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So nobody who works at Costco is on food stamps? Has $1 phones? Lives in Section 8?
Really? Are you sure about that?
I'm wondering how you know that.
As a cashier I don't always know where my customers work, or if they even do, but I've had people come in wearing their work uniforms and use food stamps. That includes people who work at the various grocery stores and Home Depot. Maybe they've just started and will be able to drop them. Maybe not. I don't ask. People seem to think that Walmart employees are ALL on food stamps. Oh, and Walmart does NOT show people how to apply for gov't benefits. Many of them are already on them when they come to work there. That's just one more stupid 'myth' that's been around forever.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-15-2014 at 07:40 AM..
Reason: Edited quote
I think people from many income levels shop at Walmart and those who claim to never go there aren't telling the truth.
I never go to Wal Mart, have not set foot in one since 2001, and I'm telling the truth.
The reasons why I make this decision are numerous, and the examples of how Wal Mart vacuums up small businesses in its vicinity are too numerous to list. A simple Google search will give thousands of examples. Wal Mart has even put corporations out of business who tried to raise their prices and found their products taken off the shelves of Wal Mart for doing it without Wal Mart's permission.
Wal Mart makes enough money from the sheep who frequent there, they don't get a penny of mine, however.
Or, you could use the strategy of "Why throw good money after bad" and not shop there at all. I shop at Costco instead of WalMart. Why? I like how Costco operates as a company. Their prices are as good, or better, and my tax dollars aren't subsidizing Costco employees. Costco pays a living wage, with decent benefits. And they still manage to turn a profit. Then again, their CEO is happy to make a merely great living, as opposed to being a Walton.
Yes, they're a membership store. But so is Sam's Club, and that's basically the same as WalMart. I have the "cash back" membership at Costco, so it costs me absolutely nothing every year. (It doesn't take all that much in purchases to have the membership cost completely refunded via rebates.)
But even if I had to shell out the full $100 per year, I would STILL shop at Costco instead of WalMart. Welfare wage subsidies are simply wrong. And this is an opportunity to vote with my wallet.
Do you go to Costco to buy: a pair of shoelaces, a new cat box, and a Rockies T-shirt for the upcoming game? Of course you don't. You go to Costco to buy: a six pack of toilet cleaner AND a couple six packs of TP, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc.
Your wish is my command. From an article published 4 days ago in the Commie rag, FORBES:
Objective enough for you? I have had the experience of watching a Wal Mart arrive in my small rural town. We used to have a vibrant Main Street with all sorts of different stores. Wal Mart's arrival was the death knell for many small businessmen here. I now have the choice of shopping at Wal Mart or else driving about 100 miles to shop in a city which offers several large malls with a variety of department stores and other shops. Many people here don't have the money to make a 200 mile round trip several times a month to avoid shopping at Wally World. Personally, I do a lot of shopping online to avoid giving Wal Mart my hard earned dollars. If for some reason I want to support the Communist Republic of China, I'll make a charitable contribution for the construction of a new sweatshop in Shanghai after the next one burns down.
A truly progressive state like Vermont limits how many Wal Marts can be in the state. Wal Mart's are like weeds, if you don't take precautions they will take over your lawn. One of the last areas of "green space" in the middle of the city near where I live saw the city council secretly deliberate with Wal Mart on bringing one of their stores in to this location (even though one exists only miles away in a worse neighborhood), and when people found out, it caused an uproar. Moments like those restore my faith in humanity.
Here are what I see as the primary problems with Walmart (and other companies that pay their workers less than a living wage):
1.) Billions of our tax dollars are being spent to subsidize these companies indirectly.
They pay such low wages, their employees qualify for government programs which they actually need in order to live healthy lives. Walmart is one of the worst, not only because they are one of the nation's largest private employer, but because they embrace these programs and ENCOURAGE their employees to use them. They help their employees apply for foodstamps, sign up for subsidized heathcare like kids clinics and breast exam vans, etc. All Americans (including Walmart employees themselves if they pay income taxes) are providing Walmart employees with supplements to the income they WOULD BE receiving if Walmart paid a living wage. Not merely my opinion. Read about it Bloomberg Business News: How McDonald's and Wal-Mart Became Welfare Queens - Bloomberg
2.) As America's dominant retailer, the company has led the way in ensuring that U.S. manufacturing jobs are lost.
Our country lost 7 million manufacturing jobs between 1980 and 2011. Appliances, electronics, clothes, toys, housewares, and other things that used to be "made in the USA" are now made almost exclusively overseas because of the retail giants' insistence on paying the lowest possible wholesale price, even if it means exploiting workers and/or taking jobs from Americans who used to be able to support families on their labor. But, hey, don't listen to me, a person raised in the "rust belt." Read the statistics: NOT Made in America: Top 10 Ways Walmart Destroys US Manufacturing Jobs | Demos
3.) Can anyone still doubt that Walmart hurts entrepreneurship, small businesses, and family-owned retail establishments?
4.) There's no question that big box stores have a negative impact on the environmental resources we all share.
Walmart should be congratulated for recent initiatives to make their stores more "green" and reduce their carbon footprint (and lower their utility costs ... there's really not all that much altruistic about it). They do much less damage than they used to. And it's not all their fault, being tied in with urban sprawl, but the damaging effects of this corporate giant cannot be minimized in terms of its destructive force on our environment. The section in this article on "The Environment" explains it succinctly: Green America: Beyond the Wal-Mart Economy
5.) No way are the contributions of the Walmart Family Foundation a fair trade off for what the Walton family TAKES from our nation and its citizens.
First and foremost, keep in mind that the heirs of Sam Walton possess a combined personal fortune of $140 billion dollars in wealth. That's as much as 42 percent of the American population. A recent report revealed that neither Rob Walton nor Alice Walton has contributed a single dollar to the Walton Family Foundation, Jim Walton gave $3 million in 1998, and sister-in-law Christy has given $52 million. The Family Foundations charitable donations are less than one week’s worth of the Walmart dividends the Waltons will receive this year. Furthermore, it is less than the estimated value of Rob Walton’s collection of vintage sports cars. Also, the Walton family are among the nation's most creative in structuring their charitable donations to have the maximum positive impact on their tax participation. Certainly not against the law but personally I think it's unpatriotic. Walmart Heirs Have Given 0.04 Percent Of Net Worth To Family Foundation: Report
6.) More than they give to charity, the Waltons spend on lobbying to improve the tax status of America's wealthiest citizens.
Of course the charitable and estate planning practices employed by the Walton family are available to all and commonly used by those who fall into that income category. But the Waltons are one of the prime reasons those favorable laws exist for the rich. Daddy Sam was said to deplore politics, but his heirs are making up for it pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into lobbying for tax cuts for the super-rich and against anything that would require their corporation to spend money on their employees or the general public. They also are vehemently anti-union and contribute generously to anti-union politicians. They are always careful, though, to spend less on these activities than what they get back in terms of tax cuts. These artful dodgers "spend millions to save billions." Again, not merely my opinion: How Wal-Mart
The above should be read and understood by every Wal Mart shopper. My own personal observations is most people who frequent Wal Mart don't really care about its impact, they only care about how much money they save.
And then these same people kvetch about how America is "going down the tubes"....
^^When I go to Walmart it is b/c they have what I'm looking for. I said earlier in the thread, they carry uniform scrubs. Now someone kindly posted a link about buying US made scrubs online, but they only had one style and you had to order 400! I'd guess this is a supplier for hospitals. My Walmart scrubs were made in Mexico; one of my more expensive scrub tops was made in Honduras.
A truly progressive state like Vermont limits how many Wal Marts can be in the state. Wal Mart's are like weeds, if you don't take precautions they will take over your lawn. One of the last areas of "green space" in the middle of the city near where I live saw the city council secretly deliberate with Wal Mart on bringing one of their stores in to this location (even though one exists only miles away in a worse neighborhood), and when people found out, it caused an uproar. Moments like those restore my faith in humanity.
Ugh... having spent 75% of my life in New England (and now in a much more enlightening and enjoyable world, granted NH was awesome...) Look at VT (like MN, WI and CA)... Killington ski area attempted to secede from VT to NH, because of the stifling VT taxation. VT has voted more than once to secede from the union, and I would welcome that. Not that this has anything to do with W*l-mart, but the stigma of VT was: a Volvo 240 in the front yard, up on blocks, with a tree growing out of the open hood. The extension of 'closet space' was called 'the front yard'. Only met one person from UVM... no comment. Dated a few from Middlebury (Morgan horses are cool!), but they were unemployable. Calling it 'The Green Mountain State' is absolute fallacy, as the deforestation that occurred was almost incredible: http://www.uvm.edu/landscape/learn/D...s/forests2.pdf
'Progressive' is a PC term for something I cannot post here, or will get flagged, and I believe in keeping things civil.
I was taught a lesson several years ago.... (start-up guy here)... if you cannot design/build/sell something for less than the competition, you are called 'out of business'. Look at it this way.... if some of your jobs go overseas, for financial reasons, that is better than folding up shop and firing everyone. Pick your poison.
Just a personal opinion, but your 'faith in humanity' is not properly grounded, unless you are one of the rich.
JMHO
So nobody who works at Costco is on food stamps? Has $1 phones? Lives in Section 8?
Really? Are you sure about that?
I'm wondering how you know that.
Costco vs. WalMart has been studied to death. It's common knowledge that Costco pays better.
Read and learn:
Costco vs. Wal-Mart: Higher Wages Mean Superior Returns for Investors
"According to an article published last June in Bloomberg Buisnessweek, Costco pays its hourly workers an average of $20.89 per hour versus an average wage of $12.67 per hour for full-time Wal-Mart employees. The company also offers better benefits, such as health insurance and 401(k) plans, and it provides abundant opportunities for professional growth to employees at different levels."
Costco vs. WalMart has been studied to death. It's common knowledge that Costco pays better.
Read and learn:
Costco vs. Wal-Mart: Higher Wages Mean Superior Returns for Investors
"According to an article published last June in Bloomberg Buisnessweek, Costco pays its hourly workers an average of $20.89 per hour versus an average wage of $12.67 per hour for full-time Wal-Mart employees. The company also offers better benefits, such as health insurance and 401(k) plans, and it provides abundant opportunities for professional growth to employees at different levels."
Do read the links I posted about this issue as well. One reason for the higher wages is that there are fewer employees per SKU (stock keeping unit). One goes to Costco to buy IN BULK! That's not Walmart's thing.
Do you go to Costco to buy: a pair of shoelaces, a new cat box, and a Rockies T-shirt for the upcoming game? Of course you don't. You go to Costco to buy: a six pack of toilet cleaner AND a couple six packs of TP, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc.
I clean my toilet with a scrub brush because I'm against poisoning the planet. I don't have a cat and I don't care about the Colorado Rockies. My Birkenstocks don't need laces and I make my own laundry detergent (google "washing soda.")
Let's face it, for all the repeated reasons in this thread, WalMart is bad for the community and bad for the country. It's good for the Waltons, and basically nobody else. And this isn't coming from Mother Jones or the Daily Kos. This is coming from Forbes, Bloomberg and Motley Fool.
Why the Waltons have so many pom-pom waving cheerleaders is beyond me. Perhaps it has to do with this: Stephen King: Tax Me, for F@%&
Quote:
Originally Posted by Katiana
Do read the links I posted about this issue as well. One reason for the higher wages is that there are fewer employees per SKU (stock keeping unit). One goes to Costco to buy IN BULK! That's not Walmart's thing.
Again, another person presuming to know how I shop. Actually, I buy things like "a filet of steelhead trout," some ribeyes, parmesan cheese and coffee at Costco. I don't buy much in the way of durable goods there, because it's the same foreign-made crap that everyone else sells. I don't buy things in bulk. I prefer stores to do the warehousing, not my guest bedroom.
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