Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Current Events
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
 
Old 04-21-2015, 10:58 PM
 
Location: Prepperland
18,878 posts, read 14,069,495 times
Reputation: 16588

Advertisements

Of course, if all regulations and taxes on business and labor were abolished, things might be very different.
. . .
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:03 PM
 
10,226 posts, read 7,520,384 times
Reputation: 23155
Because one individual has no power against a large corporation, whether it's WalMart or BP or Exxon or GE or Monsanto or you name it.

As George Carlin said, the country is run by a club....and we ain't in it.

The U.S. is now run by corporations and organizations and a few uber wealthy individuals. The Koch brothers, the large corporations, the NRA. They pay to put people in office to do their bidding. The senators and representatives don't vote for what's good for YOU. They vote to do what the large corporations or the billionaire who put them in office want them to do.

So whether I shop at WM or not makes not a bit of difference. What may make a difference is contributing to politician campaigns for people who might take a stance against corporate America. Or when a new WM is slated to open near you, take off work and attend the local council meetings on teh subject and fight against it.

If we stopped giving our business to every large corporation that did bad things, we'd never be able to buy anything or hire a service company. No carpet from the chemical companies, no China items from all of the stores in America, no cars. They all do bad things. They exist solely to make a profit. They are not people. They are entities who owe nothing to individual countries. They are global. And they run the country now.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:10 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
3,515 posts, read 3,667,100 times
Reputation: 6403
Quote:
Originally Posted by bpollen View Post
Because one individual has no power against a large corporation, whether it's WalMart or BP or Exxon or GE or Monsanto or you name it.

As George Carlin said, the country is run by a club....and we ain't in it.

The U.S. is now run by corporations and organizations and a few uber wealthy individuals. The Koch brothers, the large corporations, the NRA. They pay to put people in office to do their bidding. The senators and representatives don't vote for what's good for YOU. They vote to do what the large corporations or the billionaire who put them in office want them to do.
.


https://www.opensecrets.org/bigpictu...ype=fc&view=fc
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:13 PM
 
Location: NW AR
2,438 posts, read 2,797,983 times
Reputation: 2285
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juram View Post
I'm really not sure why you think Arkansas is relevant to anything. The poster you were responding to originally is located in New York City.
I live in Northwest Arkansas and I am also ex- Wal-mart Corporate. New York is hardly a third world country to Arkansas. Now, answer my question.. Sam's -Similac Baby Iron $31.98 below. ( 34 oz) JB Blowhouse- $31.99

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/similac...4-oz/183169.ip
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:22 PM
 
1,881 posts, read 3,342,736 times
Reputation: 3912
Quote:
Originally Posted by bpollen View Post
Because one individual has no power against a large corporation, whether it's WalMart or BP or Exxon or GE or Monsanto or you name it.

As George Carlin said, the country is run by a club....and we ain't in it.

The U.S. is now run by corporations and organizations and a few uber wealthy individuals. The Koch brothers, the large corporations, the NRA. They pay to put people in office to do their bidding. The senators and representatives don't vote for what's good for YOU. They vote to do what the large corporations or the billionaire who put them in office want them to do.

So whether I shop at WM or not makes not a bit of difference. What may make a difference is contributing to politician campaigns for people who might take a stance against corporate America. Or when a new WM is slated to open near you, take off work and attend the local council meetings on teh subject and fight against it.

If we stopped giving our business to every large corporation that did bad things, we'd never be able to buy anything or hire a service company. No carpet from the chemical companies, no China items from all of the stores in America, no cars. They all do bad things. They exist solely to make a profit. They are not people. They are entities who owe nothing to individual countries. They are global. And they run the country now.
I don't think its a bad thing necessarily to have department stores. I don't think its a bad thing to have a corporation. But what WalMart did was drive down prices such that few smaller supermarkets and shops, even places like Kmart, could compete. This also created a new low, so to speak, a market driven by the store, not the manufacturer. Walmart has, time and again, came into to companies and said, "we are gonna buy this product from you for 23 cents", when it used to be 2 or three dollars, for instance. They knew that they could no longer employ or run their factories when their product was suddenly worth far less. Walmart forced, time and again, businesses to work against their own self interest and the interest of American workers. This was a SYSTEMATIC approach that only had profit as its main goal. They were a huge reason why other retailers followed suit. Chinese imports do not begin and end with Walmart, but they were the main push behind this systematic betrayal of American workers and their interests in the name of trillions in pure profit.

In my mind, it makes little long term economic sense to keep driving down wages, mistreating workers all over the world, taking corporate subsidies in the billions to build in small towns, encouraging its workers to go on welfare, their known abysmal ecological track record (have a look at the countless lawsuits for clean water violations, for instance)- it can only continue with the help of the American consumer. We have been barraged with brands and we all wear Nikes. Well, I don't- Nikes should cost 10.00, do you realize that? That would STILL give Nike a profit, but their 200 dollars, because its what the market will bear. And WE are the market. If we thought a little bit more about what we bought instead of getting led by the nose by STUFF real changes could happen. It runs on OUR money. WE ARE the market. People forget this.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:29 PM
 
1,881 posts, read 3,342,736 times
Reputation: 3912
Quote:
Originally Posted by Juram View Post
The problem is that the "Made in the USA" claim itself can be pretty flimsy. I live in Phoenix, a few years ago, a solar manufacturing facility was opened up just down the road in Goodyear. The plant would import solar panels from China which were largely completed, finish the wiring, add one final layer to the panels, stamp "Made in the USA" on them, box them up and send them out. This facility got massive tax breaks and other benefits for simply opening their doors. They hired a few employees, pumped out a bunch of panels for a few commercial projects and then shut down their facility in short order while charging a 15-20% premium because the panels were "Made in the USA."


I found the same thing having worked in the supplement industry, with the vast majority of companies ordering their basic raws from China, throwing them in a bottle and stamping "Made in the USA" on the bottle. Very few companies do their own manufacturing and the ones that do can often struggle because of the much higher pricepoint that they have to charge, yet if you don't know the whole story, all you see is two labels that both state "Made in the USA" and one has a 20-25% premium for some reason, so which is the average consumer going to choose, even if they mean well and are trying to "buy American."




The overall regulation of "Made in USA" is laughably inadequate. If you're a corporation, the temptation to do most of the manufacturing in China, tweak some things in the U.S., add a "Made in the USA" to the label and charge a premium must be tremendous.
Yup, that happens ALL the time.

I used to work at a gourmet supply store- and the buyers really attempted to get as many American products as possible. One of our products had a display that featured prominently "MADE IN THE USA" and when we were taking out the display from the box, every bit of it, plus all the mini US flags, were made in China.


Thing is, I think it is important and possibly eventually beneficial to be ok with China. There is a a middle of the road here that doesn't involve economic isolationism and keeps prices for cheap products low. I shop at the dollar stores here, and they seem to be a much more adequate way to sell cheap products. The markup on Walmart products is HORRIFYING. I think there should be a limit to the profit margin on imported products. You wanna pay people 50 cents in China to make a toy? Then you shouldn't be able to sell it to Americans for 50 bucks. A system that allows that enables what is happening now to happen. More profits going to fewer people, fewer decent jobs for Americans, continued exploitation of a built-in exploitable work force. Its not a sensible, balanced system, and that is what we need, BALANCE.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:32 PM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,757 posts, read 26,002,909 times
Reputation: 33869
Quote:
Originally Posted by nighthouse66 View Post
Yup, that happens ALL the time.

I used to work at a gourmet supply store- and the buyers really attempted to get as many American products as possible. One of our products had a display that featured prominently "MADE IN THE USA" and when we were taking out the display from the box, every bit of it, plus all the mini US flags, were made in China.


Thing is, I think it is important and possibly eventually beneficial to be ok with China. There is a a middle of the road here that doesn't involve economic isolationism and keeps prices for cheap products low. I shop at the dollar stores here, and they seem to be a much more adequate way to sell cheap products. The markup on Walmart products is HORRIFYING. I think there should be a limit to the profit margin on imported products. You wanna pay people 50 cents in China to make a toy? Then you shouldn't be able to sell it to Americans for 50 bucks. A system that allows that enables what is happening now to happen. More profits going to fewer people, fewer decent jobs for Americans, continued exploitation of a built-in exploitable work force. Its not a sensible, balanced system, and that is what we need, BALANCE.
you nailed it, well said
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:34 PM
 
Location: NW AR
2,438 posts, read 2,797,983 times
Reputation: 2285
Quote:
Originally Posted by nighthouse66 View Post
I don't think its a bad thing necessarily to have department stores. I don't think its a bad thing to have a corporation. But what WalMart did was drive down prices such that few smaller supermarkets and shops, even places like Kmart, could compete. This also created a new low, so to speak, a market driven by the store, not the manufacturer. Walmart has, time and again, came into to companies and said, "we are gonna buy this product from you for 23 cents", when it used to be 2 or three dollars, for instance. They knew that they could no longer employ or run their factories when their product was suddenly worth far less. Walmart forced, time and again, businesses to work against their own self interest and the interest of American workers. This was a SYSTEMATIC approach that only had profit as its main goal. They were a huge reason why other retailers followed suit. Chinese imports do not begin and end with Walmart, but they were the main push behind this systematic betrayal of American workers and their interests in the name of trillions in pure profit.

In my mind, it makes little long term economic sense to keep driving down wages, mistreating workers all over the world, taking corporate subsidies in the billions to build in small towns, encouraging its workers to go on welfare, their known abysmal ecological track record (have a look at the countless lawsuits for clean water violations, for instance)- it can only continue with the help of the American consumer. We have been barraged with brands and we all wear Nikes. Well, I don't- Nikes should cost 10.00, do you realize that? That would STILL give Nike a profit, but their 200 dollars, because its what the market will bear. And WE are the market. If we thought a little bit more about what we bought instead of getting led by the nose by STUFF real changes could happen. It runs on OUR money. WE ARE the market. People forget this.
K-Mart is in Northwest Arkansas. So, is Target and a million other stores. Hell, half of you people have never been here to see what's here. People won't quit buying Nikes, Rolex, Prada, etc. but whatever. I bought 4 pairs of Nikes the other day. I won't wear anything else for a tennis shoe.. sorry.

Companies have to make a profit and any person has a lot of options not to buy a Nike shoe.

Nice thread.. but I have nothing more to add.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2015, 11:59 PM
 
Location: Tucson, AZ
1,588 posts, read 2,520,233 times
Reputation: 4188
All WalMarts are not created equally. I see more Mercedes GLs and BMW X5s in our Walmart parking lot than any other store nearby.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2015, 04:51 AM
 
28,164 posts, read 25,201,121 times
Reputation: 16664
Quote:
Originally Posted by AZDesertBrat View Post
Did you even LOOK at the dates on those articles??? From 2002 to 2006. The only one that's fairly recent is the one about wages in 2013. That janitor story says that the people who did those jobs were hired by a contractor who does work for Walmart. They didn't work directly for Walmart, even though lower in the article it says there were conversations between Walmart and the contractors. It isn't Walmart's job to vette contractors employees. And that's another very old article as well. This is what I'm talking about when I say that yes, those things probably DID happen but they were corrected and do not, anymore. My store doesn't use outside contractors for jobs like floor cleaning, etc.. Our own overnight people do that.

As for Walmart employees being on welfare...a lot of the adults who hire on there ARE on food stamps. I was. I was even told that I could continue to get $16 a month. Some said okay and I said no thanks. There ARE some single moms still getting some food stamps and insurance for their kids. They no longer get insurance for themselves once they start that job. The more money they make the less they get in food stamps but they'd rather have their jobs anyway. As a cashier I know which employees use food stamps and which don't. Not that many do. There used to be a rumor that Walmart TOLD their new hires how to get welfare and that has NEVER been true.
I don't care about the dates.

I refuse to shop at Walmart or other big box stores.

Report: Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance - Forbes

And just because SOME stores don't/didn't engage in this nonsense doesn't mean there isn't a culture in that corporation of doing whatever is necessary to maintain low prices. I worked at one of their suppliers so I know exactly how cut throat and devious Walmart is when it comes to strong arming other companies into lowering prices to the point of being detrimental to the supplier.

As far as the food stamps thing goes, I find it unconscionable that a company making $16.3 billion dollars per year (net income) thinks its ok for their employees to be on food stamps. And that goes for corporations around the globe who do this, not just Walmart.

This is an interesting read as well: Inequality, exhibit A: Walmart and the wealth of American families | Economic Policy Institute
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Current Events
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 09:34 PM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top