The last real job I worked, aside from gig work, was at Walmart where I made $12/hour managing four departments. When I started working there, each department had their own manager, and full time associates for each department.
Part of my management duties were to make sales reports, where I had access to the cost amounts and profits for each item. Walmart loses money on groceries, and gains it back in abundance through fashion. Those $5 t-shirts in the kids department cost about 50 cents for the company (thank you cheap labor), so it’s a 500% gain on those t-shirts, while they lose money on most of the rest of the store.
From the time I started, to now, all middle management jobs are gone (They just had a party for the shoe middle manager to celebrate 40 years with the company. Then they laid him off that Friday at age 60, even after he told them nobody else will hire him now.) All the department manager jobs are gone. The employees have trackers on them, the cashiers are mostly gone to make way for self checkout, and profits are at an all time high.
Where is the end game? Why are there no checks and balances on extortion and wealth hoarding? What are all of these blue collar people going to do when they have their anniversary party and ceremonial boot at age 60?
I guess I just don’t see how economists can figure that this is okay, given that the income disparity can’t just grow into perpetuity and eventually the hoarded wealth will kill the economy. If the masses don’t become unruly before then.