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(This was nearly impossible to read on mobile) Michael Otto’s family has been as omnipresent in German postwar retail as Wal-Mart, Sears and Target hav
by ed 13y ago
(This was nearly impossible to read on mobile)
Michael Otto’s family has been as omnipresent in German
postwar retail as Wal-Mart, Sears and Target have in the
U.S. So what does this 70-year-old patriarch of this $18
billion clan most want to talk about? A factory in
Bangladesh.
With gusto he describes how he and Nobel Peace Prize-
winner Muhammad Yunus hatched a plan to build a humane
clothing factory, where all profits would go back into the
community for schools and hospitals. At best, the Otto
Group would recoup its initial investment. Immediately
they faced red tape. Electricity would take five years.
Officials wanted bribes. Otto refused to base a social
business on a corrupt footing and walked away. “It’s
unbelievable,” says Otto, pounding on his wooden desk in
his corner office in Hamburg, Germany. “You would think
the government must be happy somebody is building such a
company and leaving the money in the country.”
...
http://notehub.org/2014/3/12/httpwwwforbescomsitesadamtanner20140305a http://notehub.org/2014/3/12/httpwwwforbescomsitesadamtanner...
- rdl 13y agoCorruption is more cause than effect of poverty.
- samstave 13y agoPoverty is a tool, leveraged by the corrupt.
- samplonius 13y agoHow? I'm corrupt, and their are scavengers rummaging through the alley that runs behind the office. How do I leverage this poverty to make some sweet green? I've watched them dig through the trash, and they don't have anything, and they are just collecting bottles and cans for recycling. How do I profit from this?
- Crito 13y agoAssuming that they are poor though otherwise functional (capable of work), then in order to make money from them you take advantage of them, knowing that poor people desperate for money to support their families will put up with more shit. Have a "recycling" company and need somebody to man one of the electronics burning pits? Get one of those poor guys in they alley to do it. What are his other options? You may need to bribe others to get away with this, but if those people are also relatively poor, the bribes should be affordable.
- rdl 13y agoMy preferred way to make money from poverty is that tiny investments can produce huge returns. There are also high search costs. If you can find poor people who are really smart and haven't been permanently damaged by their experience (i.e. internalized failure, still believe success is possible, etc.), you can find some really amazing employees, partners, etc. People for whom "find a place to stay in California for a few weeks while looking for a job" is basically impossible.
- Crito 13y agoThat certainly works too, but I don't think you need to be corrupt to go that route.
- rdl 13y agoOh, my argument is that corruption (by other people) causes innocent/good people to be poor, and then other people who are self-interested (at least) and potentially altruistic can help those poor people. Although generally my preferred form of helping would involve the corrupt people and some rope; much more efficient.
- ericd 13y agoI think the Chinese govt. is roughly on the same page as you re rope, though I don't know how much of that is actually just a weapon to be wielded against opponents. I wonder how well that's been working at reducing corruption.
- autodidakto 13y agoRelevant Books: The Dictator's Handbook Why Nations Fail
- nobbyclark 13y agoWhatever mobile ad / paywall BS Forbes is up to, that needs to stop now. Worst mobile ad ever