WalMart blocked in San Diego....

[ginzo]

I have no real problem with walmart, if you eat Mcdonalds, use any microsoft product, you have no reason to bash Walmart for how it runs its business

 

No. There's really no comparison there. McDonald's and MSFT combined don't have anywhere near the muscle that Walmart has. And I'm very familiar with Microsoft. Walmart has the clout to push P&G around. Who else can do that?

 

 

Money is the name of the game

 

I don't deny my own moderate greed. But, there are other values by which we can govern our lives than just getting rich at any cost.

[ParkTrips]

This is pretty eye opening.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

hah I enjoyed that, especially to think I can (even in a fairly remote sense) blame the "evils" of Wal Mart on William Jefferson Clinton.

 

That just reminded me how normal Wal Mart's practices are.. heck, our own government does that sort of stuff. My mom often deals with contracts, bids and proposals and such, and its funny to think how similar the tactics of the federal government with those of Wal-Mart.

[RCFreak]

its funny to think how similar the tactics of the federal government with those of Wal-Mart.

 

Some how this does nothing to comfort me.

 

 

 

 

I don't go to Wal-Mart. It's not that I'm against it, I have friends who shop there, and there's nothing wrong with that. I just don't personally have any experience shopping at Wal-Mart, not that there's anything wrong with that. I mean there are plenty of respectable people who shop at Wal-Mart. But I just have to respect that people make the choice to shop at Wal-Mart.

[BiCoastal Kid]

All chains use their muscles some way or another. Wal-Mart happens to be better at it because they have a bigger shopping-base. If Best Buy sold groceries I'm sure they'd have an energy drink, too.

[ScOtT k]

Wal mart attempted to open a supercenter in our town, next to a NATURE PRESERVE. Our town fought back, and more than 600 people wrote letters to our mayor in protest of wal mart. Wal mart never did open the store in our town.

 

Instead it moved to an extremely republican county a few miles down the road.

[FlyingScooter]

i thought the Sear/Kmart Merger was odd. Kmart's been on the decline for years and looked it. Sears had been declining, but somehow still looked nice and had people that knew what they were talking about (tool dept, auto care etc.)

 

Since that merger, if you go to a Sears tool dept, they can't tell the differance between a drill bit and table saw. (I'm not kidding on this one either. I needed some drill bits and i couldn't find them, the sales attendant took me to table saws. I asked her why she took me there and she innocently said: Isn't that what these are? ( she was pointing at a stack of clearly marked items that read: Circular Saw Blades.

 

the Kmart around me use to have the best submarine sandwiches though. Miss those.

 

 

Great article, Wes.

[BeemerBoy]

This is pretty eye opening.

 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

 

Wes, thanks for posting that. Truly eye opening indeed. Joe, I know you had said earlier in the thread that it's so easy to hate a huge successful corporation. Well, the truth is, I don't begrudge any business for striving to become successful, and essentially cornering the market in whatever realm they are involved in. However, what this video showed was the true underlying reason why I have grown to despise Wal-Mart. It's more a matter of how you attain success, rather than if you do.

 

When all is said and done, everything can always be broken down into simplest terms, and this is how I see it (and forgive me, from the computer I'm sitting at right now, I'm not able to rewatch the video). I believe the gentleman at the shareholders conference eluded to the fact that sales (?) for that particular year reached somewhere near 300billion (or at least some rediculous figure like it). He commented (paraphrasing)that that was like one HP, one Microsoft, one etc. etc., and oh yeah, still with a couple hundred billion left over. Therein lies my point......how big do you honestly need to get?

 

Again, there's nothing wrong with growing your company to its fullest potential, but at some point, and specifically Wal-Mart's, at what expense is it necessary to conquer the entire world of one-stop shopping outlets? And, more importantly, at whose expense? Evidently, many hard working Americans' who helped build the companies that acted as loyal suppliers to the almighty Wal-Mart. It's at this point that it simply becomes an ethical question. I guess you need not own a conscience to be CEO of Wal-Mart. I guess the need to crap in a gold plated toilet at home is more important than working with tried and true American mainstay companies like Rubbermaid, etc., rather than helping to close their American plants......and all for a few cents off a rubber gargbage can or a jar of pickles?

 

Someone should remind Sam Walton's family and all who operate Wal-Mart that you never see an armored Brink's truck following a hearse.

[mr_teisco_delrey]

In a nutshell:

 

http://www.jibjab.com/originals/originals/jibjab/movieid/122

[FlyingScooter]

I have no real problem with walmart, if you eat Mcdonalds, use any microsoft product, you have no reason to bash Walmart for how it runs its business

 

No. There's really no comparison there. McDonald's and MSFT combined don't have anywhere near the muscle that Walmart has. And I'm very familiar with Microsoft. Walmart has the clout to push P&G around. Who else can do that?

 

 

Money is the name of the game

 

I don't deny my own moderate greed. But, there are other values by which we can govern our lives than just getting rich at any cost.

 

 

Ginzo: You are right about Walmarts muscle. If they wanted to buy McDonalds, they could without batting an eye over it. At that same time, they could buy Burger King, Kfc and Taco Bell.

I wonder when they will start buying insurance companies, oil companies and a few Hotel Chains.

 

When a retail chain makes more than GM, ford, Honda, we're at an interesting point in history.

[coastermaster07]

Walmart isa good store but it treats its workers like shit!

Right now theres a lawsuit about discrininationagainst their workers {2 million may have been discriminated}

[RollerC]

I don't mind them. Theres one down the street from me and its packed 24/7. Dosen't matter if its 3am or if there is 1 foot of snow and -20 temps. People here flock it.

[FlyingScooter]

^You must either live next to Great Northern, Mentor or Willoughby.

 

Those three are always packed. I've never seen the one at Great Northern when it wasn't crowded.

[crazyrider06]

I don’t hate walmart but I really don’t like it either, does that make sense? Lol it’s always way too busy to go into

[Jayjay719]

I'm a target fan, but I like Walmart's prices for some things. I couldn't live without it though, Walmart is closer to me then Target.

[chmilo24]

My family never realy liked walmart. I live in Elk Grove, CA and the city baned a walmart being built there. Plus, they treat there employes like crap. They hardly get paid and screw their benifits. They say that they always have low prices, but why were the selling watermelons $12 per pound. I woulden't care if terrorists took over walmart and blow every single one up. That would be a dream come true.

[ParkTrips]

I woulden't care if terrorists took over walmart and blow every single one up. That would be a dream come true.

you should really think before you post, doing so would put the economy into a depression. That would put more than 1.3 million people out of a job, which would just cause hysteria. oh yeah, without the nation's largest retailer, prices for consumer goods would jump too. So... yeah, definitely not even a good idea.

[FlyingScooter]

^I don't think it would be that drastic. Katrina put millions of people out of work, not to mention their homes, and that did not throw us into a depression.

 

 

Is Walmart Powerful? Yes.

Are they powerful enough to throw the US into economic ruin. No, i don't think so.

[ParkTrips]

hm. some numbers, because I think Wal Mart's size is being forgotten:

 

Wal Mart total sales: $250B +

 

Gross Product of LA and MS combined: $210B (of course, that includes Shreveport, Lafayette, Monroe, Baton Rouge, Jackson, Tupelo, and a bunch of other places that were minimally effected by the hurricane)

 

Wal Mart employees: 1,300,000

New Orleans Metro population: 1,400,000

 

I never said it would ruin the economy, but it would hurt a LOT. The effect would be dynamic. 9/11 threw this nation into a depression, yet it didn't affect nearly as many people directly, and it was only concentrated in a few areas whereas there are thousands of Wal-Marts across the nation.

[Calaway Park]

OK, here's my opinion on banning Wal-Mart. Many people that claim they hate the store, shop there. Why? Because it's one stop shopping, In some smaller towns, Wal-Mart is the only option they have to go to one place to buy many goods they need. We have just gotten a new Wal-Mart where I live, and it's a great place for us to go. Here, we don't have EBGames, we don't have Target, in fact, I don't even think there are Target stores in Canada, we don't have any other electronic stores except Elite Audiotronic, and The Source [Canada's Radioshack, same store, different name.] Wal-Mart is the only store near me that can provide the basic needs of a patron in our town, all in one place.

 

Currently in life, flying in and out of a store and hustling and bustling is common, and Wal-Mart provides as a one stop shop that many people have access to in a rush, which now is very common. People don't stop moving. Sure, there are small little stores that sell the same product, maybe at a higher quality [and a higher price], but to get all the products you could get at Wal-Mart in one stop would take you hours. Think of the people that can't afford to make a choice but go to Wal-Mart for their prices, it's only logical that they should have somewhere to go to get semi-high quality products for a price they can afford.

 

Even if Wal-Mart pays badly and treats their stock suppliers badly, it's there choice to work there, and to ship there. Wal-Mart wouldn't be so huge if they didn't get stock, and obviously they don't treat their stock shippers that terribly if they still ship there. See, you think that all these companies are going out of business because of Wal-Mart, but think about how many would go out of business if Wal-Mart left? They make a lot of money from giving their products to them, and they sometimes rely on them for cash. Wal-Mart could also put hundreds of thousands of businesses out of work for LEAVING.

 

Calaway "Not everyone has Target." Park.

[ginzo]

9/11 threw this nation into a depression

 

Recession, not depression. There hasn't been a depression here for quite some time.

[RollerC]

^You must either live next to Great Northern, Mentor or Willoughby.

 

Those three are always packed. I've never seen the one at Great Northern when it wasn't crowded.

Eastlake

[ParkTrips]

Recession, not depression. There hasn't been a depression here for quite some time.

I guess it depends on what one considers a depression... now the standard seems to be anything on the level of the 1930s but realistically its just a glorified recession... but whatever, terminology aside the event had a big economic impact and the end of Wal Mart would be even worse.

[ginzo]

I guess it depends on what one considers a depression... now the standard seems to be anything on the level of the 1930s but realistically its just a glorified recession... but whatever, terminology aside the event had a big economic impact and the end of Wal Mart would be even worse.

 

I think it's just a matter of degree. The post-9/11 economic troubles were pretty minor leagues, even compared to the late 1970s. Greenspan skillfully stimulated the economy by lowering interest rates. Housing boomed (too much if you ask me) and the economy recovered. I don't feel sorry for people who lost out on their $200/share investment in drkoop.com.

 

Yeah, I think an abrupt end to Walmart would be bad. But them gradually going away would be harmless. Didn't A&P have a larger share of retail sales in their heyday?

[chmilo24]

I think I should explain what I ment by" terrorists blowing up WalMart." It was simply a metophore about WalMart going away. Not all of a suddon, but slowly getting backrupt.

 

The reason why I hate WalMart so much is obveous. My uncle used to live in a small town with a population of 3,000-5,000 throught the year. He owned a fairly large general store type place. It was the largest store in the city and everyone went there to shop. That all ended when WalMart came. After a few mouths his buisness went out of buisness along with 3 other stores. Soon only main stores were left. Because of their reign of terror all other stores were over crowded. So only WalMart is open for " Help Wanted." My uncle was going poor because he wasn't being paid enough and was getting sick because he didn't have a lot of health benifits. So after 3 years of dept and almost backruptcy, he starded a real estate buisness. He had enough money to move to Sacramento get his life back. He moved back to his home town and is a retired police officer in that city.

[bspellx5]

It seems like you always hear bad things about Wal Mart, how they treat they're employee's bad and how the company is in general. In my town, there is actually a group of people who are against Wal Mart, and sometimes stand in the parking lot, telling people not to go.

I personally don't like it too much, besides the fact that I can get everything I need super cheap there, what does everyone else think?