How do you feel about Wal-Mart?

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-04-2008
How do you feel about Wal-Mart?
383
Wed, 11-26-2008 - 6:23pm

I read this op/ed (it's tied in with the automotive industry issues) http://www.indystar.com/article/20081119/OPINION12/811190304/1301/ARCHIVE the other day and it got me thinking. I've always heard about the lousy way they treat their employees but...it's their prices that keep me going back. Since I've moved to the South it's been even worse. They have Super Wal-Marts here where there is a grocery store in the Wal-Mart.

Now, there was an article the other day in my local newspaper with the mayor asking people to do their Christmas shopping downtown and buy local to support our mom & pop stores. Now, I'd love to do that but I have three kids and you know where I'm going.

Part of me really doesn't like what Wal-Mart stands for but the other part of me feels like "why should I pay more when I know I can get it cheaper there?"

Any thoughts?

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-26-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 12:10pm
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 12:46pm

I'm certain the Wal-Mart in question didn't cost federal taxpayers $420,750. It is very possible that people who work for the Wal-Mart may have cost federal taxpayers $420,750.

Would you prefer to cut off all federal benefits for anyone who works for Wal-Mart? Personally, I'd be opposed to that.

Many work part time for minimal wages, due to the severe cut offs of various federal programs. If you earn just a dollar above the federal cut off number, there is a risk of losing thousands of dollars monthly from benefits our federal government will no longer provide.

INS deals with every employer, so does child support, so does the IRS. Near me is a Wal-Mart I'm certain the health inspectors review it's Subway, and frozen food section. None of that bothers me, dealing with government and government agencies is part of doing business in the United States.

Wal-Mart is interested in keeping costs low. The greatest danger currently from Chinese imports is lead or other inappropriate additives, not terrorism. I think Wal-Mart has figured that out. Would we deny the people who run Wal-Mart the right to think differently from others? Aren't the people who run Wal-Mart entitled to their own opinion?

If DHS decides to tighten up on imports, it is up to the ports to handle it anyway, NOT Wal-Mart.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-26-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 1:48pm

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 2:13pm

I hope you realize that wakeupwalmart and many other anti Wal-Mart sites are run by unions which have their own agenda. An agenda which isn't consumer friendly.

If you want a paid internship at wakeupwalmart.com, you can apply via the women's studies department here - http://www.tcnj.edu/~wgst/internships/UnitedFoodandCommercialWorkersInternationalUnion-CampaignInternWakeUpWalMart.com.htm

The site is run by the - United Food and Commercial Workers International Union

Applications are sent to - Bette Mercer, Director, Human Resources Office
UFCW International Union
1775 K Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20006
Fax: 202-466-1501
Email: resume@ufcw.org

------------------------------

You are pasting propaganda from a union which seeks to benefit from controlling Wal-Mart staff at the expense of consumers.

I won't copy and paste the pro Wal-Mart propaganda here, but you can find it at - http://walmartstores.com/FactsNews/FactSheets/#CorporateFacts

There is more than one side to every story.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 2:18pm
But of course we realize that Walmart has no "agenda" - LOLOL
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-26-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 2:23pm

All the facts that were posted from that site were documented from such sources as the Wall Street Journal, CNN, Business Week, The New York Times, Bloomberg News, Associated Press, etc.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-13-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 2:35pm

Just came across this on MSNBC:


Police said about 2,000 people were gathered outside the Wal-Mart doors before its 5 a.m. opening at a mall about 20 miles east of Manhattan. The impatient crowd knocked the employee, identified by police as Jdimytai Damour, to the ground as he opened the doors, leaving a metal portion of the frame crumpled like an accordion.


Was he literally opening the doors?


Full length fiction: worlds undone

"You have no power over my body..." ~ Anne Hutchinson

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-20-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 4:20pm
I expect
iVillage Member
Registered: 11-19-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 7:18pm

>>> So earning 31% less is a good thing?

It depends on what the x+31% is, doesn’t it? It also depends on the accuracy and bias of the “study.” Did you know that the average McDonald’s worker makes 1000% less than your average CPA? Should we enact legislation to correct that inequity? After all, it’s fairness that counts, not experience or education or training or skills.

The fact is, Wal-Mart’s wages are comparable to Target, and probably to Kmart as well (starting around $7.50 in 2006), but these stores can pay all of it’s workers minimum wage if it likes…it’s the individuals who decide if that wage is sufficient for their services. Those that do, take the job, those that don’t, don’t.

>>> Now you see how 'hope and change' could motivate people - they probably 'hope' for a living wage.

If they want a “living wage” then they should get an education and develop skills beyond that of a teenager looking for a summer job.

>>> So, with a 50 to 70% decrease in small retailers following Walmart where do those workers go? To Walmart, where they earn significantly less then they had prior to Walmart's opening - more jobs? NO, just lower paying jobs.

So you’re saying that people should pay higher prices to prop up small retail stores? People have that option, but they choose Wal-Mart instead, so now we have liberals deciding that the people aren’t smart enough to choose where they want to shop so they’re going to make the choice for them by attacking Wal-Mart.

>>> 'Possibly a significant loss of jobs' How is that a good thing?

With a significant increase in jobs from Wal-Mart and the many, many stores that will set up shop nearby.

>>> So, the tax increase is short lived - and then becomes a tax decrease - how very profitable for the community - NOT.

Only if you consider a decade of increased revenue to be “short lived”…and limited to a decade only if you believe the conclusions of this particular “Iowa” study…which seems a bit spurious as it doesn’t offer any analysis as to why they believe tax revenues slipped.

>>> So, for the limited tax increase there is a offsetting increase in social program drain - how is that good for the community at large????

It’s a ridiculous allegation. Either the people are eligible for social programs or they are not…Wal-Mart didn’t magically make them eligible. And without the jobs that Wal-Mart (and the surrounding businesses) provides, it’s likely that there would be a lot more unemployed people making use of social programs.

>>> Sorry, I don't think you have proved your case. But, in researching this I think I have decided to limit my shopping at Walmart even more. Those 'low' prices seem to come with a pretty high price tag after all. Pay less now, pay more later. I prefer to 'pay' the cost when I am buying the merchandise, not down the line.

Obviously you’re free to shop where you like…and to believe “studies” that offer conclusions but no analysis. You also conveniently ignored many other pertinent facts…

” One study estimates that the average savings on groceries alone from a Wal-Mart or other food retail supercenter is about 20 percent of the average household’s food budget - an average annual savings of $1,335 for a household of four.” “it’s important to remember that lower food prices are especially beneficial for low-income consumers, who spend a higher percentage of their income on necessities such as food. "When communities try to keep a Wal-Mart out, it hurts all consumers, but, in particular, lower income households.”

Obama got elected by lying…er…promising 95% of Americans a $500 welfare check…Wal-Mart apparently offers $1,335 just in food savings. And then there’s the additional benefits…

“In addition, prices at neighboring stores - grocery stores, drug stores or variety stores - tend to decline when a Wal-Mart enters the local economy. "So, even if you never shop at Wal-Mart, your budget will likely benefit from having one nearby," Irwin said. One study examining store prices in 165 communities showed immediate price declines of 1.5 percent to 3 percent, and long-term reductions reaching up to 13 percent.”

And…

"The suggestion is that workers are worse off, but that depends on where, or if, they were employed before the Wal-Mart opened."

And a study found that jobs increased by 100 when Wal-Mart opened. Jobs equal taxes and local revenue.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-19-2008
Sat, 11-29-2008 - 7:28pm

The agenda of Wal-Mart is to sell stuff for less.

Is that really such a problem?

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