced that the men and women's bathroom are interchangeable) but Safeway is just as bad.  I was successful in boycotting Target for their bathroom policy, because they really have nothing I wish to buy that isn't already available at a cheaper price in Walmart.

Because corporate America no longer demonstrate American loyalty, because they no longer champion traditional values, because they will lay off a thousand workers...just to boost their profit margins, I feel no loyalty for corporate America.

Perhaps the best example of how I must compromise my own principles to get along in America these days is Amazon.  While I don't agree with major stockholder and founder Jeff Bezos, on almost any political or social philosophy,  I shop Amazon all the time.  I have to....because there really is no alternative.  So, I justify my loyalty to Amazon by admitting that, though I don't like enriching those I disagree with, Amazon treats me well!  They offer me a more attractive price, they deliver it promptly, and if I have a problem with a purchase they'll take it back...and even pay for return shipping.  So, in buying from Amazon, I am saying "Amazon likes me better"...better than Pepsi, better than Coke, far better than Target.  Amazon "likes me enough" to treat me with respect as a customer...and if that's all I got, it has to be enough.

I would love to shop at companies that agree with my personal political philosophies.  I do visit Chik Fil-A occasionally, but I don't go out for fast food much.  And I admire Hobby Lobby for their strong religious stance, but there's nothing in that store that I need.  

In these years, when ethical conduct and morality and principle means so little, either in the private sector, or in business, I am forced to compromise, the boycotts few, because all you can really do is frequent the "most principled whore"...the one who will "like me better".

Sad.  Damned Sad.

2 comments:

Jerry Carlin said...

and soon Corporate America will pay Less Taxes and the Working Stiff will Pay More! and, of course, the National Debt will Go Up! I shop Amazon too and like it for the same reasons as you. I am basically Lazy and it is effortless shopping. I do all my Christmas shopping on Amazon and discovered it is Easy to request "American Made" products Only. We actually still make socks here!

A Modest Scribler said...

Jerry, can you provide a link to any source (save the "cry wolf" far left liberal speculators) that shows the working stiff will pay more? Because, although a final bill has not been finalized, I've read the proposed parameters. They show any working stiff making less than $150k per year will be paying less.

Sadly, I had hoped that federal deductions for state and local taxes would be eliminated, thus forcing Mexifornia and New York and Illinois and other big spending Blue states to rein in their wild spending. That does not seem likely to happen now as RINO's and Dems cut deals...lots of back rubbing down in D.C.

As to corporate tax cuts, the only reason I support them is to create and save jobs in this country. The highest corporate tax rate in the Western world is right here in America...at 35% vs a 17% high in Europe. I absolutely abhor corporate America as they have surrendered to the idea of a "world government"...the better to hike their own profits without regard to the impact on American communities. So, I'm not a big fan of today's corporate world, but do support a tax cut to level the playing field. As it is we are "losing"...to quote the Donald.