按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！
two years。 According to the Times； full…time employees at Wal…Mart make about 1；200
per month； or 8 per hour。 Wal…Mart requires employees to cover 33 percent of the
cost of their benefits； and it plans to reduce that employee contribution to 30 percent。
Wal…Mart…sponsored health plans have monthly premiums for family coverage ranging
as high as 264 and out…of…pocket expenses as high as 13；000 in some cases； and such
medical costs make health coverage unaffordable even for many Wal…Mart employees who
are covered； the Times said。
But the same article went on to say this： 〃If there is any place where Wal…Mart's
labor costs find support； it is Wall Street； where Costco has taken a drubbing from
analysts who say its labor costs are too high。〃 Wai215
Mart has taken more fat and friction out than Costco； which has kept more in； because
it feels a different obligation to its workers。 Costco's pretax profit margin is only
2。7 percent of revenue； less than half Wal…Mart's margin of 5。5 percent。
The Wal…Mart shopper in all of us wants the lowest price possible； with all the
middlemen； fat； and friction removed。 And the Wal…Mart shareholder in us wants
Wal…Mart to be relentless about removing the fat and friction in its supply chain
and in its employee benefits packages； in order to fatten the company's profits。 But
the Wal…Mart worker in us hates the benefits and pay packages that Wal…Mart offers
its starting employees。 And the Wal…Mart citizen in us knows that because Wal…Mart；
the biggest company in America； doesn't cover all its employees with health care；
some of them will just go to the emergency ward of the local hospital and the taxpayers
will end up picking up the tab。 The Times reported that a survey by Georgia officials
found that 〃more than 10；000 children of Wal…Mart employees were in the state's health
program for children at an annual cost of nearly 10 million to taxpayers。〃 Similarly；
it said； a 〃North Carolina hospital found that 31 percent of 1；900 patients who
described themselves as Wal…Mart employees were on Medicaid； while an additional 16
percent had no insurance at all。〃
In her 2004 book； Selling Women Short： The Landmark Battle for Workers' Rights at
Wal…Mart； journalist Liza Featherstone followed the huge women's discrimination suit
against Wal…Mart。 In an interview about the book with Salon。com （November 22； 2004）；
she made the following important point： 〃American taxpayers chip in to pay for many
full…time Wal…Mart employees because they usually require incremental health
insurance； public housing； food stamps …there are so many ways in which Wal…Mart
employees are not able to be self…sufficient。 This is very ironic； because Sam Walton
is embraced as the American symbol of self…sufficiency。 It is really troubling and
dishonest that Wal…Mart supports Republican candidates in the way that they do： 80
percent of their corporate campaign contributions go to Republicans。 But Republicans
tend not to support the types of public assistance programs that Wal…Mart depends
on。 If anything； Wal…Mart should be crusading for national
216
health insurance。 They should at least be acknowledging that because they are unable
to provide these things for their employees； we should have a more general welfare
state。〃
As you sort out and weigh your multiple identities…consumer； employee； citizen；
taxpayer； shareholder…you have to decide： Do you prefer the Wal…Mart approach or the
Costco approach？ This is going to be an important political issue in a flat world：
Just how flat do you want corporations to be when you factor in all your different
identities？ Because when you take the middleman out of business； when you totally
flatten your supply chain； you also take a certain element of humanity out of life。
The same question applies to government。 How flat do you want government to be？ How
much friction would you like to see government remove； through deregulation； to make
it easier for companies to compete on Planet Flat？
Said Congressman Rahm Emanuel； an Illinois Democrat who was a senior adviser to
President Clinton； 〃When I served in the White House； we streamlined the FDA's drug
approval process in response to concerns about its cumbersome nature。 We took those
steps with one objective in mind： to move drugs to the marketplace more quickly。 The
result； however； has been an increasingly cozy relationship between the FDA and the
pharmaceutical industry； which has put public health at risk。 The Vioxx debacle ＇over
an anti…inflammatory drug that was found to lead to an increased riskfor heart attacks
and strokes＇ shows the extent to which drug safety has taken a backseat to speedy
approval。 A recent Senate hearing on Vioxx's recall revealed major deficiencies in
the FDA's ability to remove dangerous drugs from the market。〃
As consumers we want the cheapest drugs that the global supply chains can offer； but
as citizens we want and need government to oversee and regulate that supply chain；
even if it means preserving or adding friction。
Sort that out。
Who Owns What？
Something else is absolutely going to have to be sorted out in a flat world： Who owns
what？ How do we build legal barriers to protect an innovator's intellectual property
so heor she can reap its financial benefits and plow those profits into a new invention？
And from the other side； how do we keep walls low enough so that we encourage the
sharing of intellectual property； which is required more and more to do cutting…edge
innovation？
〃The world is decidedly not flat when it comes to uniform treatment of intellectual
property；〃 said Craig Mundie； Microsoft's chief technology officer。 It is wonderful；
he noted； to have a world where a single innovator can summon so many resources by
himself or herself； assemble a team of partners from around the flat world； and make
a real breakthrough with some product or service。 But what does that wonderful
innovative engineer do； asked Mundie； 〃when someone else uses the same flat…world
platform and tools to clone and distribute his wonderful new product？〃 This happens
in the world of software； music； and pharma…ceuticals every day。 And the technology
is reaching a point now where 〃you should assume that there isn't anything that can't
be counterfeited quickly〃…from Microsoft Word to airplane parts； he added。 The
flatter the world gets； the more we are going to need a system of global governance
that keeps up with all the new legal and illegal forms of collaboration。
We can also see this in the case of patent law as it has evolved inside the United
States。 Companies can do one of three things with an innovation。 They can patent the
widget they invent and sell it themselves； they can patent it and license it to someone
else to manufacture； and they can patent it and cross…license with several other
companies so that they all have freedom of action to make a product…like a PC…that
comes from melding many different patents。 American patent law is technically neutral
on this。 But the way established case law has evolved； experts tell me； it is decidedly
biased against cross…licensing and other arrangements that encourage collaboration
or freedom of action for as many players as possible； it is more focused on protecting
the rights of individual firms to
218
manufacture their own patents。 In a flat world； companies need a patent system that
encourages both。 The more your legal structure fosters cross…licensing and standards；
the more collaborative innovation you will get。 The PC is the product of a lot of
cross…licensing between the company that had the patent on the cursor and the company
that had the patent on the mouse and the screen。
The free…software person in all of us wants no patent laws。 But the innovator in all
of us wants a global regime that protects against intellectual property piracy。 The
innovator in us also wants patent laws that encourage cross…licensing with companies
that are ready to play by the rules。 〃Who owns what？〃 is sure to emerge as one of
the most contentious political and geopolitical questions in a flat world…especially
if more and more American companies start feeling ripped off by more and more Chinese
companies。 If you are in the business of selling words； music； or pharmaceuticals
and you are not worried about protecting your intellectual property； you are not
paying attention。
And while you are sorting that out； sort this out as well。 On November 13； 2004； Lance
Cpl。 Justin M。 Ellsworth； twenty； was killed by a roadside bomb during a foot patrol
in Iraq。 On December 21； 2004； the Associated Press reported that his family was
demanding that Yahoo！ give them the password for their deceased son's e…mail account
so they could have access to all his e…mail； including notes to and from others。 〃I
want to be able to remember him in his words。 I know he thought he was doing what
he needed to do。 I want to have that for the future；〃 John Ellsworth； Justin's father；
told the AP。 〃It's the last thing I have of my son。〃 We are moving into a world where
more and more communicati