You know, every so often I like to sit down and write to just vent about what the hell it is that is going on in our country...being the United States of America. As a business person, it's somewhat therapeutic to post an article and see if my views are much different than my fellow Americans. Usually they're not; what I find is that we pretty much want the same things, more money, less drama and of course to be safe. These aren't issues drawn on political lines, so why does every politician feel the need to let us know how safe, rich and happier we're going to be WHEN they get elected?
The answer is rhetorical and doesn't garner a response. As I'm no professional pundit, scholar or “Objective party", I find most of my views close to the average Jane or Joe, which I find so funny. Usually they're the same things coming out of the mouths of the former. So, just where are our dollars going, to get back on track. Let's start with taxes, no let's not start with taxes, because if we go there, then I'm going to get audited. The bottom line is that they're going up, not down or away, so there.
Yes we're all afraid of the IRS, so onto my all time favorite oxy-moron which is Wal-Mart. I actually love Wal-Mart. No I don't but they have so much stuff, I can go in there for a quart of motor oil and come out with a turkey, some new underwear, a 36 pack of paper towels, a new shotgun, and my oil is changed. The concept of a Wal-Mart is great; however, the concept of Wal-Mart haters isn't. If I go there once a month, that's a lot; however, whenever I do, I notice the cars in the parking lot littered with flag, union and (my favorite) Calvin peeing on an import car logo stickers. If you don't know what that was, Calvin is a caricature. These stickers are all patriotic; most of the cars they are on are domestics. That would be great if they were all parked at the union hall or just about anywhere else except Wal-Mart.
You see, my experience with (and it is a lot!) the working class is that they (We) all want jobs to be kept in this country and the working class American is affected the most by jobs going overseas; so why are they (We) shopping at Wal-Mart? It's just a bit hypocritical, that's all. I HAVE seen “Buy American" bumper stickers on cars parked at Wal-Mart. Now, this isn't a bashing session directed at Wal-Mart, they do what they have to do; but if you're against jobs going out of this country and aren't afraid to admit it, then don't let us catch you there. Honestly, if my business was in the manufacturing business and had to pay someone with minimal qualifications $28 to $48 an hour to produce my product(s); then I might think of closing the doors and hiring someone in China to do it for pennies on the dollar. But I'm not, and neither are most of us. So now we have a choice, do we complain or not complain?
There's only one choice if you want to stay true to yourself. You know, the bigger issue is that we are becoming a nation of end-users, not exporters. While I like my cheap $.99 crap, I'm a realist and don't lie to myself about why it's so cheap, and I won't buy more than I need because it was $.99 and I love the fact that the manufacturer made it for $.06, because as Americans that's what we do. What I won't do is donate $1 to an anonymous charity at the cash register (No I don't hate kids or animals) just so my local crap vendor whoever they may be, can get a nice write off and get good press for it.
Jennifer Loganathan is the President and CEO of Stradafee Limited. Stradafee is an electronic payments company as well as an eCommerce and Internet merchant account provider. Merchant accounts make it possible for businesses to provide online credit card processing For more information on credit card processing visit http://www.stradafee.com
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