Wal-Mart (for or against?)

[Tyme2fish]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

The one comment I would like to address is the number of part-time employees Wal-Mart maintains.<br />Part-time equals no benefits and the medical care of these employyes is passed on to you and me in the form of taxes for their Medicaid (government) coverage.<br /><br />Granted, a part-time job is better than no-job and me oldest son just got full time at a local grocery store. Finally he has some benefits.<br /><br />PS. Something is basically wrong when purchasing an American Flag made in China!!

 

[aspeck]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

I think the new Wal-mart coming to our area will actually be a boon for the little guys also. Let me explain.<br /><br />Right now we have a bunch of small merchants with not much of anything. There is only 1 store to buy men's clothing and 2 to buy women's clothing in our town. Every store is closed at 5pm except for Fridays, where they open till 7. On Saturdays there are about 2 or 3 stores that are open from 10 - 2. If you want to shop you have to travel 25 miles out of town.<br /><br />Wal-mart will keep a lot of people in town instead of running the long distance. This will be beneficial, if the small merchants are willing to focus on service. More people will be shopping in Huntingdon, so the small guys shuld pick up some of the added scraps. At least that is how I would be looking at it if I was a local merchant.<br /><br />Our town needs the Wal-mart that will be opening in January.

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

A lot of the noise about Walmart is being made by the unions who want to unionize Walmart. We will all pay if that happens..

 

[JB]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

Hmmmm.<br /><br />There is a fairly new WM Superstore in Miserable Wells, about 20 miles south of The Hideout.<br /><br />I can drive there in about 20 minutes, including 3 stop signs and no traffic lights. No store, Mom and Pop or otherwise, is closer.<br /><br />The walk from groceries to pet supplies is longer than the walk from the most remote part of the parking lot to one of the entrances, where there are power chairs available to the impaired.<br /><br />Ladies and Gentlemen old enough to be my parents greet me at whatever door I enter. They don't have health care coverage and their pay is meager. They do have Medicare and SS. In no way do I see WM being "subsidized" by the taxpayer. I see it the other way 'round.<br /><br />To find the variety of products offered elsewhere I would have to spend a full day and drive about 100 miles, not to mention spending 10-20% more.<br /><br />Several hundred people work there. At least half had no job before the store opened. That means no health care either. <br /><br />The lady behind the Deli counter is a single Mom. She used to work for a local supermarket that closed when WM opened. She gets better pay and she has health care for her family. I have known her for about 6 years. She is a happier person.<br /><br />My new glasses (2 pr) cost me about $200 less than the same Zeiss lenses (new prescription) cost me 3 years ago. Same Optometrist and same tech that used to commute to Weatherford, 20 miles away. They both live in Miserable Wells.<br /><br />Wal Mart certainly falls into the "Corporate Giant" class that the unions like to demonize, and doesn't seem philanthropic toward employees, but so what?<br /><br />Mineral Wells, TX, that I love to tease with the Miserable Wells moniker, is a small redneck community with essentially no industry other than surrounding Equine and Bovine ranches. The presence of the new WM SS offers nothing but benefits to the community and the residents.

 

[QC]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

JB,<br /><br />Excellent summary.

 

[ZmOz]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

Originally posted by One More Cast:<br />They cry about walmarts because they no longer can price gouge. I think walmart helps keep these people a little more honest by forcing them to keep their prices down.

I agree completely. Alot of people think small businesses charge more because they have to, I think in reality most of the business owners are just overcharging to make up for an unprofitable business idea. There's a huge home depot only 2 miles from me. I still drive 10 miles to the local hardware store most of the time (a couple times a week) because they have more stuff (in a smaller store ) and their prices are generally a few cents cheaper than home depot! Other small businesses can compete in the same way with Walmart, and if they disappear then we didn't need them anyway.<br /><br />Several years ago when I started my business my idea was to sell the same thing as everybody else, with as good or better service, and cheaper prices. I didn't make any money because everybody thought it had to be cheap for a reason. Then I raised the prices, and reduced the services offered, and business exploded.<br /><br />The moral of the story: The general public is too dumb for their own good.

 

[KilroyJC]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

My $0.02:<br /><br />If you don't like WM, don't shop there.<br />If you don't like the pay or lack of healthcare, work somewhere else.<br /><br />Nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head to do either.<br /><br />I usually don't shop WM simply because of all the "Made In (Communist) China" crap they sell, but I have shopped and will shop there when necessary.

 

[Pony]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

I am anti-wal-mart, but only because I have worked for their competition for the past 4 or 5 years........<br /><br />I know for a fact without stores like Wal-Mart, many of my neighbors to the North in this state would have a hard time surviving.

 

[JasonJ]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

Wal-Mart has been a good thing for my community. The local stores paid slave wages with zero benefits. People had to work 2 or three of these slave jobs just to barely get by. Wal-Mart took all these people plus the countless others that were not working, has paid them better wages, and given them bennies. The local businesses have really recieved a gut check by all of this, because they now know they don't get to charge high prices, pay low prices, and enjoy their lake front property while their employees live in broken down trailerhomes.

 

[heycods]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

Wall Mart is a big outfit, employs 1 in 100 people in the US .(YAHOO NEWS STORY) Well Bill Gates was a big outfit, Clinton administration broke Microsoft up, Standard Oil was broken up by these same anti trust laws. It seems to me that they are laying the groundwork for the same kind of breakup as Gateway. If they do I fail to see how the govt. lets the major oil companys keep merging until we have 3 or 4 major oil companys. Questions questions questions. lwr

 

[theriver]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

Hate it. I like to support smaller stores that have helpful knowledgeable staff. I have no problem paying a little extra especially if the money is staying in the community.<br />I've only been to Wal-Mart once when I needed some Prestone. I must have walked a mile and saw the dregs of society while I was at it.

 

[blade_x]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

I love wal mart! I make a good living but hey, why would I want to pay more for something if I dont have to? If people dont like wal mart they should just not shop there. Thats the most powerful form of protest consumers have.

 

[CN Spots]

Re: Wal-Mart (for or against?)

Wal-Mart is going through a restructuring right now due to lackluster sales throughout their entire chain. Target is putting a serious strain on them and the economy isn't helping either. I'm sure they'll figure something out but they are not immortal. Retail history is replete with major chains who failed leaving thousands unemployed and hundreds of vacant stores throughout the country. Such an event happening to Wal-Mart would effect the world. They are my company's primary customer and we would fold within a year without them. As would many others.<br /><br />This isn't a complaint, just a concern that all who sell to them share.<br /><br />Sam's buisness plan was genius and simple: Buy in great quatities to keep the price down and pass on the discount to the consumer, build in a good location and treat the customer with respect.<br /><br />The little guy can't compete with the first. Few can. Nobody buys as much of something as Wal-Mart does and the more you buy, the better the price. I don't think they're (the little guy) gouging (around here anyway) they're just trying to make a living. Our small shops in town have learned to rely on better quality items and a better educated staff to compete. that is an area that Wal-Mart has always struggled with.<br /><br />I go in one at least twice a week and, for now, I'm thankful we have one in town.<br /><br />-kinda like having a dragon for a guard dog.<br />Great to have around when you need it...<br />but man, it's sure gonna make a mess when it dies.<br /><br />spots