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221 Comments
- danielwsmithee, on 10/12/2007, -6/+55I won't shop at Walmart and I shop at Target instead. I could really care less about the traditional propaganda though. I shop at Target because I don't leave the store feeling like I want to kill myself. My complaints about Walmart.
1) The loudspeakers. Do I really need to know that someone is shoplifting on isle 35 every 5 minutes! Seriously invest in some cheep walkie-talkies!!!
2) The other customers. I don't mean to sound cruel or anything but look around it is depressing. I feel sorry for half of them, and the other half I hate because they will not get out my way!!!
3) The products. The last time I went to Walmart I was in Wisconsin visiting Grandma when I realized her Iron was going bad. I ran to the local Walmart to buy her a new one. The best Iron they had was $9.99 and did not even have automatic shut-off. Their products are so cheep they are garbage, you have to buy a new one very two months. I ended driving an extra 20 miles to the nearest Target with a decent selection from $9.99 to $49.99. I bought one for $29.99, because it was a basic Iron that felt like it would last. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -6/+39I live in San Francisco. There is no Walmart here, or Target, or K-mart. I find everything I need without an issue.
San Francisco must be a bunch of socialists. - oGMo, on 10/12/2007, -7/+39Er I think part of the problem is that they consume the local economy. Local shops can't survive, and people who would be working elsewhere *don't* have a choice. Small businesses go away. What happens to the mom'n'pop owners? They become Walmart drones? That's not choice, and if it was you can guess what they'd choose...
- pabster, on 10/12/2007, -7/+32Well, anyone who knows me (or sees my posts on Digg) knows I'm no ***** liberal, but I despise Wal-Mart. Not because of their size, not because of Capitalism (which I'm a huge proponent of), but just because of their ruthless business practices and poor treatment of their employees.
Sure, you can go get that China-made flag at Wal Mart for $5. I'll go downtown and buy one made right here for $25 and not think twice about it. - joewo, on 10/12/2007, -1/+26https://portfolio.du.edu/portfolio/getportfoliofile?uid=59044
Staff House Committee on Education and Workforce estimates Wal-Mart costs US taxpayers up to $2.5 billion/yr in federal assistance programs ...
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2005/54/Rank_1.html
Walton family worth $75+ billion and they cannot offer health insurance to their employees and rely on the taxpayers to foot that bill. And they are a Christian organization...um....that doesn't add up to me. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -7/+29Walmart is cheap, but at what cost? I don't just mean societally for the workers who have been advised by Walmart to seek government handouts to subsidize their low pay, but how much can this country really afford to give itself to China?
They own our bonds, and now they own the manufacturing too. Think about it. - stylerm, on 10/12/2007, -10/+31I'd shop at walmart if they let their workers form unions. Now they just work them all week w/o classifying them as full time so they dont get benefits.
- devnill, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19Note: i am a wal-mart employee
With that said, i think the article is total ***** on so many levels.
Last year we found some year old meat in the freezer. yes, year old as in over 365 days. What did managemewnt do with it? shelve it under "reduced for quick sale"
besides the meat, produce is equally bad. Fruit flys are always in the bins, and it is totally discuisting. by the time it is sold, its on the brink of being rotten, and any decent supermarket would never sell half of the parishable goods that walmart has on its shelves. Bread is also nasty. The bread in the back of the rack often molds over and needs to be thrown out. Often on register, i see these things and point it out to the customers so they arent ripped off (although im not supposted too).
The insurance walmart gives is absolutely horrible, and is not enough to meet the needs of 95% of people who opt-in to get it.
wages are horrible, and the management constantly sends mixed messages when it comes to working off the clock. I needed to go to personal the other day to fix my scedule, and management told me i couldnt do it because it was too busy, and that i should do it during my break. This is not legal becaus labor laws in my state say that no work related activites can be done off the clock, and break periods and counted as that time.
We are diciplined for overtime, and i often am not allowed to get off register to clock out in time. Also, we are also diciplined if we clock in late, even if we are accruing overtime.
It is a known fact that walmart can raise every employees salary by 1$ an hour if they raise all the items prices by 1 cent. This is not in their best intrest though because to walmart, profits are everything. Wone point of walmart's mantra is (and this is a direct quote) "Take their money, they will return!". On the first day of work during orientation, we are forced to watch a video that says walmart is pro-associate and not anti union. That is simply not true. Walmart has a paid "union buster" and vigorously resists them whenever possible. In canada legal precedings must be conducted beforea store can unionise, and walmart uses their legal power fo fight it tooth and nail. When unions succede, its not a pretty sight. the only canadian store that sucessfully unionised was closed after two months citing poor sales. The reason meat is no longer cut is because the meat workers were unionising. Now it is cut in factorys and shipped in pre weighed and packaged.
This only scratches the surface of the living hell known as walmart. I sincerely hope things change, but i doubt it will because money is everything in this country.
sorry about the length, but the sprawl mart needs to stop! - seanmc303, on 10/12/2007, -1/+19oGMo has it so right. I have personally witnessed many businesses in a small town go out of business due to the opening of a Wall-Mart. The people who used to work in those small businesses now all work at Wall-Mart, many of which make less money at Wall-Mart than they used to. The thing that sets Wall-Mart apart from the other big department stores is that Wall-Mart will intentionally target small communities. Soon enough small town down town looks more like a ghost town and they only thing left standing is a big ugly Wall-Mart. to sum things up, Borg is to Startrek as Wall-Mart is to the world.
- grenz, on 10/12/2007, -2/+20@Highborn
I find it the case that in many major metro areas there isn't a walmart and we can get on just fine. There is a misleading thought that walmart is the only one who can provide for all these needs.
The company sickens me. Who cares if people label me a socialist. Its the only bad word the fascists can think to call us - Hammerheart, on 10/12/2007, -6/+24Jakatak: First, yes I hear Wal-Mart employees complain all the time. How many of them do you know personally? Second, I'm not really impressed with your regular bbq sauce. It goes decent when cooked on chicken but its way too sweet for just about anything else. I haven't had the chance to try the other ones yet though.
By the way, I haven't ever seen your sauce in Wal-Mart. I got it at an Albertson's. - waynechng, on 10/12/2007, -3/+20"Wal-Mart provides an increasingly clear example of how capitalism can shower abundance on its entire population"
An abundance of crappy products. That's what capitalism and Walmart gets you. You end up paying multiple times for the same product cause you'll have to replace it. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -8/+24Krypton:
>Tirades against large, successful corporations that raise standards of living across the board are so en vogue these days
No one's ever accused Walmart of raising the standard of living. The Seattle Times even reported that their employees were so low paid, that it cost the state of Washington $16 million in subsidizing the employees health costs. - lateralus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19@pabster
Especially when the guy with the microphone is O'Reilly, Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter, Savage, Stosel, Gibson, Hedgecock... - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -4/+19@phil.busch
you write "That's capitalism for ya. If you want a socialistic business society, move somewhere else."
your right, so lets let companies do whatever the **** they want! slavery, child labor, etc. lets let companies get away with everything that way we can be a true capitalist country!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Jungle - ekso, on 10/12/2007, -4/+18Oh yeah, so the best thing is the most aggressive capitalism as possible. Let's just explore all this filthy mexicans coming inside the United States, they are not human beings after all. Let's just scam each other without any consideration of morality. Morality is for socialists, capitalists are just proud shoppers of Wal Mart, owners of big 2 gallons per mile SUVs. Let's all just kill each other so we can sell the (socialists) victims organs for the highest bidder. USSR is gone and capitalism is the winner! HURRAY!
God Bless America! - pabster, on 10/12/2007, -7/+20Don't forget the $30,000+ security camera package they roll out when the mere mention of "Union" floats through the store.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -1/+13I love wal-mart! why? Because I want to support a company that takes my hard earned money and invests it in communist China, sure communist China has human rights problems and public executions and yeah they have tried to steal military secrets to build up their military to wipe out taiwan and who knows what other countries and yes they are funding North Korea's military. But who cares about all that when can see how great prices are in the face of those dumb mom and pop shops that are stupid enough to believe that their workers should be paid a good wage and unionize.
/sarcasm - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+15"Many of Wal-Mart's critics are socialists who probably resent the fact that Wal-Mart provides an increasingly clear example of how capitalism can shower abundance on its entire population, as their socialist utopias never could."
If anyone can take this article after this ridiculous ad hominem attack and all the straw-manning going on here, that person really didn't need to read the article in the first place. "People hate Wal-Mart because they are jealous!" Give me a break. - 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -10/+21One Wal-Mart store in our county contributed over 2 million dollars in tax revenue last year.
Wal-Mart was the only new business submitted last year that didn't apply for a tax variance.
Most of the local businesses over 15 employees applied for the tax variance.
If it wasn't for Wal-Mart moving in, we probably wouldn't have a new elementary school being built. - zephc, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14Wal-Mart is *so* gauche. Seriously though, it's okay if you're broke and/or don't care that you're buying garbage.
- ekso, on 10/12/2007, -4/+14"The very fact that Wal-Mart is as widespread and successful as it is is a testament to how many peoples' lives are being improved by WalMart's presence."
Capitalism does not improve the life of the buyer, it improves the life of the SELLER. And if the seller does not take into consideration the consequences of his actions, it might not even improve his life. - forteller, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11- Wal-Mart is the largest reatiler in the world. (source (http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/2/prweb107311.htm))
- Wal-Mart is #1 on the Fortune 500 list. (source (http://www.fortune.com/fortune/fortune500))
- Wal-Mart employees earn, on average, 25% less than employees at competing grocery stores and discount stores. (source (http://www.pbs.org/now/transcript/transcript247_full.html))
- Wal-Mart gives more money to Republican politicians in the United States than any other company. (source (http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2004/07/25/rivalry_between_wal_mart_costco_also_extends_to_national_politics/))
From: http://www.knowmore.org/index.php/Wal-Mart_Stores%2C_Inc.
Founder Sam Walton once argued that his company should be exempt from the minimum wage. (Palast, 121). Wal-Mart has also been known to use union supression tactics on its employees in order to stop a union from entering it's stores. Some critics also claim that the store that closed in Jonquiere, Quebec was because of a successful union certification, although Wal-Mart claimed that the store was not making any money.
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Wal-Mart
According to striking workers at a Chinese factory that supplies Wal-Mart, "half of their wages were deducted to pay for their housing expenses while living in housing facilities."
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imports_and_globalization_of_Wal-Mart - sooperdooper, on 10/12/2007, -7/+17Ha! The "best parts" of this article belong in The Onion
- natterca, on 10/12/2007, -6/+15@EpicSA
Look what Unions did for GM...
Make it the largest corporation in the world? Contribute a large middle-class in America? Make life better for blue-collar workers?
Have you considered GM's woes are due to incompetent management? How many millions will the CEO receive while driving it into the ground? I'm sure the unions have accepted a number of pay cuts. Don't be a shill of the elite. - TubaTechno, on 10/12/2007, -4/+13"providing jobs to the elderly, economically-challenged, and poorly-educated; invigorating the economy of some small towns; and providing a one-stop-shop for reasonable products"
Since when does Wal-Mart invigorate the local economy? Yes it gives its workers more money, but it also gives them a place to spend it where the profits ARE NOT kept in the community, but rather sent off to headquarters..... - allthewhile, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11Look at what Unions have done for Public Education. Sheesh.
- devnill, on 10/12/2007, -1/+10yeah, im in college, and its just a summer job. I dont expect great pay, but walmart can pay more, or actually give benefits to employees. sacrificing everything for price is stupid, and is killing small town economys
- AKfortyseven, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Yeah, the author obviously didn't take logic (now "critical thinking") in college ;)
- ekso, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8"Wone point of walmart's mantra is (and this is a direct quote) "Take their money, they will return!"."
With this mantra, your very interesting post, plus the fact that the owners of Wal-Mart have 75 million in their pockets, I have the best base possible to say the following statement: Wal-Mart is capitalism at it's best!
(and no, I am NOT a socialist. but neither a capitalist.) - seanalltogether, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8danielwsmithee, your 3rd example is also one of the main reasons i find myself at target instead of walmart, sometimes you want to spend more if you feel the product will last longer
- MasterDwarf, on 10/12/2007, -1/+9I read an article in a small local paper called 'The Gist' that defended Walmarts position as the king of retail. One thing critics don't account for is that its the politics on the hill that drive people to Walmart. Walmart has decreased spending in households due to the discounted merchandise, and it takes advantage of tax incentives provided by people on 'the hill'. These are the same politicians that have screwed the middle class with heavy taxes and leaving them less money, ultimately giving them little choice.
If people really get to the bottom of it they'll realize there is more to the picture than the wagon that they can easily jump on. - lcohiomatty86, on 10/12/2007, -4/+12wal-mart and target are in different categories in a way...
walmart = cheatp
target = more money..
as they say.. "you get what you pay for"...
if you go to a cheap store you will be getting lower quality goods.. that, my friends, is why we have something called competition.. different stores appeal to different markets and customers. - TubaTechno, on 10/12/2007, -6/+13"As a result I can find lower prices, even though I don't shop there, and without even getting a raise I become richer. The only downside is traffic at the highway on-ramp will probably get pretty bad."
You see that as the ONLY downside?! What economics class did you take? You buy products from Walmart (and Target and Kirklands and other stores) that are cheap becasue they're from China...while all the while the US becomes more in China's debt. - IvyMike, on 10/12/2007, -0/+7But there is a Costco in SF:
http://www.costco.com/Warehouse/LocationTemplate.aspx?Warehouse=144
Where else could I have gotten a lifetime suppy of drinking straws? - shallowtrenches, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8It is interesting to me that the article defends Walmart on the basis of its exemplifying the 'free market'. A terrific essay in the June issue of Harper's magazine points out that rather than being a player within the free market, Walmart, by virtue of its size, is able to act as an authority outside and above the market.
Where in the past the US government tried to maintain the particular advantages of the free market through anti-monopoly legislation, the weakening of that legislation has allowed Walmart to dictate market conditions to its suppliers. This means that, rather than facing bankruptcy, which many of them do, Walmart's suppliers often choose (and are in fact encouraged) to charge other retailers a higher price for their goods.
Celebrating the success of Walmart seems like a celebration of the elimination of consumer choice and fair competition, which are cornerstones of any free market. All this on top of the aggregation of massive economic power in the hands of private entities, which are not even subject to a token election every four years. My decision not to shop at Walmart does not stem from a knee-jerk anti-corporate bias, or, according to one of the many ad-hominem attacks against Walmart's critics in this article, my jealous rage at anyone with wealth. - jpavlish, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8That may be true, but for small towns, Wal Mart is able to utilize predatory pricing or its "always low prices" strategy to bankrupt its mom&pop competitors, leaving them the only store for people to purchase goods, or find employment. So the employees working at these Wal-Mart stores may "agree" to work for those wages as you claim, but a broader perspective does not make it as voluntary as it seems.
It is true that Wal-Mart is the poster boy for capitalism, but at the same time it also highlights the exact same limitations and problems of capitalism. Take it for what it's worth. - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+9All I ever saw at Wal-Mart when I USED TO SHOP THERE were overweight mothers and fathers pushing their 7 year old children in carts at 3:00 a.m. while stocking up on potato chips and coke...
- yllabianbitpipe, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6My annoyance with WalMart (and many big box stores) is largely cultural. It's a completely utilitarian store, devoid of anything unique. If you buy clothes for instance, it doesn't matter if you shop in Arkansas or Washington, you get the same bland item. There is nothing personal or unique about it. Even the music, DVD selection, and books are generic and bland: Chicken Soup for the Soul, the latest Adam Sandler movie, Faith Hill. The most important thing is the price: cheap. I guess it's just a knee jerk reaction, but so much of America is filled with McMansion Manufactured Suburbia Homes filled with the same consumer goods. Eventually one result of globalization is going to be the same generic American culture across the globe. Culture is being sold out with every ring of the register. But it'll be cheap, that's for sure.
- KryptoniteKid, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8@devnill
Why do you continue to work there? You sound truly miserable. Will no other employer hire you? Also, why would anyone in his/her right mind buy rotting fruit? If I were to ever buy a moldy loaf of bread from a grocery store or some rotten fruit, I wouldn't be likely to return. - fatdog789, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6Critical thinking is an outgrowth of logic that uses logical paradigms to perform analysis on information/data that cannot be analyzed within a strictly logical framework, ie, literature, politics, sociology, etc.
- Garaphin, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I find Wal*Mart simply offers a poor shopping experience. I choose Target because the aisles are wider, it's cleaner, they don't just throw palettes of crap merchandise everywhere, and the staff seems more courteous. Wal*Mart's shelves are sloppily stocked and the store-brand merchandise just feels "cheap". Target understands that Design sells right now too and makes you feel good about your purchase on multiple levels, aesthetic being one of them. Wal*Mart wins on price only and it may bite them in the ass someday.
- AKfortyseven, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6"That statement is completely absurd. Did you basically just make that up?"
Wow... look up loss leader and then put your foot in your mouth. Idiot. - drawkbox, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5I have no problem with walmart I just dont like to shop there. I support online stores as much as possible because I want the market to go there. BUT, when comapnies are rich, like the Rockefellers, Microsoft etc, they usually GIVE ALOT of MONEY. But The waltons are the LOWEST on the charitable and philanthopy scales for their level of wealth. What does that say about them? By the way I am a big fan of Capitalism my Duthc people invented it and they also invented metropolis and New Amsterdam, later New York. Capitalism is the only way but it doesn't mean you have to be so stingy.
- EpicSA, on 10/12/2007, -9/+14Look what Unions did for GM...
- culbeda, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8There are plenty of valid reasons outside of the quality of their merchandise, the annoying music, etc...
* They have a history of mistreating employees, denying benefits, etc. to keep their costs low. Meanwhile, stores like Costco are competitive without such practices.
* They screw smaller manufacturers by becoming their largest customer and at the expense of their other clients and then "re-negotiating" to the point of nearly bankrupting their them.
* They buy up cheap land, create a strip mall around their store, sell those spaces at an inflated cost, then move a few years later screwing out all of the businesses that moved in around them so they can do it all over.
* They local stores out of business and decrease the size of the middle class in many of the smaller communities they inhabit.
I've personally witnessed all of the above. I don't need to take the word of others on these matters. They are a symbol of the dark side of capitalism. - pabster, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6No, it is the consumer who readily purchases the Chinese goods.
If everyone quit buying them, do you think they'd still produce them? - joeyjoeyjoey, on 10/12/2007, -2/+7Housing prices are high, gas is over 3 dollars a gallon. Half my monthly salary goes to house payments. The other half goes to daily living and nothing is left over for savings for my child (living paycheck to paycheck w00t) Until the cost of living drops or I get like a 50% salary raise every year I for one am thankful that Wal mart is around to keep the cost of food/toilet paper/dish soap/shampoo... you get the picture low for me since the way wellfare is set up I just make a tad more than what they consider poor.
I am the typical lower middle income college grad class person. I make enough not to live in shelter but thats about it. MTV gave me visions of more but lets face it when I can buy something at walmart for 1 dollar less and save that dollar guess where I'm buying it. - meshgiath, on 10/12/2007, -3/+8Ever seen "Wal Mart : The High Cost of Low Prices"? Want to? You'll never shop @ wal mart again. The extent to which they compromise the ideal of "America" on a daily basis is disgusting.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8999161366242516685&q=walmart - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5That only applies if those workers are able to choose different jobs, which they are not in many cases. Low pay and no benefits is better than no pay and no benefits. I think an argument can be made either way though, since I think Wal-Mart can be pretty clearly shown to be exploiting these people, but at the same time they are probably making their lives better.
Of course, I'm not sure the idea that corporations have no social responsibility is really too popular anymore either. -
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