[quote]orion wrote:
If monopolies can exist in a free market they are are a great thing. WalMart must do a great job.
I have no problems with monopolies if they are the result of excellence instead of government intervention. [/quote]
Pookie and the black driver already had great posts responding on that, but I’d like to add something: clearly, you’ve never been to a Wal-mart. They stink – both figuratively and physically. Yes, most of them have poor hygiene, on top of everything else; the products are of poor quality, they have problems keeping a decent stock, the variety sucks and the customer service is nothing short of appalling. They are, without a doubt, worse than any of the competition in just about anything – except at leveraging economies of scale and JIT.
The fact that most of their products are from quite possibly the worst of the worst companies out there – from the most well-known slave-driving Chinese companies (i.e., the worst among the Chinese) to well-known illegal immigrant sweatshops in the US (e.g., Tyson), is just the tip of the iceberg.
That is their secret – economies of scale, using the worst of the worst suppliers and JIT – nothing more, nothing less. They are great at that, and that’s why they make so much money, but with regards to everything else they are simply suck, and anyone who buys things there should feel all dirty inside.
Wal-mart represents the worst case scenario of capitalism – capitalism at its possible worst – and is basically a cancer in our economy.
I know this is harsh – but because I do love capitalism and believe in it, I want to save it; and to save capitalism in the US, I would very much like to see Wal-mart be crushed.
[quote]blck1jack wrote:
Ok I am basically conservative, but I despise Wal-Mart with a passion. I don’t trust them. They offer cheap stuff at cheap quality. Most of there stuff is made in China, which ticks me off. I am very patriotic, and therefore only buy things made in the USA. [/quote]
[quote]hspder wrote:
cap’nsalty wrote:
I’m not gonna even argue about the buying of stuff from China or using illegal immigrants; it suffices to say that I think everyone deserves a fair shot to make a buck, just being American doesn’t mean you have a divine right to more money than people in other countries.
Of course not – but anyone who enters this country without following the rules DOES NOT have the right to make money here; that is the law, you know.
I am all for immigration – but legal one. Starting your life in a country by breaking the law every time you get paid is definitely not a good way to start.
[/quote]
Walmart used to be Biotest’s biggest customer if I remember. They spoke quiet favorably of them in an atomic dog I believe.
Walmart drives a hard bargain with vendors. For that they provide a large market and reliable and consistent payments for your goods or service. Unless your in business it’s hard to appreciate how important that is. They are the holy grail for many companies who want to grow. This goes for US and foriegn suppliers.
Not everything sold at Walmart is made in China or by horrible evil suppliers. US products are well represented and quality varies by product…same as any other store.
[quote]hedo wrote:
Walmart used to be Biotest’s biggest customer if I remember. They spoke quiet favorably of them in an atomic dog I believe.
Walmart drives a hard bargain with vendors. For that they provide a large market and reliable and consistent payments for your goods or service. Unless your in business it’s hard to appreciate how important that is. They are the holy grail for many companies who want to grow. This goes for US and foriegn suppliers.
Not everything sold at Walmart is made in China or by horrible evil suppliers. US products are well represented and quality varies by product…same as any other store.[/quote]
I buy my Biotest supplements from Biotest directly.
orion wrote:
That was also the reason for Haiders success that was never understood outside of Austria, it was either voting for him or voting for the status quo that had become unbearable.
That was my impression too. I’m very sad to hear that – the only thing that pisses me off more than an incompetent government is an incompetent social-democratic government. Apparently they somehow forgot the “democratic” part. It’s sad, really.[/quote]
Who says they were incompetent?
They changed a lot of things for the better, they just behaved in exactly the way libertarians predict collectivists to behave.
Hajek baby, one of your discredited Austrian economists, though not with his economist hat on.
Since they honestly thought they knew better and only wanted the best, they were perfectly okay with raising taxes and give them back to us in the way their little social engineering schemes required.
That was not a perversion of Socialdemocracy, that was SD taken to its logical conclusion, or at least as far as we allowed them to take it.
It is easy to belittle Rands skill as a novelist unless you have seen those people with your own eyes. Her character descriptions are actually quite accurate.
I knew there was an answer to the healthcare/prescription drug mess in this country.
Our capitalist strategy is to have the government do nothing and have the large corporations figure out a solution.
I guess their thinking goes like this:
Give generic drugs at reduced prices. this will bring in more customers who will buy more stuff.
Maybe they could expand on that and offer discount surgery on say small stuff like apendix removal and upgrade them to plastic surgery.
The people who run our government do not believe in good government.
Don’t expect social security, Don’t expect your pension, don’t expect Healthcare reform. They want the private sector to handle it.
[quote]orion wrote:
That was not a perversion of Socialdemocracy, that was SD taken to its logical conclusion, or at least as far as we allowed them to take it.[/quote]
No – it was a perversion of Social Democracy. In fact, it was basically Socialism. Very different.
The reason they were incompetent and went too far into Socialism is this part:
This goes FUNDAMENTALLY against Social Democratic principles; we call it, in fact, corruption. The reason it’s called Social DEMOCRACY is, well, because it’s supposed to give people a lot more rope than more leftist Socialism. And what you describe above doesn’t fit that bill.
[quote]Skystud wrote:
I knew there was an answer to the healthcare/prescription drug mess in this country.
Our capitalist strategy is to have the government do nothing and have the large corporations figure out a solution.
I guess their thinking goes like this:
Give generic drugs at reduced prices. this will bring in more customers who will buy more stuff.
Maybe they could expand on that and offer discount surgery on say small stuff like apendix removal and upgrade them to plastic surgery.
The people who run our government do not believe in good government.
Don’t expect social security, Don’t expect your pension, don’t expect Healthcare reform. They want the private sector to handle it.[/quote]
Wal-Mart is fucking ridiculous. They have been getting greedier and greedier since the old man passed. I bet he’s barrel-rolling in his grave. It’s hard
to provide good customer service when all of your employees hate their jobs, since they aren’t getting paid shit. Also, retail clients think it’s ok to treat employees like shit, so that adds to shitty service. WM also runs on these skeleton crews, I mean, have you ever tried to find someone to help you get something?
That’s how they make their money. As few workers as possible, pay them barely enough to live on, let alone aford the “benefits,” and force vendors to sell at lower and lower prices, dragging quality down with it. The reason I buy a Snap-On wrench instead of Shang-Hai Stampery piece is that it won’t twist or break off when I’m trying to break loose a bolt. They sell a lot of cheap shit, and that’s just what a lot of it is. Cheap shit.
However, all of the “Great Value” or"Equate" stuff is just Del Monte, Ponds, or whatever brand in different packaging.
They recently capped employee salaries. That ought to make things better. I’m sure everyone will work twice as hard now that there’s no raise to shoot for.
[quote]Marmadogg wrote:
hedo wrote:
Walmart used to be Biotest’s biggest customer if I remember. They spoke quiet favorably of them in an atomic dog I believe.
Walmart drives a hard bargain with vendors. For that they provide a large market and reliable and consistent payments for your goods or service. Unless your in business it’s hard to appreciate how important that is. They are the holy grail for many companies who want to grow. This goes for US and foriegn suppliers.
Not everything sold at Walmart is made in China or by horrible evil suppliers. US products are well represented and quality varies by product…same as any other store.
I buy my Biotest supplements from Biotest directly.
Good lord - you sound like a 19 year-old college freshman.
Thank you.
That’s better than sounding like an ignorant fuckwad like yourself.[/quote]
You are indeed a stud - but you might try and use a better comeback than that. Maybe that passes for quick wit where you come from - but honestly, it’s a little slow.
