Posted on 06/02/2004 7:26:39 AM PDT by .cnI redruM
I have a 25 year old cousin who is mildly retarded. He is unable to drive and lives with his parents.
He works for Walmart. He collects carts from the parking lot and helps move boxes around.
He is making an income. He feels like a useful citizen, which he is. He is not a charity case - he is well liked by his employer for his hard work. He is enthusiastic and looks forward to going to work.
He would be unemployable in a mom and pop shop.
Save it for someone who gives a rats patoot what you think, Joe. You're not goading me into some stupid, useless argument because you seem to hate the rest of the world.
OUT.
I admit it Sandy, the Red Chinese are not my friend.
IF you are a company you have a choice to go after Walmart business. If their pricing isn't to your liking, don't sell to them. Go to other retailers and sell your products. You go to Walmart and try to sell because you want to cash in on their distribution, if the numbers don't add up or your capacity isn't big enough- don't sell to them. No one makes you sell to them.
Wal-Mart using the strong-arm tactics of a semi-monopoly to force suppliers out of business and lowering the quality of goods to meet Wal-Mart's pricing demands are not a good thing, in my opinion. When any business gets government-like control to demand harmful changes from other businesses, I get as concerned about them as I am about the government. Concentration of large amounts of power concern me, whether that power is conentrated in a government, individual, or corporation.
Why would Walmart want to force a supplier out of business? That is just a stupid statement. It seems that reading your concern that they are too big and powerful indicates you MIGHT support some regulation on them, is that correct? You obviously love your right to free speech, but you seem to want to limit other people's right to a free choice.
Wal Mart does more for the elderly as far as giving a purpose, than any other company in America.
And the old folk do what they do best, they care, they listen and they are warm
but can you admit that WalMart doesn't import any higher percentage of the goods they sell than any of the other mass market retail chains like Target, K-Mart, Sears, Pennys, etc. etc. and that in fact all these companies sell good from largely the same companies and the only real variation is the is the target market of the specific items purchased from these companies and the subsequent price?
Because Wal-Mart doesn't care if the supplier goes out of business and will benefit while the supplier dies. You've never heard of a company killing a supplier by playing games with their contracts and payments before?
It seems that reading your concern that they are too big and powerful indicates you MIGHT support some regulation on them, is that correct?
Not particularly, no, because I think Wal-Mart will eventually blow itself out. You'll notice that several Wal-Mart shoppers on this thread have noticed the loss in quality and no longer buy their durable goods there. I think they are failing to recognize the limits to their own mode of operation. I simply think that all the pain that gets caused learning this lesson is stupid. At some point, Wal-Mart is going to recognize that they've sacrificed too much quality to cut prices, which will happen after enough consumers realize this and stop buying durable goods at Wal-Mart. But there will be a lot of pain between now and then.
You obviously love your right to free speech, but you seem to want to limit other people's right to a free choice.
Again, please point out where I've said that Wal-Mart should be regulated. You can't, because I haven't. So instead you simply pretend that I have.
I do, however, realize that liberty is a delicate thing and that it tends to be one of the first things sacrificed during times of social or economic unrest. If the Wal-Mart style of business leads to sufficient economic distress, those people left out won't be voting Republican. Given a sufficient number of them, we'll wind up with a socialist government that will make Old Europe proud.
What I'm suggesting is that people practice their liberty responsibly, with some awareness of the consequences of their actions. Liberty is constantly struggling against security and often loses in the face of insecurity (in fact, civilization itself is a sacrifice of the freedom of a hunter-gatherer existence for the security of farming, a wall, and an army provided by an overlord). If the Wal-Mart style of business creates sufficient insecurity, it won't be me that takes your liberty away from you.
Obviously, my point went right over your head.
You people kill me. A single pair of jeans is not the problem. Thousands and thousands of pairs of jeans are the problem. That's where Walmart and the open mouth breathers who frequent Walmart come in. When you get into the "I have to pay the lowest price possible for everything, even if it falls apart after one wash" mentality then you are being penny wise and pound foolish. Thanks to Walmart, and other like them, and people like you, we are propping up the Chinese economy, and moving American Jobs south or overseas. All so you can buy your pair of inferior jeans for $3 less. What's the problem as long as you get a good deal - and a pink slip in a couple months.
What verbose nonsense.
Ignore history at your own peril. Liberty without responsibility rarely turns out well.
Good God, are you ever a self important fool. Go to Sears, Bloomingdales, Macy's or any other store a pay more for the same product if you wish, but most people prefer not to waste the money. Walmart didn't bankrupt Levi Strauss, they have been in financial trouble well before they sold any product to Walmart. Blaming Walmart for societal problems is ridiculous. The company creates jobs(if the jobs all sucked, they wouldn't have 1 million employees) they heavily contribute to local charities, they employ the elderly, the handicapped and many first time job holders. I know most Americans must be wrong shopping there according to you, but I don't think anyone is forcing them to shop in their stores. Why don't you compete with them and you just sell Made in America products only, I'm sure people will flock to your store, the only problem will be finding the products to stock your shelves, Walmart didn't create the problem for manufacturers, unions did.
What does that have to do with shopping at Walmart? Do you work and if so, in what field? I'm just curious.
Does Walmart destroy communities?
You people kill me, completely lacking in facts you go straight for the insult, very telling.
People pay for the quality they want. Some people are willing to pay more for quality, some aren't. Some companies cater to the low end of the market, some cater to the high end.
Don't look now but we've had an entire year of job growth in the manufacturing sector.
I buy the value I'm seeking, if no American company can provide the quality I want for the price I'm willing to pay, then no American company deserves my money. I'm not gonna get a pink slip anytime soon, my company makes the best product in our field and have the majority of the market, and I stand by the fact that people should buy our product because it's the best, not because we're an American company.
It's people like YOU that have propped up bad American companies like Ford that make inferior products and charge too much. If you went for value instead of worshipping location maybe Ford would actually have learned to make cars that don't suck, or they'd have gone out of business like they richly deserve.
It isn't always the same product, but you seem to want to ingore that point. Levis had to make a new line of clothing to supply pants cheap enough for Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart purchases enough units that manufacturers can run special models or batches just for Wal-Mart with different components. Sometimes, suppliers move their production overseas to make things cheaper. It's not the same. But don't believe me or the other people in this thread who actually like and shop at Wal-Mart who are also saying that quality is dropping. Do whatever you want. I think they are approaching the end of the line on sacrificing quality for cost.
But Levis considers that new line of clothes they made for Wal-Mart a life saver, they were a dieing company before then. And they had other things to get in line besides price before they could get to Wal-Mart (like reliable delivery, they were a pretty disorganized company and Wal-Mart doesn't like doing business with disorganized companies) which has also helped them improve their bottom line dramatically. Using Levis as an example of the nasty things Wal-Mart does to suppliers doesn't work, they saved Levis.
Walmart is non-union.
No one is forcing them, that is correct. And nothing I do or say will stop the vast majority from shopping there. It's jsut that I have taken a different approach to life now that I have a home and family. I'm much more keenly aware of how my purchases affect the econmy of my country as well as those of other countries. If you choose to think you live in a vacuum, then go ahead. I simply see that my purchases have an affect, no matter how small, to the nations economy. And I prefer to have my purchases go towards American products if possible. And yes, I do think America would be in much better shape if people shopped the way I do. I get upset with people complaining about jobs going overseas, yet can't fill their cart up fast enough at Walmart.
Nevermind.
Do you work and if so, in what field? I'm just curious.
Yes. Computer programming. No, I'm not worried about my own employment (I've already been laid-off three times) and have nothing to do with working in retail. Frankly, so long as I've got local retail choices (and I do), Wal-Mart has a nearly zero impact on my life.
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