Posted on 11/09/2004 1:11:34 PM PST by Willie Green
In Circleville, Ohio, population 13,000, the local RCA television manufacturing plant was once a source of good jobs with good pay and benefits. But in late 2003, RCA's owner, Thomson Consumer Electronics, lost a sizeable portion of its production orders and six months later shut the plant down, throwing 1,000 people out of work.
Thomson's jobs have moved to China, where cheap labor manufactures what the American consumer desires--from clothing to electronics--and can buy at "everyday low prices" at the local Wal-Mart.
On Tuesday, November 16, at 9 P.M. on PBS (check local listings), FRONTLINE® explores the relationship between U.S. job losses and the American consumer's insatiable desire for bargains in "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" Through interviews with retail executives, product manufacturers, economists, and trade experts, correspondent Hedrick Smith examines the growing controversy over the Wal-Mart way of doing business and asks whether a single retail giant has changed the American economy.
(Excerpt) Read more at pbs.org ...
Al Gore, Mr. "Earth in the Balance," was on the board of Oxidental Petroleum!
Yes, and that is contrary to the RAT's attack on W-M, isn't it?
They are a great store, albiet way packed with merchandise. Go alone or with one or two children since you will never be able to push a cart through all their stuff while tending your mob. ; )
You can get everything from toys to tools there. They have the cutest Chistmas ornaments, Cowboy Santas and horsies. Cookbooks! Bins of t-shirts and shorts, Carhartt jackets, boots, Cruel girl shirts, railroad socks, candy, socket sets, cat food, plants, chimenias. I'll stop now.
Yes, Wal-mart is great and good for us Red States hillbillies the left elitest like to call us.
In this instnce, the explanation following the Walmart sighting came from friends and relatives. This was my first visit in something like thirty years.
I saw downtowns closing down before there were any Wal-Marts. Property taxes, parking, zoning laws, permit fees, collecting sales taxes and general government interference are the real culprits.
Property taxes, collecting sales taxes and general government interference, not to mention fair competition, may be behind some of the deterioation. Certainly, property taxes have increased in this area beyond what my friends and relatives think is fair grumbling.
But, to really refute my belief Walmart might be an evil oligophic force would only require someone from such a rual area saying that Walmart's contribution to wages and taxes exceeds the revenue they lost from their abandoned downtown. They would certainly know more about the benefits of Walmart in their community than I do.
I live in a large, sprawling urban area with a Walmart nearby. Competition and choice here is so varied that Walmart is simply a large competitor among large competitors.
I don't have to look for parking at Wal-Mart is what I meant - never a problem there, and that's why I like it. However, I do have to hunt for parking at the malls especially at Christmas, and forget parking downtown (Honolulu). The spaces labeled "compact" are really meant for motorcycles.
Gotta love that $2.00 shower curtain and tablecloth. Neither last long enough to mildew or wash. Dang, don't even have to buy wash soap. Al
Do guns kill people or do people kill people?
Do Walmart's kill competition or do customers kill competition. Walmart cannot crush anyone without the consumer joining in. That has... and always be how capitalism works.
As for how small rural areas survive this, well the small rural areas have some say over who can build and who cannot. The question is do you think Walmart really destroys a community?
The Tides Foundation is also funding the unions attack on WalMart.
The reason ..?? WALMART DONATES THEIR MONEY TO REPUBLICANS.
Does that answer if for ya ..?? I thought it would.
Also .. the dems don't like it because WALMART does not have UNIONS.
I should've of figured considering the fact that Willie Green created this thread. It had Psudoecon written all over.
There are Walmarts open 24/7? Guess it depends where you live. I've never seen such.
If a hunter is found dead on his private property with a gunshot to his head, did the gun kill him or did he kill himself?
Do Walmart's kill competition or do customers kill competition. Walmart cannot crush anyone without the consumer joining in. That has... and always be how capitalism works.
If we lived in a laissez faire capitalist country, you might be right. We don't. Never have. Thank goodness! What I believe in is fair competition.
Consumers will generally act in their own self-interest or what they believe is their own self-interest. So will a large business which establishes itself as an oligarchy in rural areas. (Even Adam Smith recognized that.) Buying the cheaper products may not turn out to be in the consumer's best interest, if it results in lost wages and lost taxes. Someone from such an area can at least partially settle the matter by reporting back that Walmart has increased employment and reduced or stablized taxes. Maybe it does.
As for how small rural areas survive this, well the small rural areas have some say over who can build and who cannot.
On that we completely agree. The question becomes whether or not when a local, rural government allows a company to establish itself in their community, are they commiting economic suicide? From the looks of the downtown areas I visited, it seems they did. But, maybe not.
The question is do you think Walmart really destroys a community?
The communities I visited are still there. My friends and relatives have no inclination to move. Whether or not Walmart has injured them economically and destroyed their downtown businesses is the question. I think it very well may have. Probably did.
But again, a testimonial from rural people lauding Walmart's contributions to their economy and well-being would be most helpful.
The check out lines are so long that nobody goes there anymore!
The above is from the LA Times on 4 November 2004.
I avoid them whenever possible - and almost always am able to do so.
KMart and Walmart both suck.
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