I always shopped at walmart at school(university). Now I am at home for the summer and my parents won’t let me go to walmart because they say its bad for the average worker.
However, I save a ton of money compared to shopping at my local grocery store(Jewel which is owned by Albertsons)
What do you think?
Your parents are smelly hippies.
According to capitalism, you have two choices…
Spend less at walmart
OR
Spend a little more to help your local businesses eventually become just like Walmart.
Choose wisely.
Go with walmart and save a few bucks.
I saw a documentary on Walmart. They have a plan where employees can contribute to a fund used for charities. Collectively the employees contributed some odd $100,000 number. Collectively the Waltons contributed something like $500.00.
What I saw in the documentary was truely disturbing. I feel bad everytime I shop at Walmart, but I still shop there. It’s like an addiction. I know it is bad, but I can’t stop.
Bottom line, Walmart saves me money and the variety of products make it convenient for me.
Tell your parents that Walmart has done more to help the poor with real dollars then all of the Welfare and Food Stamp programs combined.
Ben Stein reviews it better then I can but if you add up the cost savings that a poor person gets from Walmart for food and clothing and compare it to the money spent on government entitlement programs. Walmart does more…and makes a profit.
A lot of people have to shop at Walmart because of the low prices. Many don’t have a choice to spend more money.
The correct answer is maybe.
Walmart charges lower prices for some goods but rips you off on others.
Not because of the price. But because you are getting a far-inferior product for what you pay. Prone to falling apart through normal use.
[quote]Hawkson101 wrote:
I always shopped at walmart at school(university). Now I am at home for the summer and my parents won’t let me go to walmart because they say its bad for the average worker.
However, I save a ton of money compared to shopping at my local grocery store(Jewel which is owned by Albertsons)
What do you think?[/quote]
I always buy locally grown products whenever possible to cut off the transportation fumes. Imagine how much a cargo, plane or truck pollutes to bring you kiwi in the winter. Often, local products tend to be more expensive than stuff brought from China or elsewhere, but I think future generations are worth the extra cents.
As for the Walmart case, if you don’t challenge it’s hegemony now, you might end up not having the choice at all in the future.
You may also wanna be concerned about their spying practices.
http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/11/news/companies/wal_mart.reut/
Food for thought.
[quote]orion wrote:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1509715597174925771[/quote]
Penn and Teller are Bullshit.
There is no doubt Walmart under pays their employees, tells their employees to file for health insurance with the state in which they reside, and practices horrible labor situations in other countries, among other Walmart atrocities.
I’m a big fan of Wal-Mart. I shop for groceries there and it saves me a lot of money. I don’t buy meat there (bad experiences).
I know that you hear a lot of stories about not treating employees fairly with wages and benefits. I’ve heard that the Waltons meet with their lawyers every morning to discuss lawsuits that employees have filed against Wal-Mart (supposedly they have over 500 pending lawsuits).
Wal-Mart: Yes
Wal-Mart is in the business of bringing you cheap stuff. That’s what they do. Wal-Mart does not exist for the purpose of employing as many happy people as possible.
If WM is mistreating an employee, he or she should take it up with his or her superior. If they are not satisfied, they should move on to another job. That’s the way it works for my job, and I have no more marketable skills or higher education than the average WM worker.
In the end, it has to be your own decision wether or not you want to give WM your patronage. Are they “good for workers”? I have no idea. But they save me money which makes it easier for me to feed my family. So it’s YES for me.
[quote]Petedacook wrote:
orion wrote:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1509715597174925771
Penn and Teller are Bullshit.
There is no doubt Walmart under pays their employees, tells their employees to file for health insurance with the state in which they reside, and practices horrible labor situations in other countries, among other Walmart atrocities. [/quote]
I think all of this was adressed on their video.
If some Wal-Mart executives committ crimes, let the justice system deal with it.
Underpays…
Ridiculous…
Buy Wal-Mart stock instead.
Then imagine if you had bought it in, say, 1984 or so. Let the dividends buy more stock…
Wal-mart rules.
If your trying to avoid support corporate corruption, drop out of life. Wal-mart gets a lot of attention because they are huge, but they darn sure ain’t the only ones who have done naughty things.
If you cannot afford to shop anywhere else I say go for it. I patronized Mal-Wart when I lived in Bum-fuck, NC out of necessity. One, I was poor; two, there was no other option that wasn’t more than 20 miles away.
I have nothing against them other than their competitive practices–what they do to undercut competition both with manufacturing jobs and their own employees.
I say patronize mom-and-pop–if you can afford it–and make sure you are purchasing fair trade or made in USA if you can help it. That can help alleviate some of the injustices perpetrated by huge corporations, in general. BTW, Target is no better as a corporation.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
I say patronize mom-and-pop–if you can afford it–and make sure you are purchasing fair trade or made in USA if you can help it. That can help alleviate some of the injustices perpetrated by huge corporations, in general. [/quote]
Would you buy oil that was only pumped and refined in the USA? Ready to pay $10/gallon of gas? I thought not.
You really need to think a little more before posting your communististic, satanic drivel.
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
satanic drivel.
[/quote]
Where the hell did that come from?
I like Walmart. I get some food on the cheap, and they gave my friend a job when his dad got sick and couldn’t work for a while.
-Gendou
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
Would you buy oil that was only pumped and refined in the USA? Ready to pay $10/gallon of gas? I thought not.
[/quote]
Why do you hate America?
[quote]Headhunter wrote:
LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
I say patronize mom-and-pop–if you can afford it–and make sure you are purchasing fair trade or made in USA if you can help it. That can help alleviate some of the injustices perpetrated by huge corporations, in general.
Would you buy oil that was only pumped and refined in the USA? Ready to pay $10/gallon of gas? I thought not.
You really need to think a little more before posting your communististic, satanic drivel.
[/quote]
Ummmm what does satan have to do with fair trade? Please learn to read…I said, “if you can afford it.”
Douche…
communistic, satanistic? Oxymoron?