“Tracy Sefl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Watch, a group that’s been highly critical of the retailer, said Scott’s comments on raising minimum wage were “laughable and out of left field.”

“I find it disingenuous and laughable that Lee Scott makes these remarks while the company hires lobbyist such as Lee Culpepper who oppose raising the minimum wage,” Sefl said.

“We would be the first to applaud real change. But when a comment on raising minimum wage is dashed off and it flies in the face of Wal-Mart’s own corporate stance, that’s laughable,” she added.”

You might also find Who Killed the Electric Car. Yes, consumers certainly shoulder some of the blame — but a lot of the blame falls on the auto and oil companies for resisting the pressure to change and become more eco friendly — even when consumers were asking for EVs.

Corps are going to do what is nesscary to make profit. What makes them profit is providing the service that people want and consume. For instance if consumers wanted hi-brid low emissions then they would producec that but Americans want gas guzzlers. So they make hummers. The same principle transcends the either market.

I could say more but I have to go to the cinema.

I agree fully that the problem’s wider than JUST the corps we’re talking about. Often, the government’s complicit in the scenarios we have today. However, I really believe this is often in large part an effect of the lobbies of these types of companies — corps lobbying against raising the min wage, against providing health care for more people, against requiring better standards in food quality and safety, for subsidies for less desirable food commodities (soybeans and corn), for continued oil subsidies. This is not to say that politicians shouldn’t do more than just cave in to industry demands. But it doesn’t absolve the corps of blame, and it certainly doesn’t transfer that blame squarely on the shoulders of the consumers — especially our financially underprivileged ones.

prey on less-well-educated, less-wealthy people

Just because you are less educated does not mean that you are more stupid and more likely to fall pray to advertising. It is not the poor that fall for the latest gimmick advertising. Indeed it is often the total opposite is the case. Ask a poor person the price of a loaf of bread and they will tell you. Do you know the price of a loaf of bread? They know because they have to know. They have to account for every single cent. That is why they shop in Walmart they have not got the luxury of buying expensive food. Indeed many of them don’t have lawns to put chairs into so really chairs are not the problem.

It might be easy for you to say that they should buy the dearer product because it is better in the long run. But the reason they don’t is they simply can’t buy the dearer product. They don’t have the cash in their hand to buy the dearer product even if it is cheaper long term. They have so many outgoings they don’t have the ability that you have to save. they are living week to week.

The reason they eat in McDonald’s is because that is all they can afford to eat.

Here is a test for you if you are interested. Try living on minimum wage for a month. Without digging into your savings. You will soon find out why they shop in Walmart and do not buy local/organic stuff.

My point is that often, big corps like Walmart (and say, McDonalds, etc. etc.) prey on less-well-educated, less-wealthy people to make quick choices that seem cheaper today but that cost much, much more in the long term. And there are other arguments to be made here, but I’ll stop for now.

Corporation are going to be green if people are green. The reason that they produce hybrid cars is because people want hybrid cars. The problem is not with the corporation they will do what ever sells. It is the people who buy from the corporations that need to change, that need to start looking for fair trade/organic/eco produce. Because when they do. Corporations will follow