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It's amazing that so many people don't get the economic, environmental, and social costs that go with shopping at Wal-Mart. But then that's the 'Merica we live in now, isn't it.
It's amazing that so many people don't get the economic, environmental, and social costs that go with shopping at Wal-Mart. But then that's the 'Merica we live in now, isn't it.
All these brainwashed Americans will understand things more clearly in 20 years when every U.S. company is owned by China --- then they'll be slaving 18 hrs. a day as their Chinese bosses crack the whip and threaten harsher penalties if they don't comply with strict Communist ideals.
That is our future, all because some people wanted cheaper stuff and bought it with credit cards (issued by U.S. banks that have most of their assets owned by China).
I did all business possible at a second-generation mom-n-pop-hardware store whenever possible. And my concern is more sociological than economic but equally valid.
Going to their place was like a town meeting. It was a chance to catch up with the local news - the kind you wouldn't read in the paper. The coffee pot was always on. The old wooden floor made comforting creaky sounds when you walked in. They even still had the old tin roof ceiling. The place gave me a sense of continuity. A person left feeling well-treated and thanked for their business.
After running in the red for many years they finally had to close. And with them went one more impromptu opportunity to build sense of community.
I shop at Walmart sometimes. It's in and out with my blinders on so I'm not reminded of all the things that I don't like about current society. It serves but I don't consider it a pleasant or accommodating experience.
No wonder we've become such a self-centered people. Everybody's screaming at the top of their lungs "I count! Certainly I must. Don't I?" Heh.
Another problem is the service stinks compared to what it once was at most of the "mom and pop" shops. Guess times have changed huh? Maybe they should start calling them "Mr. Mom and Floppy" shops now
May I ask what mom and pops? There are none left because Walmart and Target and other big box stores have effective eliminated the competition. Sure there are a few "over-priced" boutique shoppes still around for folks who want to splurge, but there are no small competitive stores in town offering what Walmart offers. The reason they are "over-priced" is because they can't compete with Walmart's strong arm tactics of extorting suppliers.
Even prior to Walmart, Home Depot, etc entering the mix, people said they only went there after they'd looked everywhere else and couldn't find something, b/c their prices are higher.
As I said, when Walmart came in to the town just to the east of us, there was no downtown left. That was 1987.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Antsy994
I'd rather pay an extra $30 for a lawnmower made in the USA vs. in China because at least I know the American workers who made that mower will be spending their wages in America and contributing to our taxbase and improving roads, helping our military vets, building schools, etc.
When you buy cheap junk at Wal-Mart --- you're just feeding our enemy so they can cyberattack us more frequently, steal our secrets and buy up more of our debt to cripple us in an economic Armageddon.
Good for you! Where do you find an American-made lawnmower? It's also nice you have the money to pay more. My guess is it's more than a $30 differential, too.
It's amazing that so many people don't get the economic, environmental, and social costs that go with shopping at Wal-Mart. But then that's the 'Merica we live in now, isn't it.
So where do you shop?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lodestar
I did all business possible at a second-generation mom-n-pop-hardware store whenever possible. And my concern is more sociological than economic but equally valid.
Going to their place was like a town meeting. It was a chance to catch up with the local news - the kind you wouldn't read in the paper. The coffee pot was always on. The old wooden floor made comforting creaky sounds when you walked in. They even still had the old tin roof ceiling. The place gave me a sense of continuity. A person left feeling well-treated and thanked for their business.
After running in the red for many years they finally had to close. And with them went one more impromptu opportunity to build sense of community.
I shop at Walmart sometimes. It's in and out with my blinders on so I'm not reminded of all the things that I don't like about current society. It serves but I don't consider it a pleasant or accommodating experience.
No wonder we've become such a self-centered people. Everybody's screaming at the top of their lungs "I count! Certainly I must. Don't I?" Heh.
You don't see people you know in Walmart? I do. Frankly, WM is often a neighborhood meeting place, ditto Lowe's, Home Depot, Kohl's, etc. Before we got a Kohl's, there was no place in my town to buy clothes and shoes.
I consider Walmart the worst of the big box stores.
At least Home Depot and Lowes carries a fair range of choices and price ranges for most products. And the employees at our local HD and Lowes will send you right back to the little local guy when the big box does not have what you need instead of trying to sell you the wrong stuff.
Walmart...
Wages..associates are always paid minimum wage...that's as low as $5.15 in Wyoming and Arkansas. That's below the poverty level for even just one person in a household, and assuming Walmart would give you 40 hours/week. They generally keep associates below 28 hours/weeks so they are not eligible for benefits.
Benefits...only after 2 years of employment to associates working more than 27 hours/week. Even among the employees who are eligible, they cannot afford it. And there is truly no reason to pay for it because the plan is totally lacking, except for the things mandated by ACA, which would be cheaper out of pocket rather than pay for their health care insurance. Not only is the premium too expensive for the employees on the wages they earn but the plan carries a $10,000 annual deductible before the insurance pays for anything. Only 16% of all Walmart employees carry company-sponsored insurance.
Real Estate/Tax Incentives...Walmart negotiates incentives in almost every market it enters. They get a break on taxes and are allowed to do some things that smaller businesses are not privy to with the local government. Walmart purchases a moderately sized parcel for the first store, opens 2-6 more within 50 miles. Then within a 3 year period they start abandoning the older, smaller properties, purchasing larger, supercenter properties within 1 mile of the older stores to build a brand new store. There are hundreds of abandoned Walmart properties across the US. I looked at a large state like TX and they have 30 stores that have been vacant for over 3 years. There are many more being abandoned every day. Many stores remain vacant for over 10 years.
US manufacturing jobs...only 15% of what is sold at Walmart is made in America. Most of their "made in America" products are now the grocery items. I'm sure the packaged, non-perishable items are fine but I don't want the lowest bidder to provide my meat and produce. To produce those items in such large quantity there is no getting around the use of antibiotics in animals and pesticides and fertilizers on plants.
Bottom line...you pay less for the products you buy at Walmart but you are paying to support the employees of the largest employer in the US through your taxes. They employ 2.2 million Americans who are taught by their employer how to apply for food stamps, fill out forms so their kids get free breakfast/lunch/and dinner, and how to apply/search for subsidized housing. Since all American must have health insurance they are now being shown how to apply for Medicaid since they are way below the income levels to purchase on the exchange market with the help of a goverment rebate. The prices may be cheap at Walmart but our taxes will need to increase in this generation to support the millions of Americans who cannot earn a living wage. We are giving more to our charities with food and clothing drives than any other time in American history so the employees of the Walmart Corporation can have food to eat and clothes to wear. Isn't that ironic?
These people are your neighbors and the kids that your kids go to school with. Since department stores like JCPenneys, Sears, Kohls have to cut staff to compete there are fewer jobs outside of the Walmart world. And if you don't want the brands/styles/selection that Walmart offers you need to travel to a larger market or purchase online. Then there's the blight of abanadoned buildings and acres of cracked asphalt when Walmart builds a new supercenter. good for over night campers, not good for the local land value if you're trying to sell a home nearby.
Try just for one month not to go into Walmart and see how you might be able to manage. I had to change a few strategies like doing some shopping on my way home from work. Walmart is the closest store to my home which is convenient on evenings and weekends. But I pass many other grocery stores and malls on my way home from work. So dinner is a bit later on Tuesday and Thursday evenings now. I shop for general merchandise on Tuesdays after work (clothes, household stuff) and wait for the Wednesday grocery ads to shop on Thursday after work. Just try it.
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tallturtle
I think WM only impacts very rural areas it moves into. There's a big chance it would wipe out small businesses with it's convenience and low prices in that type of area. If it comes into a larger city, there's really no impact...it's just a matter of shoppers preference/maintaining bragging rights and the ability to say "I bought local".
^^^^Walmart may not have a big impact in a large metropolitan area (unless it's in an inner city desert island) but there are many smaller towns and cities where Walmart was a death sentence to those independent owners (and some of whom paid their employees better wages and even insurance).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jukesgrrl
6.) [b] More than they give to charity, the Waltons spend on lobbying to improve the tax status of America's wealthiest citizens.
Excellent post Jukesgrrl. Has anyone mentioned the documentary "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of a Low Price." Talk about "charity" there is a section in the documentary where Mr. Walton's family asked the employees for donations (can't recall the amount they raised) and the insulting amount the Walton's gave.
Quote:
Originally Posted by WiseManOnceSaid
May I ask what mom and pops? There are none left because Walmart and Target and other big box stores have effective eliminated the competition. Sure there are a few "over-priced" boutique shoppes still around for folks who want to splurge, but there are no small competitive stores in town offering what Walmart offers. The reason they are "over-priced" is because they can't compete with Walmart's strong arm tactics of extorting suppliers.
^^^ and exactly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Antsy994
All these brainwashed Americans will understand things more clearly in 20 years when every U.S. company is owned by China --- then they'll be slaving 18 hrs. a day as their Chinese bosses crack the whip and threaten harsher penalties if they don't comply with strict Communist ideals.
That is our future, all because some people wanted cheaper stuff and bought it with credit cards (issued by U.S. banks that have most of their assets owned by China).
China is very concerned because now there are other countries that can do the same as them with even lower wages.
Last edited by Oldhag1; 06-08-2014 at 01:30 PM..
Reason: Fixed formatting
No wonder we've become such a self-centered people. Everybody's screaming at the top of their lungs "I count! Certainly I must. Don't I?" Heh.
The six Walmart kids don't give a flying patoot about the American people. All they want is our dollars and then y'all can rot in a gutter. They got their billions stashed away in some Cayman Islands bank account tax-free with an army of lawyers protecting it and they'll live a sheltered life while their 2.5 million employees get treated like human garbage. That's the real "Wal-Mart Way".
The Wal-Mart in my town was built in 1989 on the site of a small amusement park where people could enjoy a warm summer evening playing mini-golf and riding go carts with their kids. Now, it's a wicked cesspool of Chinese Communism where American ideals are laughed at while they pilfer the money from your wallet by selling you cheap plastic crap and poisoned GMO food. What a great place, huh?
If the town did not have any other options WalMart is a good thing, and there are thousands of small towns where this was the case. Before WalMart, for most of these communities, the only big box stores in town were either a K Mart, JC Penny or Sears. WalMart may not create a lot of jobs, and they may not be the best jobs, but it is not as though the alternatives were actually hiring people in that community. In most cases people were traveling an hour or more to a larger town to work and shop, and a few people that were not necessarily attached to that town figured it just made more sense to live there than to continue to make the commute.
The real issue is one of local politics; chances are the owners and in some cases those that worked at what few stores existed in that small town had a true say in the future of the town. WalMart disrupts the continuity of those small towns, and the true threat is in having an outsider weigh in. In those small towns you have complex relationships with influential people that you do not have always have access to in a larger city, and if the writing is on the wall when a WalMart moves in and a highway makes it easier to get into the town, etc. that changes the reality of your day to day life there. Most documentaries about WalMart's influence capture this well I am just mentioning it because no one appears to have hit on this so far in the forum.
Another interesting aspect is that, from what I've experienced, WalMart is only interested in towns with a population of at least 10,000 or more. Truly small towns, with say, 500 or 1,000 people, WalMart is not interested in because a WalMart would be unsustainable there, although in the past large businesses may have courted them before. The threat in those towns is more along the lines of a Subway or McDonald's opening up shop, or perhaps a 7 Eleven wants to build or take over a gas station in a one traffic light town. WalMart is only now interested in developing convenience stores because that is their final frontier, but 7 Eleven is such a powerful force in this country it will be interesting to see how it all pans out. If you cannot get a traditional WalMart, or a Supercenter, or a Neighborhood store that only sells groceries, then perhaps you can get the WalMart convenience center.
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and exactly.
