wkmac
Well-Known Member
While ignoring the rest of the story!
Hating WalMart...........
- Thread starter wkmac
- Start date
UnconTROLLed
perfection
long winded capitalist libertarian...
Right now Wal-Mart IS enslaving people across the globe...it has been documented and is reality.
Right now Wal-Mart IS enslaving people across the globe...it has been documented and is reality.
wkmac
Well-Known Member
And you forgot your theme music too so the good guy I am, I'm happy to supply it!
[video=youtube;QzntZLHcYy0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzntZLHcYy0[/video]
BTW: I'm not a Walmart shopper either just on the principle of Eminent Domain abuse (not that Walmart is alone) but also a smart shopper can find most of the same products carried by Walmart at other businesses with just as low prices and in many cases lower. And I'm not opposed to many of the ideas or problems expressed in the documentary film Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price (yes I've seen the film) but to ignore the "gun in the room" making a lot of this possible is the point Alex is making in his piece. I make a market choice when I enter the marketplace for my own reasons but it's not a crusade against Walmart. I'm also under no illusion that other market actors with whom I trade, if given themselves Walmart's access and advantage wouldn't do the same either and thus I'd do what I could in my own choices to treat them accordingly.
Ironic Walmart stepped into global status when a certain "First Black President" from Arkansas got elected and many of his supporters stated his sole purpose was to protect us from monsters like Walmart. Ah the fictions of politics!
trplnkl
555
Just one simple question. In what country are employees of walmart forced to work there? OK a second question, how are they forced?
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Sleeve never said that WalMart employees were enslaved--I believe he was referring to the employees of the vendors/suppliers of WalMart. WalMart is known for the pressure they put on their vendors, some of which have been forced out of business trying to meet their demands.
moreluck
golden ticket member
When you say something is documented, there's usually documentation to prove it's happening.
trplnkl
555
That may be what he meant, he just said people, not companies and I still don't see it as enslavement, in the case of vendors I do see it as unfair and dirty business relations, but they still have a choice. I am well aware of the tactics they use on vendors, such as, entering a contract with a small mfg to produce a certain product at a given price, then paying less and challenging the vendor to "sue" them.
I'm NOT a fan of walmart, only go there if I can't find what I am looking for elsewhere at a reasonable price. That's not to say a cheaper or equal price either, I have shopped other places and knowingly paid more than I would at wally-world. I just challenge the "enslaving" claim.
ajblakejr
Age quod agis
My opinion based on memory.
I believe Sam Walton would not be pleased with today's WalMart.
My Aunt worked at a company in Wisconsin called, EZ Painter. She would tell stories of the week, Sam Walton came to EZ Painter and mingled, side by side with the employees.
Sam celebrated this and hung, "Made in America" banners in his stores.
Sam was proud to be an American and was Very proud to support American business.
This was part of his philosophy - Made in America.
Sam died in 1992.
The rest is history or heir - story or greed.
I believe Sam Walton would not be pleased with today's WalMart.
My Aunt worked at a company in Wisconsin called, EZ Painter. She would tell stories of the week, Sam Walton came to EZ Painter and mingled, side by side with the employees.
Sam celebrated this and hung, "Made in America" banners in his stores.
Sam was proud to be an American and was Very proud to support American business.
This was part of his philosophy - Made in America.
Sam died in 1992.
The rest is history or heir - story or greed.
trplnkl
555
If I remember correctly, while Sam was still the CEO/COO of W, there were very few items in the stores that were not made in the USA and those items were "imports" to allow for stuff not produced by anyone here. Not long after he retired, a few more thhings started popping up on the shelves, not a lot yet though. Then shortly after he died, the increase of foreign made msd. increased exponentially. I'm betting Ole Sam's coffin looks like a turnstile as many times as he's turned over in that grave.
ajblakejr
Age quod agis
EXACTLY.
I dislike today's WalMart.
I wonder how many other companies have derailed from the founder's philosophy which brought success?
UPS?
moreluck
golden ticket member
In my little town, right now WalMart is the big store.......we have Lowe's but not the same thing. In Oct., there will finally be some competition. There is a Target store being built real close......(1 1/2 miles). I will like having an option. With gas prices so high, we don't like having to go north to Mission Viejo for all the big stores and a mall.....like 15 miles up the freeway. Sometimes these little towns are stubborn about allowing growth. We need more restaurants too....the ones that are moderately priced like Macaroni Grill, Outback or Olive Garden. We have fast food already There are a lot of seniors (fixed income) and lots of families with kids.....they don't want expensive entrees. We have the mom& pop little places.
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
I do most of my shopping at Costco or the local Fred Meyer (also known as Krogers in other parts of the country). Costco employees have excellent wages and benefits, as do Fred Meyer employees who are also union. I wouldnt set foot in a Wal Mart if they were giving their crap away for free.
UpstateNYUPSer(Ret)
Well-Known Member
Before we got our Target store WalMart was the only show in town.
Catatonic
Nine Lives
To me, the real culprit, if there is one, is the consumers that buy goods and services at the lowest prices.
That is what Wal-Mart does is force prices down and the consumer is the winner.
I purchase some things at Wal-mart if the quality is good and others I don't buy because the quality is not there.
Some things I don't buy at Wal-Mart because the price is not the lowest.
wkmac
Well-Known Member
Very good point AJ and I can agree with that. On a similar note, I don't think Jim Casey would like many things that have taken place at UPS either.
OK, let's wait for it..........
grgrcr88
No It's not green grocer!
grgrcr88
No It's not green grocer!
Consumers are partly to blame, everyone wants to buy the lowest priced everything, but still wants to make the top wages in the world. The two do not mix well. The biggest problem is in fact the trade agreements that our past government has established. NAFTA and others like it have done nothing but kill the middle class in the USA. They are fantastis for the rich, large companies that have moved their manufacturing out of the United States to exploit the cheap labor of third world countries. Trade agreements that lead to loss of manufacturing jobs are perpetuating the lack of economic recovery since the housing and tech bubbles burst. You have to think the number one way to economic recovery would be to create good, lasting jobs such as manufacturing jobs could be. When unemployment gets back below 5%, people begin to have the confidence to spend money on larger ticket items which in turn allows more cash flow and tax revenue and banking confidence to lend money. NATFA has killed the US economy, and allowed companies like Wal-mart to do what they do!!
soberups
Pees in the brown Koolaid
The consumer isnt the winner if his manufacturing job gets outsourced to China.
When we buy our cheap Chinese crap at Mal-Wart, we are collectively cutting our own throats and sending our jobs overseas.
What would happen today if China decided to employ economic warfare againist us by refusing to sell us anything? Think about it. We have basically stopped manufacturing our own consumer goods. If China stopped shipping, we would very quickly run out of basics such as shoes, tires, clothing, appliances, electronics, etc. We dont make that stuff here any longer.
Consumers need to learn that cheaper doesnt always mean better, and there is a hidden cost to those lower prices that our grandchildren are going to be forced to pay.
UnconTROLLed
perfection
Sorry for the confusion, I was exaggerating and admit it. However some took what I said too literally....
Dateline NBC did infact document Wal-mart, iirc. If not it was a major cable station which did, the program aired last year.
Across asia in the 2nd and 3rd world ( I guess it would be)...employees LIVE inside the walmarts and are paid not in real money , but Wal-mart money. It is documented. That to me is modern day slavery, call it what you will. These people , through interpeters, called themselves slaves, IIRC.
Dateline NBC did infact document Wal-mart, iirc. If not it was a major cable station which did, the program aired last year.
Across asia in the 2nd and 3rd world ( I guess it would be)...employees LIVE inside the walmarts and are paid not in real money , but Wal-mart money. It is documented. That to me is modern day slavery, call it what you will. These people , through interpeters, called themselves slaves, IIRC.
