Posted on 02/25/2006 4:37:19 PM PST by Coleus
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Anyone who's ever filed a tax return or visited the Department of Motor Vehicles understands that government does two things well: spend our money and waste our time. Unfortunately, both traits were on display during the response to Hurricane Katrina. A House select committee headed by Rep. Tom Davis, R-Va., says the government displayed "fecklessness, flailing and organizational paralysis." The committee report lays out 90 flaws in the Katrina response and notes that all levels of government failed. Oh, plenty of money was going out. Last September, the federal government was spending about $1 billion per day -- and it generated plenty of waste. The Federal Emergency Management Agency handed thousands of checks (for $2,000 each) to charlatans. FEMA also wasted money on housing. It spent $236 million to rent three cruise ships for evacuees. The ships were never more than half full. And don't forget the manufactured homes, some 10,777 of which are rotting away in Arkansas because FEMA ordered more than it needed. As Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, explained, the waste happened because the government took a "pay first, ask questions later" approach. The federal government has promised to fix its problems. Michael Chertoff, secretary of Homeland Security, says he'll deliver "a fully integrated and unified" department before the next hurricane season. Fine. But let's remember, not all answers can be found in Washington. It would be better to look toward an institution that didn't fail during Katrina: Wal-Mart. The world's largest retailer had 171 facilities in the path of the storm. But as Jason Jackson, the company's director of business continuity, told a Senate committee, "We were able to recover and reopen 83 percent of our facilities in the Gulf area within six days." One key reason for Wal-Mart's success, Jackson said, is "associates who are dedicated to their communities." That local connection helped it deliver goods when government failed. As Investor's Business Daily reported in September, "While local and federal groups suffered communications problems and bickered over who was in charge, Wal-Mart sprang into action." And while Chertoff admits Katrina caught the government flat-footed, Wal-Mart is always ready. In his book "The World is Flat," New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman wrote, "The minute Wal-Mart's meteorologists tell headquarters a hurricane is bearing down on Florida, its supply chain automatically adjusts to a hurricane mix in the Florida stores." That means plenty of non-perishable food and critical items such as generators appear in stores even before disaster strikes. Wal-Mart has plenty to teach the government. "When FEMA or another agency places a blanket order of 100 trailers of water, we often question if the person placing the order really knows what 100 trailers of merchandise looks like," Jackson testified. "Usually the answer to this is that the person making the order was given a dollar amount to spend, and they do not comprehend the size of this order or what it means." Wal-Mart does what government intervention can't: It drives down prices and makes life better -- in New Orleans and, soon, in Chicago. The company opened a store last month in Evergreen Park (where I was born), after the city council refused to allow it inside the city limits. Some 25,000 people applied for the store's 325 jobs, which suggests Wal-Mart is popular with employees as well as consumers. After Katrina, even Wal-Mart's critics sang its praises. "It's hard to imagine any government program matching the efficiency of a Wal-Mart," wrote consulting firm Lynch Ryan on its Weblog, adding, "Government has a lot to learn from Wal-Mart." Unless we change our approach -- bringing in more private, local expertise and less federal bureaucracy -- we'll be reminded of that the next time disaster strikes. Dr. Edwin Feulner is president of The Heritage Foundation, a Townhall.com Gold Partner. |
Have you even shopped at Wal-Mart? If I ask where something is, the salesperson will walk me to it, rather than just pointing, even if it is in another department. When I return something, I get the money back with no hassles. If I want name brand soft drinks, they'll sell them cheaper than Safeway, Kroger, or Albertsons, or give me the option of store brand at 50 cents for 2 liters.
and have driven many US companies out of business
So the Kellogg's cereal sold by Wal Mart is made in a different company than the Kellogg's cereal sold at a local IGA store?
"feckless" Now there's a word I'm tired of hearing. It was in my last job review 14 times.
Then don't shop there then. Simple as that.
Sure they have problems but what the article was pointing out was that immediately before and after the storms they were organized, efficient and quickly on the spot whereas FEMA, state and local governments couldn't figure out their head from their butt. The government still hasn't figured out which end is up.
Got to wonder how you know all this stuff about Wal Mart. Sounds like closet shoppers to me. Bet you saved a bunch when you shopped there.
I once went into a 24 hour walmart looking for something late at night. Couldn't find what I wanted so I proceeded to search for an employee. Couldn't find anyone despite wandering around half the store. I did however pick up 3 security types who were watching to see if I was trying to steal something.
One of the ways walmart beats prices of the smaller companies is through buying in bulk, extremely good business processes and excellent IT systems. They also abuse their employees and force suppliers to cut the quality of the products. Thats why walmart clothes fall apart so much faster than something purchased for a few dollars more. Part of a free market is the consumer has a choice of where to spend their money. Only suckers think a low price is the only consideration when making a purchase.
So that brings us to the other reasons to hate Walmart. "They pay nothing to there employees." Gee, 25,000 applicants for less than 350 jobs belies that. Also WalMart tends to retain their employees as long or longer then the average business that hire mostly entry level, unskilled labor. Hmm, wonder why they stay?. Mainly because WalMart promotes from within. Story after story from WalMart employees telling how they came as an unskilled HS graduate and got the training to manage stores, transport, regions as well as many other mid and upper level managment positions.
All of this, notwithstanding, some will continue to hate WalMart. Closed minds on this subject abounds. My advice? Shop somewhere else.
BTW, I do not and have never wqorked for Walmart, but I DO shop there and Sam's Club. I have never had rude or substandard customer service, but I do leave the store with more money in my pocket then I used to before WalMart came to town.
Must be the part of town you live in.
Our Wal-Marts are clean, well organized, the staff is extremely helpful, and most of the products are the EXACT SAME BRAND-NAMES sold elsewhere, just as far lower prices.
You can go pay $35 for a pair of Dockers, while I pay $17 at Wal-Mart for them.
However, back to the article. I do think, based on my own, now extensive hurricane experience, that the government should not try to do what Walmart does or learn from them, but it should rely on the merchants to do some things. They can't really plan the relief, because noone knows where a hurricane will hit. So, although they may have trucks with water and ice in staging areas, it takes a while to get distribution centers designated and up and running. Meanwhile, the grocery stores where we normally get things are open for business.
For a solid week they commandeered the radio to tell how we could get free ice and water. I saw a line of cars that stretched for miles, but I drove by it and went to the store and bought ice for $1.29. There was nothing about the hurricane that made this unaffordable. So the government can skip the ice, as far as I am concerned. Likewise, they had this complicated go to the courthouse to get a blue tarp, or, by the way, they have them at Home Depot.
There are some people who have mega problems, and I think they should concentrate on helping them.
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