Posted on 11/19/2004 3:44:14 AM PST by The Great Yazoo
Canned goods and paper goods are not crap. WalMart has the same brands that Target, Randalls, Safeway, etc. carry for about 30% less.
WalMart is owned by same co. as Sam's Club. I don't need those HUGE packages that Sam's carries, plus there is a Walmart here in town. I would have to drive an hour to Houston to go to a Sam's.
I grew up in the grocery store business. We were put out of business by a store that came into town that was bigger and could sell products for one penny less per can. That store was put out of business by a bigger store, and so on. I would hate to go back to the old tiny stores like ours was. We didn't have a freezer section or a fresh fruit and veg. section. We had a meat department, tiny one, because my dad knew how to butcher. Mostly we had canned goods, paper goods, school supplies, bread, donuts, cigarettes, snuff, soda, and candy. And we had a gum machine. But the store was so tiny. about 30' x 30' with no storage space.
I love going to the big super markets where I can get all kinds of fresh fruits and veggies all year long. I would hate to go back to the "good old days". And our other grocery stores are Randalls, Kroger, etc. all of them are big huge corporations just like WalMart. Plus we have Walgreens and Eckerds - big corporations too. That is the way it is. There are still quaint little shops downtown and we have a mall. Our mall has Dillards, Penneys, Sears, etc. All corporations like WalMart. They CAN all compete with each other on prices IF they want to.
Woah Chief. I didn't mention anything about gov't restrictions. Keep the gov't out whenever possible.
As far as your other point, I am sure that there are many cases similar to the one you mentioned. That's great for your town. It would be nice if happened that way everywhere else. Maybe most of these buildings are owned by third parties who won't cooperate. It still leaves a lot of derelict shopping centers out there.
The town I grew up in would have already died if not for WalMart. That is about all there is there now. The population keeps shrinking. But all the people from the surrounding smaller towns come to shop at WalMart. So it keeps the employment, money, payroll, tax base up.
They have great christmas ornaments and I love their cards. They carry a lot of Christian-oriented Christmas cards at decent prices. I buy all of next year's after Christmas for $1.25 a box. Can't beat that. They have nice cards for $2.00 a box for about 36 cards. I love going there after Christmas.
Wal-Mart has turned the markets upside down. Manufacturers could set their prices. Now, the retailers demand low prices from suppliers or the items won't be carried. THe net result is that manufacturers and suppliers must locate overseas or have ridiculusly low wages in the U.S. Either way, the low Wal-Mart prices are needed because lower labor costs means less income to workers which restricts their buying habits to cheaper merchandise. Wal Marts low prices are a necessity for many communities because customers don't have extra cash left that they can pass on to higher end retailers.
Wal-Mart's low prices are needed by low wage earners. By forcing down wages by dictating loer prices to manufacturers and suppliers, Wal-Mart has created a captive market of low wage earners that can't afford to shop for higher priced goods.
Let's say that I remember the cars GM made back in the '70s.
I haven't seen any dresses I'd get there either, but they have good jeans!
There is no proof to what you are saying.
The company I work for is in manufacturing and Wal Mart basically told us to offer our products to them at below our manufactuing costs in the U.S. SInce we supplied between 40 to 50% of the product type sold by Wal Mart, we had no choice. The net result was 2000 employees laid off, and production shipped to Mexico. When the labor savings from Mexico weren't enough, we laid off Mexicans and closed plants there and shipped production overseas to Asia. The production wages we do have in the U.S. (for less manually intensive tasks) have been dropped from $10/hr to $7/hr and the plants are located in regions where most jobs were union and paid up to $20 per hour. I say were union because most of those plants in those areas have been closed, too. We are now the dominant employer in those areas. Now Wal Mart is the only place our employees can afford to do their shopping.
Please do not say I have no evidence when I am an eye witness to the economic changes Wal Mart has produced. Like other posters have mentioned, is it good for America when the economy becomes service based rather than manufactuing based? Look at WWII when American production was the backbone behind the solid muscle of American military strength. If such a war happened today, are we to barcode scan the enemy to death?
Well then, you explain to me who you propose to tell Wal-Mart what to do other than the government!
You may be right. It's hard enough in some neighborhoods to find a mom-and-pop household, let alone a mom-and-pop business enterprise.
My beef with Wal Mart is they target rural towns, in rural America and yet do not become part of the community.
My town is 20,000 population here in Oregon. An annual event, a big event here is the Fair. Hundreds of children join 4H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) and raise for the fair, pigs, cows, sheep, etc. Fair day is a very vital part of our rural community and "mom and pop" businesses show up for the auctioning of the childrens animals. Of course they pay a little too much but it is such a great learning experience for the young entrepreuners that everyone participates, except Wal Mart!
No where to be seen at thousands of fairs throughout rural America, their target market, is Wal Mart bidding up the childrens animals to participate in the community.
They are hypocrites, so I don't participate with them!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.