[lbo-talk] Wal-Mart as Robin Hood

[Robert D. Day]

This has got to be the weakest use of the word "prefer" I've 
encountered. Surely, one would "prefer" to have one leg amputated than 
both, just as one would "prefer" dirt to eat than nothing at all. This 
has to be in some kind of jest, or the NY Times must have had William 
F. Buckley guest-edit the op-ed page.

==========

New York Times - March 6, 2005
ON THE CONTRARY
Welcome to Sherwood Forest, Er, Wal-Mart
By DANIEL AKST

[snip] It's tempting to say that some of the benefits to shoppers come 
at the expense of Wal-Mart's roughly 1.2 million employees, but it's a 
tough case to make. Many Wal-Mart employees presumably can't get better 
jobs; if they could, they would. By continuing to work at the chain, 
they are showing that they prefer the jobs they have to no jobs at all. 
If Wal-Mart vanished, in fact, they would be in big trouble indeed. 
[snip]