Do We Need to Fear Oligarchy? Part 3.

The first day I reported for work at Walmart I had to choose between what the HR manager told me was a ‘front-end job,’ or a ‘rear-end job,’ A front-end job meant running a cash register, a read-end meant bringing goods out of the warehouse and stacking them on the shelves.

Both jobs paid the same $16 an hour, which was $4 above the minimum wage. I chose to run a cash register and after watching a video which was a very strong and clear message about respecting racial and ethnic differences both among the customers and the store staff, I was given a Walmart t-shirt, a Walmart vest and told to start cashing out customers and get to work.

During the interview and orientation process I also took a test in reading and math which seemed to be about a fourth-grade level, if that high. The cash register was attached to a scanner which added up the cost of every item I scanned, and all I had to do was make sure that every item in the shopping cart was on the total bill.

Took the customer’s money, punched the amount into the keyboard, and if necessary, made change. Of if the customer gave me a credit card, an ATM card or a food-stamp card I scanned it into my machine and off they went with whatever they bought.

In other words, my only skill requirement was to be able to work a keyboard with about as much reading skill as I would have by finishing the fourth or fifth grade.

If I had decided to take a back-end job, this would have meant walking into the…