Ashton Kutcher vs. Wal-Mart: Epic Twitter clash rages over poverty wages

[RockaFowler]

I may have to love Ashton Kutcher now

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/20/ashton_kutcher_vs_wal_mart_epic_twitter_clash_rages_over_poverty_wages/

Kutcher (@aplusk) kicked off the dust-up by tweeting about the news that an Ohio Wal-Mart took up an employee-to-employee food charity collection “so Associates in Need can enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.” He wrote, “Walmart is your profit margin so important you can’t Pay Your Employees enough to be above the poverty line?”

Fourteen minutes later, the company’s @WalmartNewsroom account, echoing its replies to others on the topic, tweeted back at Kutcher, “It’s unfortunate that an act of human kindness has been taken so out of context. We’re proud of our associates in Canton.” After ten minutes, Kutcher shot back, “you should be proud of your associates but I’m not sure if they should be proud of you.”

Wal-Mart then offered Kutcher a video on “Opportunity and Benefits at Walmart,” saying “We know you believe in opportunity like we do & we’d love to talk to you more about it.”

Kutcher quickly countered, “you had 17 billion in profits last year. You’re a 260 billion$ company. What are we missing?”


Read the rest - it is incredible!!

[immoderate]

1. This gives me a different view of Kutcher.

--imm

[RC]

49. Yeah, really.

I might even start watching his show.

[MindMover]

2. Yea well ...... Kutcher has sooooooooooooo much money, he don't care about anybody cept himself ....

[efhmc]

13. Please explain to me why I need to have SP deconstruct a speech

about working for me.

[MindMover]

16. Dude, the point is, StFWP and Bucktooth, the other one trying too hard to look female, Sally ....

are having a field day explaining your libertarian ideals to there conservative millionaire and billionaire crowd ... IE: the less than 1% that do not understand the slightest thing about living paycheck to paycheck, but will spout there nonsense about how easy it is to get ahead in this greatness we all call home ....



<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/41483660@N04/6657578499/" title="libertarianism-anarchy-for-rich-people><img src="" width="500" height="630" alt="libertarianism-anarchy-for-rich-people"></a>

[NuclearDem]

20. You know, there's plenty to not like about GVS without implying she looks like a man.

[MindMover]

22. Honesty is the best policy when it comes to blog posts ... and you are not being honest ...

with yourself or anyone else ...

I am not implying, I am stating that GtLS obviously tries a little to hard to appear straight laced ... when she is bucking for a PRISM ...

[NuclearDem]

23. I'm sorry, but what the flying fuck are you talking about?

I tried really hard to parse that word salad, but I still don't have a clue what you're on about.

I think there was some slight in there about mental illness, which combined with that stupid "looks like a dude" comment is making you look petty.

[MindMover]

24. Never ever said anything about mental illness, you have stated mental illness ...

which must be something on your mind ... if you need to talk send me an email ...

Nothing petty unless you avoid the truth, then every comment made about someone elses behavior that does not jive with your interpretation is petty ...

[NuclearDem]

25. You know exactly what I meant, you referencing the Prisms.

But please, continue to insinuate that I'm mentally ill, too.

[MindMover]

28. I will let you bask in your thinking that I was referring to that award ...

there are many different Prisms ....

and I am not insinuating anything other than what you are reading into it ...

[NuclearDem]

29. Fine, what Prism is she "bucking for" then?

The chipset? The surveillance program? The educational resource for Hoosier teachers? The polyhedron? The defunct cable network?

[MindMover]

30. You have been negative feeding off my comments, so I will let you interpret the rest ...

for yourself .... any further explanation on my part is only going to infuriate you more ... and I certainly do not want to do that ...

when you have named yourself NuclearDem .... asta lavista senor ...

[NuclearDem]

31. Translation: "I got busted and now I'm backtracking."

[MindMover]

32. You are so correct, you climbed into my mind and scrambled it all up ...

I am busted and now I am backtracking into ignoring the shit out of you .....

[WilliamPitt]

26. "I'm sorry, but what the flying fuck are you talking about?"

Glad it's not just me.

[NuclearDem]

27. I think it was a combination of borderline transphobic comments

And making light of substance abuse or mental illness. Still haven't figured it out yet though.

[magical thyme]

47. agreed. talk about word salad...

[JimDandy]

33. Umm, I'll buy a vowel.

Otherwise I've no clue what you're getting at.

[Fawke Em]

43. Caribu Barbie looks like she's either on

codeine or just had her eyes done.

What's up with that wide-eyed thing?

I wide-eye my eyes to exercise my eye muscles so my allergies don't make me look like a 102, but I don't look like that just looking at a camera!

[Wait Wut]

3. He's a great guy.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the things I hear of him. He's also cute as hell. Too bad he's an awful actor.

Is there a link to the video that they sent him on the Salon link? I can't get to Salon from work, but I'm curious as hell to see what it is. I'm thinking it's an 'opportunity' for Walmart to attach his name to their 'charitable' efforts.

[RockaFowler]

4. That would be good to see

There is nothing on the Salon site. I would love to see it!!

[Katashi_itto]

5. Clinton Remained Silent As Wal-Mart Fought Unions

2008
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4218509&page=1

Guess what, she still has never said anything, even now.

[awoke_in_2003]

55. She was a board member...

people should remember that.

[Vashta Nerada]

6. I never thought I'd ever say this, but I have more respect for Ashton Kutcher now.

[whathehell]

7. Good for him!

It's great that most of Hollywood is liberal.

[Rex]

8. Kutcher kinda hurt his career early playing a vapid kid in HS.

Now a lot of people think he is a vapid adult in Hollywood.

[Scuba]

9. Good on Kutcher.

[stranger81]

10. Never thought I would find myself saying this, but there's a first time for everything, I guess:

YOU GO, ASHTON!! Well done, sir.

[DeSwiss]

11. ''Dude, where are the decent wages!?!?!''

- K&R

[nirvana555]

14. I've always had a very soft spot for Ashton. I even think he's good in some of his films..

Mainly in the physical comedy genre. He was also good in "The Butterfly Effect" which was a drama.I appreciate his coming forth with his feelings.

[DianaForRussFeingold]

44. Same here, Nice to see someone like him speak out for those less fortunate

I also thought his acting was pretty great..

[ffr]

52. One of my favorite sci-fi movies.

Nice find!

[bigdarryl]

12. What state does he live in

Would love to see him run for Congress

[rurallib]

50. he's an old Iowa boy - His twin still lives here I think

I used to work with his mom and his aunt. Really nice folks.
His dad still lives here also.
But I think he actually lives in Montana.

[ErikJ]

15. Pay for higher wages just by redirecting $ used to buy own stock.

"..................OUR Walmart has estimated the wage at below $9, and called on the company to establish a minimum wage of $25,000 a year. A report from the progressive think tank Demos argues Wal-Mart could do so just by redirecting the money it currently spends on repurchasing its own stock."......which they do to drive the price of the shares higher.

[jmondine]

17. Wonder if Ted Cruz will quote any of this at his next pretend filibuster

[freshwest]

18. He's got 15M followers. I hope some will savage WalMart on what a welfare queen Walmart is:

I doubt they support workers rights, safety, or communities in any meaningful fashion in contrast to the harm they do.

They get waivers from taxes and also keep their workers in wage brackets that end up forcing them to get on the public dime.

But no doubt they support the ending of the same programs that benefit them, which would not be necessary if they respected their employees and the government that is trying to protect them from predatory businesses.

The $25K a year doesn't specify if it's from 40 years, has benefits, or any of the other things that force their employees to get state benefits. We've had posts here at DU on the net loss to communities that permit WalMart to act the way that they do, all because of RW ideology and theology.

All that being said, good for Kutcher, within his own way of thinking which is likely not political, he has seen that something is wrong and is spreading the message to his 15M. Hopefully they will follow up and learn what the big problem is.

[napkinz]

19. Robert Reich ...

[markpkessinger]

21. Kutcher was admirable enough in THIS exchange, but . . .

. . . we shouldn't forget either the remark he made a while back that briefly made him the poster child for the Heritage Foundation (referenced at the end of the Salon article:



This is a mindless repetition of a right-wing myth -- i.e., that the only thing preventing people from getting a job is either their unwillingness to work or that they are 'too proud' to take a lower level job. The idea rests on a false assumption: that a person who is, say, middle aged with a colllege degree and a corporate employment history has a realistic shot at getting hired by the local McDonald's franchise.

I think Kutcher is still a long way from having clue #1.

(But I'd do him in a heartbeat if I could -- so long as he promised not to talk, that is.)

[mdbl]

34. wondering about that too..

What was with that stupid statement? "I think the only thing that can be below is is to not have a job" Did he mean an acting job? Was he talking to his drama teacher? I wish he'd explain!

[Heather MC]

39. well after today I think he meant a "Living wage job" If...

he had added that lil' one liner heritage foundation would have run the other way.

Just having a Job don't mean shit if it doesn't help you pay rent. mort, basic nesscities, and be able to stash something away for a rainy day

[blkmusclmachine]

35. Low, low

wages.

[Corruption Inc]

36. "Epic Twitter Clash" LMFAO! This is celebrity gossip column stuff

Wal-Mart is a predatory capitalist company and everybody already knows it. There's nothing "epic" about telling the truth and calling out Wal-Mart. Oh, but a celebrity did it so it must be "epic", LOL.

[HughBeaumont]

37. Easy to counter the last WalMart response . . .

Maybe he should rebut that for every 160,000 promoted, it can be countered that, thanks to cheap-wage, cheap-crap-peddling Big Boxes like them, millions more independent business workers, factory workers, secondary businesspeople, farmers, civil servants and others became disposed of, directly or indirectly, as a result of the brand of hyper-corporatist retail grinding WalMart and others choose to conduct.

That's not even getting into the damage they've caused to the median real-dollar wage, the environment or the institution of free enterprise in America.

They should really not think of themselves as heroic. It's kind of nauseating, to be honest.

[zentrum]

38. Thought he was a right wing

...hack like Bruce Willis.

[Bjorn Against]

42. He is not a right-wing hack but the right-wing tried to act as if he was

He gave a speech at some MTV awards show and encouraged the people in the audience to keep a job and work hard, I don't think he meant it to be a political statement but the right-wingers tried to pretend like he was actually promoting their bullshit and they tried to make him theirs. Just recently Sarah Palin was on TV praising him and I suspect he did not want her praise. I suspect his decision to go after Wal-Mart is at least in part an attempt by him to show he is not the right-winger that he has been recently portrayed as. I am glad he did it, all the right-wingers who tried to pretend that he was speaking for right-wing policies must have been really pissed when they saw his Twitter feed on this one.

On edit: I just have to add that while I think what Kutcher says about Wal-Mart is spot on and I have nothing against him personally, let's face it; he is a really bad actor and he does not come off as being very smart. The right-wing is sure desperate to find celebrity backers if they actually had to try to pretend Ashton Kutcher was one of theirs.

[Emelina]

40. Walmart proves Bernays was right about human intelligence.

[Skittles]

41. thanking Ashton

I believe his heart is in the right place - he gets it

[Brigid]

45. You know what I think is the funniest thing about all this?

Wal-Mart.is so worried about what Ashton Kutcher thinks that they feel like they have get into a twitter argument with him!

[matt819]

46. Well, there's three words one never expected to see

Epic

Twitter

Clash

[closeupready]

48. Wow, that is so awesome - I didn't really care for him, but now,

he's a winner in my book. Go, Ashton! K&R

[ffr]

51. I can just hear him saying that too. Smartass!

Awesome!

[valerief]

53. Good on Kutcher!!! nt

[George II]

54. “Opportunity and Benefits at Walmart” ???

You know what Walmart does here in Connecticut, and probably other states with programs they can exploit?

They conduct TRAINING CLASSES for their employees on how to apply for welfare, food stamps, Medicaid, and other programs to augment their meager wages and pitifully low level of health care and wages.

So, Walmart offers the "Opportunity" to learn how to turn to the State of Connecticut to survive, and they offer the "Benefit" of learning how to use the system.

And I'll bet upper management at Walmart rues daily the "takers" on welfare, food stamps, etc.

Thoroughly disgusting!

[tavernier]

56. Herding cats.

I love my party!

Give two or more democrats a topic - any topic - and within seconds they will be scratching and clawing, the fur flying, and the fight will have nothing to do with the original post.

That's why the repugs win so often. They might not have half a brain between the entire party, but they march lock step like a hill of ants.

Ah well... Will Rogers was right.

Sorry to veer off course, RockaFowler. Thanks for the Kutcher post. I hope he leaves a mark.