New ANTI-Wal-Mart TV Commercial

That short-sighted attitude is exactly what got us into this pickle in the first place.

Just because a mom and pop shop can't compete with the long reaching arms of a Wal-Mart does NOT man that mom and pop shop was ineffective, poorly run, OR overpriced.

You know better than that... You damn well know it is IMPOSSIBLE to compete with Wal-Mart, even if you have ZERO employees and low overhead.

 

but that is just it... i dont know better than that. i stopped buying american cars about 20 years ago. i stopped looking at them about 10 years ago... that s right... dont even consider what they have to offer anymore.

is that right?? of course it isnt. it limits my options and that is always a mistake. i shouldnt be doing it but i do and i feel very little regret over that.

besides, many american companies have long since abandoned us anyway. in many areas, i dont have a choice.... try buying a tv from an american company... is there an american company that sells tv's anymore?

you say that if its designed in japan but sold in america (i know you did not specify, but i get the implication) then that is ok... i do know that the Prius is not built here, but i do know that Toyota is responsible for the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of americans and they pay well and from what i gather, their employees are treated very well at least they show that by having one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the country.

well, a very large chunk of Toyota is american owned because of its availability of stock. so when i buy a Toyota, am i turning my back on america??? or am i just doing what americans always did by supporting the winning team?

to me, being american is a concept born from how america was built. a struggle against the elements that forced people from a diverse background to come together to survive. it was blend or die... we decided to blend. "americans" were conceived because we didnt care where a process, product or a worker came from. we used what we had and did the best we could and actually did very well for ourselves.

so now that we are established... why should we change that ideology?? why should we stay with a sinking ship? thousands of businesses have come and gone... that will never change. walmart did not start that trend. and fact of the matter is.... if the business is good, it will find a niche and survive... walmart never had the ability to destroy a well run business, only the ones that did not deserve to survive.

 

I have to agree with this.

Having worked at a small "mom and pop" high end car stereo joint since 1994 I know how it feels to have a big box retailer, or three, come into your town. The costs of items in the area drop because the big box store has massive buying power and can afford to sell at the lowest suggested manufacturers price. This cuts an already feeble price point. Sales at the small store drop simply due to less foot traffic because people like to have a 1-stop shopping experience. Because these people are overworked (so they can afford more crap) they do not/cannot spend the time needed to visit multiple small stores. I completely understand of course, this is how the masterminds in marketing have designed it.

Now toss in the internet market and you've further cut profits AND you have people come in to seek your knowledge on a product they are going to buy or have bought on the internet. It's a very frustrating situation. Sure we could try to sell on the internet but since none of the high end manufactures we have contracts with allow that sort of thing we are crippled and rightly so because the internet does not help the local economy at all.

/rant off

 

i have seen small stores go under and have seen small stores revamp their product lines, found a niche and prospered. walmart did not do any of that... and besides, you act as if this is something new.

they said the same thing for Wards, Sears, and K mart...

 

Regardless of their "revamping".. Wal-Mart, due to its mammoth size and reach, has an extreme upperhand on any mom and pop store when it comes to PRICE.

When they buy in such large quantities, quantities a mom and pop store couldn't even comprehend buying, they get huge discounts and breaks.

Why do you hate mom and pop stores? Why would you rather support a corporation and props up child slave labor, exploitation of less fortunate countries, communism, and many other evils.. rather than spend a few extra bucks.

Are you that poor that you'd rather sell your soul than support your local economy?

 

Unfortunately, too many WEs don't care where their cheap crap is made, who makes or under what conditions. They just want it cheap. That's why we have outsourcing. No one wants to pay the cost of goods to have U.S. workers produce them. And WalMart et al can make more profit selling cheap goods made in China than cheap goods made in the U.S.

 

Bingo! What he said.

I used to shop the local Mom and Pops even if it was a little more expensive and the selection was a little less. Unfortunately....they're not there any more.

 

How do I buy American?

I buy vintage. I'll check out estate sales, yard sales, thrift stores, etc and buy vintage items made in America back when you could get items made in America. I need a table or a bed? I buy an "antique".

Obviously I can't do that for everything.

I sew. American made clothes are not a problem. But the fabric is made out of the country. However the cotton used to make the fabric was grown in this country and then exported to be made into yardage. So...is it American cotton or Foreign fabric? (It's both. And a result of changes in corporate tax codes. AND the price of a yard of cotton went from $2.00 a yard in the 70s to $10.00 a yard now.)

It's a little harder with food. I still haven't identified a local Farmer's Market that actually offers local produce. I grow my own lemons and will be putting in a garden this spring. (I'm thinking of getting into worms too....composting.) And my parents have fruit trees and a very large garden so I can always eat their produce in season. But none of us can grow all of our food needs. Freezing and canning can't completely cover out of season needs. I don't own a cow or chickens, so forget eggs, milk or butter. I can bake my own bread, but need flour. As far as I know, we don't grow or refine wheat locally.

I think it's a mistake to become isolationist and consume only American made/grown. But I do think the power of the dollar can be a lot more influential than is currently being practiced. We can harness the power of the dollar to "consume for good". But that would take a huge, organized portion of the buying public. And too many people just want it cheap. Hence the success of WalMart.

 

One of the reasons Wal Mart is so hated for importing Chinese sweatshop goods is that they are largely one of the reasons the goods are made in sweatshops. Wal Mart dictates its prices to manufacturers, and the only way manufacturers can afford to sell to Wal Mart at that price is to use sweatshop labor.

They also encourage low-paid employees to get on government health programs to cut insurances costs.

Wal Mart is also repeatedly nailed for sweatshop violations.

...and the owning family, the Waltons, influence some of the greediest tax policy Washington crafts to help the rich.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, by contrast, are for the taxes the Waltons fight.

 

I think there's a difference between buying from Japan and buying from China. Japan competes on innovation, quality, and technology, which is a healthy part of globalization. Japan has good working and environmental standards, so even though there may be a trade imbalance, it's an ethical one.

China, on the other hand, competes with penny-wage labor, poor working and environmental regulation, and limited oversight. The fact that we have contaminated toothpaste or lead-based paint on toys is simply a manifestation of a much deeper problem. This sort of globalization isn't healthy.

Point taken on the American companies not really being "American" anymore, though. More consumers should demand American-made goods.

 

I don't shop at WalMart.
They attract the uneducated, the immigrants, or the elderly, as workers, pay them miserably, force them to work off the clock, and do not provide benefits, which means that all these people are on some form of public assistance.

WalMart has had more than one court judgment against them, due to their employment practices.

I also tend to avoid other large "box stores" when I can.

 

The only good part about Walmart for me, is that when I visit, I'm the best looking guy there.

 

Yeah, unless I'm there! Another little-known Wally World factoid...

If you have a heart attack in their store it is against Walmart company policy for an employee to call 911. I just recertified for CPR and that's what the instructor told us. Something about Walmart being liable for ambulance charges if the ambulance was not needed. Yes, they REALLY care about their customers!

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/view/#rest
Walmart is the cause of the loss of US manufacturing.
This is a must watch online video "Is Walmart Good For America"

 

well...remember in my first post, i said you all wouldnt like what i had to say.

now, i think we have to realize that i am more on your side than you think. you (generally speaking to no one in particular) bring up valid points in many areas and that is not what i disagree (not the most appropriate word here) on. however, i contend that if walmart had never been born, the problems we face would be just as big and just as important.

to say that walmart employees do not get paid well is not news or significant. i work at a job with 2 child dependents that i pay healthcare coverage for thru my employer and i STILL QUALIFY for public assistance for medical coverage. Ryland is now 8 months old, 100% his mother's prenatal care, 90% of his delivery costs which includes 4 days in hospital, and 75% of his well baby care is covered by the state after my insurance. with all that, i am still looking at a significant amount of out of pocket expenses WITH the $120 a month for insurance premiums. now do i make bad money???... not really, at least not in 90% of the country...

so now we need to stop looking at individual events that involve walmart and look at a much bigger picture. the fact is, in a one income family, a very very small percentage of incomes would be high enough for one to not qualify for any assistance at all.

so what is the percentage of single income families out there?

how many of these families were out on the job market because welfare pushed them out?

how many employers are willing to take a single mother who has been out of the workforce for years?

and if the employer did, how much should they be paid? good money and hope the employee is worth it?? or should it be steeply tiered pay system that rewards longevity and reliability?

i have looked at those questions and i dont see any employer including walmart that stands out. in my state alone, the "put welfare mothers to work" program has booted 200,000 off welfare in the past 15 years. less than a third have come back. so now we have underemployed (or underpaid, whatever) people who need SOME assistance as opposed to a welfare mother with less self esteem, who needs COMPLETE assistance?

before we read a news story, lets keep in mind that the printed media is 99% BS... (think about it, not much argument here right?) so why do we choose to listen to a handful of one sided stories against walmart? well, if walmart was not the biggest retailer, these stories would have never made it past the junior editors desk and WE ALL KNOW THAT.

so how is your opinion of walmart really formed? i bet most of your ideas happened the same way as mine... thru no personal experience...just from stuff i read. like you i had the impression that walmart was the big ugly beast that served no useful purpose in the world... (or was i jealous at the money they made?)

well, i have been to walmart 2 or 3 times in my life including this past tuesday. i frankly did not see any bums, large percentage of illegal immigrants or nothing else people here claim to see. must have been my lucky day... or one of walmarts better customers day.

now i did get two 24 gallon totes for $5 each made in china by 11 year old twins farmed out by an abusive father who... oh heck!!...reading too many newspaper articles again...

 

Respectfully, we're not talking about a few rogue reporters here. Wal Mart imported $15 billion from China in 2003, accounting for 11% of all imports from the country. That's huge! If Wal Mart were a country, they'd be the fifth biggest importer of Chinese goods.

California taxpayers contributed an average of $1952 dollars per worker in government aid to Wal Mart employees around that time, a full 39% more than other retailers employing over 1000 workers. They're a measurably worse offender than other companies.

Also, Wal Mart is the biggest political contributor in the country. The Walton family themselves contributed over $3 million to try to repeal the estate tax (which would save them literally billions).

Your retort that you went to a Wal Mart and didn't observe a problem and that you don't trust a few news stories ignores the wealth of statistical proof of the detrimental impact of Wal Mart.

 

ok...now the point of my posts is not to say whether anyone should shop at walmart. up until about 6 months ago, i never shopped there and for the past 3 years, i've had 3 superstores all within 25 miles of me. so i have been there twice in my life so i probably am not qualified to comment on who shops there anyway.

my only point is that walmart did not destroy the american product market. walmart is not the reason why a great portion of working americans cannot afford health care. that is all i am saying

 

Well, I think you're spot on that Wal Mart isn't the only reason, but stating things a slightly different way I'd claim Wal Mart is at least a big contributor (perhaps one of the largest) to problems like offshoring to China and erroding American worker benefits.

 

if that is the case, then how is it that walmart also took tech support, general customer service, BPO's etc off shore as well...they are big, but i dont think they had anything to do with anything much other than retail goods.

 

True, the vast majority of offshoring casued by Wal Mart is in the manufacturing sector.

In a way, I think the exportation of manufacturing jobs paved the way for the exportation of white collar jobs, though I wouldn't directly blame Wal Mart for that.