Two new supermarkets have entered your town whose respective CEOs have very different philosophies of business and of life in general.
Brown’s is still run by its founder, Joseph Brown of North Carolina despite being well into his eighties. Brown is a devout Southern Baptist and reflect this in his store policy by (for example) closing his stores on Sundays. However, coming from a blue collar background and a family who were loyal New Deal Democrats, Brown remains a Democrat and strongly pro-union which is reflected in his store policies. Brown allows unions to organize in his stores and in addition pays his workers an average wage of 13 dollars an hour along with giving them fairly generous health insurance. Due to this while prices are not prohibitively expensive, they usually tend to be slightly higher (rougly 5 to 10 percent) than their competitors. However due to his religious beliefs, Brown is also strongly socially conservative and as a result donates much of his wealth to various causes that oppose (among other things) abortion and gay marriage. The latter especially has aroused much controversy and led to calls for boycotts by numerous gay rights groups. However Brown insists he is not homophobic, pointing out that homosexuals are hired at the same rates as heterosexuals and very few report being feeled discriminated against when working at his stores.
Value Mart is also run by its founder, Robert Capiccioni who hails from suburban New Jersey, From an early age when he first discovered the works of Ayn Rand, Capiccioni has been a devoted believer in free-market economics although he has moderated his views to become more of a libertarian-leaning neoliberal Democrat than an Objectivist or Libertarian. As a result unions are non-existent in his stores and workers (along with lacking health insurance and most other benefits) are paid at rates only slightly above the minimum wage and many complain they have to apply for welfare to make ends meet even if they work full time. But Capiccioni boasts that this allows him to be far cheaper than any of his competitors (including Brown’s) and these cheap rates have allowed him to build a huge business empire operating in some two dozen countries around the world. However Capiccioni is also openly gay and has become a leading spokesman for gay rights in America, donating millions to gay rights groups, sponsering gay pride parades, and even threatening to boycott Russian businesses due to Putin’s new laws. Capiccioni is similarly outspoken on other social issues such as abortion rights and gun control and there is talk of him running for Senator in New Jersey or as Governor once Christie retires.
So out of these two businesses where would you rather shop at?
The one with the biases that are closer to my own is slightly less odious than the other one. But, frankly, I’d much rather buy at a “soul-less” store, where the only “agenda” is service and quality for the price.
Failing that, whichever store treats its employees better. If one of them is unionized, and the other isn’t, I’m going with the union, all the way, every time.
Probably Brown’s on the theory that he treats his workers well and the political landscape of the US means that his backing of anti-gay initiatives will be mostly impotent if occasionally a nuisance.
Reproductive rights is a fight that will go on forever and I cannot imagine Roe V Wade every being overturned so I’m not factoring that into my decision.
No, the poster I quoted told me the views of the two CEOs are both contradictory even though looking at it, I find both of their views (at least as expanded upon in the write-up) perfectly consistent.
Qin, do you actually research the personal beliefs of a business’s owners in real life? I shop at local supermarkets like Wegmans or Tops and I couldn’t tell you anything about their owner’s political, economic, or religious beliefs. I couldn’t even tell you their owner’s names.
I won’t shop at Brown’s. I already refuse to shop at real businesses who have a heavily Christian agenda, such as closing on Sundays and donating to causes that I object to. He might pay his workers well, but how much religious BS do they have to put up with? Prayer meetings before each business day? The higher pay is a point in Brown’s favor, but it’s the only point…and I doubt that I could verify it.
I MIGHT shop at Value Mart. Pay of just above minimum wage is the norm here, and I don’t think that most retail workers are in unions around here, either. I want to be around when Capiccioni’s head explodes from his internal political conflicts reach critical mass.
Probably I’ll just continue shopping at a store which doesn’t make such a big deal about its political agenda.
There are a few retail chains which will make a point of proclaiming their religious beliefs. There’s one furniture store around here which sometimes runs ads about its employees, and always has a line about where they go to church. They also run ads (especially before Christmas and Easter) about Christ’s Message.
Tough one. I’m very liberal, both fiscally and socially. Brown’s anti-gay views are a big problem for me, but I don’t care that he’s religious. If he were harassing or not hiring gay or non Christian people then it would be different, but nothing in the OP implies this.
Basically, in the end I need to side with everyday people and support his higher pay and unionization. The reason in my mind is that Brown’s anti-gay views are dying out. I, along with millions of others, will vote and support gay marriage and equality. I don’t see this reversing, but if it does then I will reconsider. Currently his wrongheadedness on this issue is irrelevant, but the help he provides for struggling people is having a real impact.
Value-Mart treats its employees poorly, subscribes to what I view as a socially destructive ideology, and therefore causes more harm to society. The low prices aren’t worth it.
I don’t shop at stores with a religious agenda, so Browns is out from the start. I’m willing to drive a distance to support a business I like, so I’d explore that option.
The choice seems to be supporting one of two groups that I find despicable: anti-abortion anti-gay Christian fundamentalists vs. libertarians. Given that I can’t really decide which is worse, I’d shop at the one that treated its employees better. I would compensate by making donations to Planned Parenthood and the Democratic Party equivalent to the profit margin that the homophobic anti-woman store would earn.