The crux of the conflict
No, this one has nothing to do with the Middle East, Iraq or any of those vegetables. This one is about labor relations. I am doing some reading on the exciting topic of Supply Chain Management -- known to the aficionados as "SCM." It deals with the operational logistics of manufacturing and distribution. One of the major issues is the efficiency of minimizing inventory in warehouses and stores and maximizing turn around. Clearly, questions of efficiency are more often than not resolved through the closing and opening of manufacturing facilities.
The question that is never asked in textbooks and industry articles is what effect the closing (and opening) of manufacturing and distribution facilities has on the local population. To take this further, are such questions legitimate? Should the effect of closing a manufacturing plant and moving it to a different state (or country for that matter) take into account the effect on the people that have been working in the old plant or that will be working in the new one? Before our knees do the work for us and we all shout a loud "YES" -- after all on the one hand we are talking about people and their livelihood and on the other hand there is an accountant’s book -- what if the local community that will suffer from the closing of a plant is also heavily invested in the stock of the company itself? What if keeping the plant in operation drives the company stock down, hurting everyone around it (including the locals) financially? Forgetting the moral "ought" for a second, may there be a legal obligation not to close a facility if it can be proven that keeping it open will not hurt the company too much (whatever that means), but closing it will hurt the local population? And if the answer is "Yes," is it okay to prohibit people from patronizing a somewhat distant super market to the detriment of the local grocery store? Must we deal in absolute terms (a free economy cannot bind people to deal with others against their own will) or can a general formula be worked out where economic freedoms can be curbed for the general benefit (whatever that is)?
11:21:52 AM 
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