Walmart Neighborhood Market set to Open in Kingsport. JC coming next year

[Blue Ridge]

Originally Posted by tdatl

WalMart is the bogeyman because they're the biggest. Yes, there are legitimate gripes about some of their business practices (including labor ones they've been sued over), but largely how they treat employees is better than many of those small, local businesses everyone seems so enamored with. At least they offer health insurance, and they're now taking steps to increase employee pay nationwide above the minimum wage.

i'm old enough that I grew up when we bought everything from local businesses -- shoes at Wallace Shoes downtown, jeans at Wiseman's, things like that. And by the time I was in high school, many of the local places where we bought clothing were either severely hurting or gone, and it was before I'd ever heard of WalMart. They got killed or crippled in JC by JCPenney when they opened up in the JC Mall. And now JCPenney is dying because of other, more nimble retailers across the nation like Kohl's and Target. Adapt or die.

And I also have experience working with some of those wonderful local businesses, including two I worked for in JC during high school. I didn't find this out until maybe 15 years later when the Social Security Administration started mailing statements that showed your SS earnings for every year, but neither of them actually paid FICA taxes for me. They were breaking the law to save money, paying me off the books but pretending to do everything above board.

There was no way for me to know they weren't because you couldn't check your SS earnings back then. Shady bookkeeping. I have zero Social Security earnings the two years I worked for the two local businesses, one of which is still operating in JC. On the other hand, the national places I worked for always did things properly.

And I don't know about anyone else, but I've noticed where a WalMart SuperCenter opens, lots of other businesses open around it like remoras on a whale to feed off WalMart's customers.

People have selective memories about the 'good old days.'

Venture Downtown to share your sentiment with local retailers, restauranteurs, and their employees. I assure you, many will be quite happy to rebut.