The truth about Walmart

This is an article from Maclean's Magazine that we were told to analyze for an English class in order to prep for our exam. By posting this, all I am trying tosay is "look here is an alternate opinion offering facts." I, personally, am quite on the fence on this issue, so I thought I would post this as an opposing opinion to see what you guys think of it and to hear feedback.
Like I said, I dont sway either way here, I would have to buy stuff often, to buy stuff from Walmart anyways... but I just thought the article was on topic and people might enjoy reading it for an alternate view even if they dont agree...

....and yes, I agree that his language was a bit derogatory and unnecessary. He seems quite idiotic in the way he presented his opinion, being totally offensive....but whatcha gonna do eh?

 

Most mega big box retailers are bad for the local economy, bad for the consumer, and thusly bad for the countries economy.

Walmart gets all the press because they're significantly more evil, anti-competitive, and slightly more overt about it than most and millions of stupid people don't care.

'hey they say they have the lowest prices so it must be true'
and cheap = good right?

Setting aside local socio-economic impact for the time; they have an incredible investment in quasi-communist china forsaking local producers and funneling tons of cash out of the country, into their own pockets and lobbyists, all while simultaneously shitting on the first, and to a lesser degree second amendments and furthering their own fundamentalist Christian bullshit.

The Walton family are five of the top 25 RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD according to Forbes and Walmart is the 13th largest company IN THE WORLD. And their employees are getting public assistance from our tax dollars?!

finally here's an interesting note:
The full article excerpted on the following page: here
http://eyeball-series.org/walmart-birds.htm (dialup warning - huge pictures)

 

That makes me really sad. Once again foiled by the evil intent of money hungry greed. I always shop at Wal-Mart. I'm nineteen, live on my own, and going to school. Wal-Mart WAS a nice place to get cheap stuff and not have to worry about what was going on behind the scenes. Well never mind that. I'm frankly a little peeved that I've shopped there so long. I wish I could take everything back now..

 

Personally, I am glad that Wal-Mart censors it's music selection. An uncensored Wal-Mart would probably legitimize it as the world's largest music distributor. K-Mart caught on to this idea a few years ago when they stopped selling censored music (in my area, at least). I think K-mart believed it would give them a comparitive advantage over Wal-Mart.

Local record shops have enough trouble competing with the internet. My local shop has already closed. Personally, I think the internet IS the future of music (traditional record labels and the RIAA are dead and rotting concepts - they just don't know it yet). However, having a huge monster like Wal-Mart control the distribution level would be a disaster (it's already getting there).

I saw an interview with Dee Snyder who said that Wal-Mart also censors it's DVD collection. Can anyone verify that? I know they sell R-rated features but I wonder if they censor some of the more extreme scenes.

 

I go to wal-mart all the time. I never even thought about what im supporting though. I guess because I never buy anything there. I just steal hot dogs and orangette when I have mad munchies and no cash. Or im too jew to spend fat cash I have.

 

I understand your argument about not wanting to buy stuff from sweat shops in third world countries, but have you ever visited a very poor country? I was in Cambodia a couple weeks ago and after talking to the locals came to the conclusion that the garment factories are not as bad as everyone puts them off to be. There are very few jobs there and even fewer yet pay as high as the garment manufacturers do. If not for the factory jobs many of the women think the only other job they could live on (with their education) would be prostitution. Many choose that route anyway because it involves working fewer hours for the same pay. In Cambodia they told me that the average wage for working at the garment factory was $60 a month. They worked 8 hour shifts and have 2 days off a month. You do have to put the $60 wage into perspective though. In a country where the monthly wage is $60 everything else is cheaper as well. Most people raise their own chickens for eggs and meat, and have a couple cows or pigs as well as a small garden in the rainy season. When 3 or 4 members of their family are pulling in $60 a month they are actually doing quite well compared to their neighbor who couldn't get a job at the garment factory and has to collect plastic bottles and cardboard to sell for recycling or their other neighbor who is hoping the rains give him a good rice harvest that he can sell for $300 to support him through the rest of the year. cc

 

Right. Two things..

First: ASDA = WALMART dipshit.

Second, watch this: The Truth About Walmart

 

I feed the beat occassionally, to get diapers and other household things that can't be gotten anywhere else (I live in one of the most rural places in Amerika) One of my guilty pleasures is buying cheap DVD's, My wife and I enjoy cult movies quite a bit and we have been surprised to find some good UNCENSORED cult movies at Walmart. I bought "The Devil's Rejects" there, "Snatch", "Resevoir Dogs", "Natural Born Killers", and just the other day I got both "Pii" and "Requiem for a Dream" for only $10, all unedited, uncensored. It makes me feel guilty shopping there but I kind of rationalize it to myself with the knowledge that their are just some things that we can't get locally, and to be honest its cheaper than ordering everything online.

 

Sounds like you're trying to convince yourself...

I hate Wal-Mart, but not because of their domination, but urine screening workers. I believe that they are big for a reason, and to try to control their sucses would mean we are no longer a free market. Capitalism isn't always pretty, but it's beautiful compared to socialism.

 

there are thousands of sweatfactories in China . and almost every daily products are ' made in china' .. sad

 

Totally agreed with it.
there s no wal mart in my region ..but i can see the day of its coming is getting sooner .

 

Not at all, I have no delusions. I know how terrible Walmart is, and I definitely would prefer not to support it, unfortunately I have no choice in the matter. As far as the movie thing, I was just clearing that up, because they do sell uncensored movies.

 

In Britain a company called ASDA is owned by Walmart, it doesnt seem to have the same deplorable conditions and terms that you desvribe here. Asda used to be a leading supermarket chain here but its slipped back to 4th place behind Tesco, Morrissons, and Sainsbury's.

Maybe instead of attacking walmart you should attack the laws under which they operate. Obviously they are acting within the law and yet still behaving immorally

 

Here in the states under Clinton from Arkansas we saw labor rights and laws changed and eroded in order to accomodate the wishes of employers like Walmart. We saw workers rights eroded and erased and Walmarts profits skyrocket. Here you can't attack the one without attacking the cause of the erosion of rights (Walmart and it's ilk). Funny isn't it that Walmart and Tyson were the biggest corporate powers in Arkansas...just a coincidence???? You be the judge.

Capitalism may be grand, but when it infringes on the rights and the safety of workers it is nothing but protectionism for corporate interests.

 

Stop the fucking bus will you, and someone watch that video before posting anything else in here. You're all waffling on thinking you are doing good to the world without thinking any of the consequences through.

Walmart provides jobs for untrained people who wouldn't be able to get a job anywhere else - and they pay above the minimum wage (considerably), and provide good cheap health insurance when many companies are ditching it in the face of increasing costs.

They sell essential medication for a price that poor people can actually afford.

These "sweatshops" you are all so keen to bang on about often give much better pay for the people that work there than any other options in their respective third world countries. It isn't always the kids being forced to work there, y'know, they do it out of choice - work and have food, or don't work and die.

Walmart isn't killing local communities, they are doing a great job of killing themselves. A shop with pretty much everything in one place and at a cheap price is what people want, that is why Walmart works. In areas that have kept Walmart and the like out the local area has still died because everyone makes the extra trip to shop at a Walmart out of town. So, without it, there is increased unemployment and a worse economy.

The list goes on..

So all you people who whinge and moan about how Walmart treats its employees, why don't you actually go and talk to them yourselves as opposed to listening to some nutjob with a grudge and a head full of weed. By getting rid of Walmarts you are denying people medication they need, putting more people into unemployment and onto state benefit, and stopping families in third world countries from being able to afford food and a home for themselves. Yes, Walmart is a business, a very successful one, but they certainly aren't complete dicks about it.

And oh my, I can't believe someone stated "urine screening their workers" as a reason to hate Walmart. Damn them for not wanting airheaded druggies on their workforce! Bastards!

But, y'know, that's what it's all about really, just protest the corporations because you perceive them as eeeeeeevil without knowing any of the facts and consequences.

 

Well i'm against corporatism, capitalism and plutocracies in ALL forms............so I dislike Wal-Mart for an entire host of other reasons besides those most commonly listed (though I agree with those reasons as well), i've seen numerous documentaries on Wal-Mart, however i'll give you the benefit of the doubt and watch this video as well, mainly because you are right, people shouldn't be posting on the topic without thoroughly researching it, i'll post back after i've watched it.

 

Brilliant, someone finally looking at two sides of an argument instead of just jumping on the sensationalist bandwagon!

 

First off, it is hard to give much respect to this video considering it is hosted by two comedians, presents NO hard evidence of its claims, and is laced with profanity throughout. However, the video makes alot of good points from the Libertarian point of view (although that $10 hourly wage part is an outright lie), I do agree that the vast majority of people who dislike Wal-Mart do so because it's a fad, most of them don't even know what they are hating, they just swallow the same regurgitated anti-walmart rhetoric thats been around for years now. However it doesen't change my position in the slightest, I don't feel that Walmart in and of itself is evil, hell the banking industry, insurance industry and medical industries are much much worse than Walmart. It's just another international corporation run by fat plutocrats......the real problem here is corporocracies as a whole, they're all bad, plain and simple. They have all systematically destroyed cultural, regional, national, and even personal values in virtually every country on the planet. No, Wal-Mart itself isn't the boogie man, they are just another corporation playing the game, and they get picked on for their success..........the unconscionable reality is far greater than just one company, the international system that allows companies to expand unchecked, consolidate power, and enslave the human capital..........that is the real enemy.

 

I'm with you I think there should be more exploitation of retards so that we can have cheap food and alcohol. I would prefer any time to be servede by a cheap exploited retard than an overpaid retard. I would be paying their wages with higher prices. Dont get me wrong I am not against retards, just higher prices. Can I help it if the whole supply of retards from the fields to the checkout is there simply to provide cheap food, look if it is not broke why fix it? Do you people realise that if these checkout people were educatd they would demand more from society then we would have to import more illegals to do the job. I am sure you all have good motives at heart but thats not reason to be dumb and demand higher prices. Look at it this way, a retard works picking olives, then a retard boxes them and ships them to another retard that puts them on a plane. The retard knows he is being exploited but co-operates as he needs the money - pay the retard and you lose, only retards want higher wages for retards

 

The down side about this whole debate is this: No matter what, the little guy loses! If a Wal-Mart gets built in your town, your city politicians will spend tons of money courting them, greasing the wheels. The money spent developing that project could have been spent on parks, or clinics, or (god-forbid) actual economic development. If you stand up to Wal-Mart and manage to keep them out, then most of that money has been spent anyway, not to mention the extra legal costs. The city then raises taxes, small businesses close under the strain and you end up driving 45 minutes out of town every week to buy groceries.