The rules of capitalism don’t force their different choices

This morning I ate breakfast to the news that the US Military, under orders from the nasty guy, swooped into Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro, taking him into US custody to stand trial for drug related crimes. I haven’t paid much attention to the new since and switched radio stations to avoid his speech and the analysis of it. I’m sure you can find plenty of details at your favorite news source (at least one with a strong acquaintance with truth). So I won’t go into details. I’ll only say the nasty guy has pulled America to the low level of Russia by invading another country without military provocation. In the comments of today’s pundit roundup for Daily Kos are lots of tweets with images and videos of the US operation. Among those is a meme posted by Mel Ankoly:

If we elect Trump, we will be at war within 6 months. -- Kamala Harris

Gosh, off by only five months! This roundup is by Greg Dworkin who quoted a New York Times opinion piece about the January 6 Capitol attack. That day the rioters and nasty guy lost and it was seen as a turning point.

That day was indeed a turning point, but not the one it first seemed to be. It was a turning point toward a version of Mr. Trump who is even more lawless than the one who governed the country in his first term. It heralded a culture of political unaccountability, in which people who violently attacked Congress and beat police officers escaped without lasting consequence. The politicians and pundits who had egged on the attack with their lies escaped, as well. The aftermath of Jan. 6 made the Republican Party even more feckless, beholden to one man and willing to pervert reality to serve his interests. Once Mr. Trump won election again in 2024, despite his role in encouraging the riot and his many distortions about it, it emboldened him to govern in defiance of the Constitution, without regard for the truth and with malice toward those who stand up to his abuses

. Democrats could have gone a long way to bolster democracy by prosecuting the nasty guy for his various crimes (many more than just instigating that riot). And they didn’t. Pamela Herd and Don Moynihan of their Substack quoted a bit of Zohran Mamdani’s inauguration speech as he starts his term as governor of New York City.

What we achieve together will reach across the five boroughs and it will resonate far beyond. There are many who will be watching. They want to know if the left can govern. They want to know if the struggles that afflict them can be solved. They want to know if it is right to hope again.

Back in the comments are a couple cartoons by Toonerman, both having to do with the alleged theft by Somali child care companies that prompted the nasty guy to cut funding for all child care providers. The first one:

Right-wing YouTube influencer Nick Shirly took a guy named Dave and a video camera on a snowy, cold day to Minneapolis and attempted to walk into Somali run daycare centers without any challenge. Two grown men with a camera wanting to take video of other people’s children. Sounds like perverts to me.

And the second

Minnesotan Aimee Bick – founder of Feeding the Future and ring leader of a massive fraud and theft operation was found guilty of stealing $250 million of federal COVID relief funds and pocketing millions herself. She is NOT SOMALIAN. You can tell because of her accent. But you won’t hear Trump or his fascist friend mention Aimee... because she’s white!”

In Friday’s pundit roundup Dworkin Paul Waldman of Public Notice discussing the nasty guy building monuments to himself.

It goes beyond an exercise in branding. Trump is seeking a physical legacy, a collection of signs and structures that will pay eternal tribute to his greatness. Which is why it is so important — and why it will be so rewarding — for the next Democratic president to tear it all down and smash it to bits. This isn’t just about petty revenge, even if there is undoubtedly some of that going on here. Emerging from this dark period in our history will require a sweeping, comprehensive strategy of repudiation and repair, one that encompasses the substantive, the procedural, and the symbolic. Fortunately, removing the physical remnants of Trumpism will be much simpler than reconstituting the federal workforce or rebuilding our security alliances.

In the comments there is a tweet by End Wokeness:

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani: “We’ll replace rugged individualism with collectivism.”

Rotimi Adeoye responded:

For people who have a problem with this statement, maybe before you start pearl-clutching ask why rugged individualism clearly isn’t resonating anymore—so much so that someone like Zohran, who openly criticizes it, could get elected in the first place.

A cartoon posted by LEastsound and created by Benjamin Slyngstad. It shows the nasty guy falling asleep while on either side...

Marco Rubio Suck-up of State: No one has ever slept through a meeting like you, sir. Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Beer: You are truly leading the war on wokeness, Mr. Presideint.

Karmadog tweeted, showing the net worth of several people:

Donald Trump $5.4B Elon Musk, co-chair of DOGE, $300+B Warren Stephens, Ambassador to UK, $3.3B Charles Kushner, Ambassador to France (and father of Jared), $2.9B Linda McMahon, Education Secretary, $2.6B Howard Lutnick, Commerce Secretary, $2B If #oligarchy is too strange a word, how about we call them: Yacht Nazis!

Rep. Andy Ogles tweeted an image of a soldier ready for the Crusades with the caption, “We must stand and reaffirm that this is a Christian Nation. This is a battle of good vs evil.” Greg Nunziata responded:

It’s not necessarily a good thing, but it is an interesting thing, that protestant MAGA types love to appropriate Catholic history and iconography.

Christopher Hale tweeted:

Pope Leo XIV ended 2025 with a fierce warning: “Stop using religion to conquer markets and justify violence.” He followed that warning with a challenge: stop fearing strangers — and start welcoming them as neighbors.

Aaron Rupar tweeted the Nick Shirly video (well, I think it is, I didn’t watch it), adding:

uhhh yeah I can see why these childcare properties weren't eager to let in some rando dudes asking "where are the kids?"

Andrew Lawrence added:

like 75% of dem messaging right now should be “the party led by epsteins best friend is breaking into pre-k childcare centers so they can record your toddlers and put the videos on internet”

Mark Sumner Kos staff emeritus wrote about why Warmart is bad and Costco is good. This is a time where I wish my blogging skills (and maybe blogging tools) allowed me to do a side-to-side comparison. I’ll have to put one below the other. Before I get to that, both are highly successful companies (though it looks like Costco outperformed Walmart in the stock market). Both are pursuing their individual business plans without government coercion. They have just followed very different strategies. Walmart: + Has 10,700 stores including supercenters and Sam’s Clubs, founded in 1962. + Each supercenter has about 300 employees, they earn an hourly wage of $14-$19 an hour. + Stingy with benefits. + It tops the list of largest employers whose workers receive Medicaid and SNAP. + When Walmart moves into a community it depresses wages, which can drain the local talent. + A store manager can be paid $500,000 with assistants earning almost as much. The pay gap between the bottom and top is high. + Turnover can reach as high as 75% when similar companies might see 60% turnover. + Climbing the company ladder is the only way to improve one’s pay. It is difficult and fiercely competitive but with no corporate assistance for improvement. + They are ruthless with suppliers, demanding extremely low prices for shelf space in their stores. + They undercut every local retailer until the nearby town is hollowed out. Then it raises prices. + One supercenter can have 120K to 150K products. Customers see Walmart as their only shopping destination. + Their profits come from squeezing suppliers. + Walmart can so thoroughly hollow out the economics of a region it has to close stores for low performance. Costco: + Has 914 Costco Warehouses. It grew out of Price Club in 1983. + Each store has about 350-500 employees. Starting wage is $21 an hour and the average is $31. + Generous with benefits. + Costco employees don’t need Medicaid and SNAP. + When Costco moves into a community it can raise wages and strengthen local economies. + A Costco store manager earns $150,000 a year. The CEO earns $13 million in salary and stock options. The pay gap between the bottom and top is low. + The pay is high enough employees have to jump to another industry or get a college degree to do better. Annual turnover is below 6%. + There is an extensive employee development program. It does quite well from employees suggesting improvements. It saves on recruiting and basic training of new hires. + They serve as a supplement and supplier to local retail stores. They provide items others can’t and can provide items in bulk that other retailers can buy. A consumer may not buy a bulk package of rice, but a restaurant and school system does. + A Costco Warehouse has about 4,000 items and few of them are there consistently. Costco is only one place where its customers shop. + Their profits come from their memberships which have a renewable rate of 90%. + Costco doesn’t need to close stores, though it has replaced some of its earlier and smaller stores. Again, no one, including government, is forcing either company to follow their business strategy. The rules of capitalism aren’t forcing them either. They made choices they way they did because they want to. I see it as Walmart striving for the top of the social hierarchy – the managers and owners want to be high in the hierarchy and everyone else – employees and local economy – is oppressed to make their position look better. In contrast Costco works in community. We’re all in this together, we’re all equal. We’ll provide a service to help you in providing yours.

Remember that part about how the average Walmart supercenter has about 25% fewer employees than the average Costco Warehouse? Those fewer employees have to deal with 30 times as many items, more frequent restocking, and do it while getting less pay and fewer benefits. They work harder for less. By design. For stores that damage their local economy, and which are much more likely to simply pack up and leave. That's all a choice.

For the record, I shop at neither, though both are within four miles. I avoid Walmart because of their rapacious policies. I avoid Costco because as a family of one their membership fee and their emphasis on bulk items, which I would have a hard time storing or using before they spoil, is a bit much. I also wouldn’t want to wait in the long Costco gas lines.