OT - Wal-Mart notebook -- selling Freeware?

[Vic Dura]

A friend just sent me his Christmas newsletter. He was fulsome in his praise
of Wal-Mart, where his wife works; competitive wages ( competitive with
what? minimum wage? ) great company. However, they couldn't get home for
Christmas. Reason: Wife had to work, as she does most weekends and holidays.

It's not just Wal-Mart, although they are the worst. The others are
joining the pack due to price pressure from Wal-Mart.

My son just left a job at a large retail chain. Very few people are
allowed to go full-time. Those that are, are classified as "managers"
so they can work the for 50 or 60 hours a week and only get paid for
40. Most of the "managers" have no direct-reports and no authority.
It's just a subterfuge to circumvent overtime laws.

OTOH, W.M. is just responding to price-pressure from the public, and
the public is just responding to economic pressure from an economy
that has been eroding for fourty years. Soon most of the public won't
even be able to afford the cheap W.M. imports made by Chineese slave
labor.