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A New "Wal-Mart is Evil" thread...

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Point of Order, Dec 12, 2006.

  1. Inky_Wretch

    Inky_Wretch Well-Known Member

    Wal-Mart has warts. Nobody denies that. So does Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Target and every other multi-national corporation. But Wal-mart is not the embodiment of evil that some make it out to be.

    Does a SuperCenter hurt mom-and-pop stores? Yes. Just like a Lowe's or Home Depot hurts the small hardware shops. Just like Scheel's, Bass Pro and Cabela's hurt locally owned outdoor/sports stores.

    Thanks to Lee Scott, I can buy organic milk, cage-free, organic eggs and free-range chicken breasts 24/7. I'd prefer to shop at natural food market or the farmer's market, but when I can't make it I can swing by Wal-Mart and pick that stuff up. That's a good thing.
     
  2. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    I'm not talking about the economy of outsourcing jobs. That's not a factor in what I was talking about, nor was it at the heart of the initial argument. The argument was over how much someone in China gets paid to produce something and how that translates to a boycott or hatred of Wal-Mart. To me, how much someone gets paid in China, whether it's for a product I'm purchasing or not, is immaterial. No one was rushing to get me paid more for my job and I'm not entirely inclined to do it myself.
     
  3. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Even if you're not a big fan of Walmart and never shop there, you just HAVE to be impressed with their logistics.

    I mean, they get about 2,000 ocean containers a month dropped on their distribution centre.

    They were on the cutting edge of information technology and they will be again when their radio frequency identification technology (RFID) to track their goods kicks in.
     
  4. Pringle

    Pringle Active Member

    But those people in China making $0.18 an hour for a 16-hour shift, seven days a week but being told to lie and say they only worked six ... they'd look at your salary as the fulfillment of the American dream. Just saying.
     
  5. alleyallen

    alleyallen Guest

    And I look at the money politicians throw around at election time ... and the money made by Hollywood stars and pro athletes, and consider that the fulfillment of the American dream. Just saying.
     
  6. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Well, Alley, you may not care but there are all sorts of people, government organizations and business groups who do. That was my only point.

    And their exploitation of cheap third world labour is only one reason to dislike Walmart.
     
  7. Pringle

    Pringle Active Member

    Alley, I agree with you. My intent wasn't to say, "You should be happy with it and shut up," because that's certainly not how I am. But what I was trying to say was that the conditions Wal-Mart puts those people in are deplorable, poverty that we couldn't even fathom in the United States.

    There's a stat out there - it's cited in the documentary - about the amount of money the Walton kids contributed to the corporate charity fund compared to the amount that their shit-for-wages employees have. It's sickening.

    I agree with the no free lunch thing - we all pay the piper eventually. Whether it's on the front end or the back end is the difference. Save $2 on a T-shirt, but watch crime drive your property values down because your downtown is now soiled by abandoned buildings.
     
  8. JR

    JR Well-Known Member

    Good post Pringle

    I would recommend "Nickel and Dimed" by Barbara Ehrenreich to get an idea of what it's like to live at poverty level wages.
     
  9. leo1

    leo1 Active Member

    inky, you've nailed it. wal-mart may be evil, but barely less-so than most other mega corporations. those of you who hate wal-mart better not be eating at mcdonald's, shopping at home depot, wearing nike or hitting up costco.
     
  10. Point of Order

    Point of Order Active Member

    leo,
    Good point. But- Wal~Mart has amassed more power and made more $$$ than all of these combined. They've been so good at it there's no one to counterbalance them, and a lot of stuff they do is starting to look very monopolistic.
     
  11. Ace

    Ace Well-Known Member

    Costco at least pays decent wages to its people.
     
  12. cranberry

    cranberry Well-Known Member

    Wal-Mart is far worse than any of the companies you mention. Meanwhile, the Waltons are among the richest people in the world. Doesn't make them any less scummy, though.
     
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