America is going to HAVE to boycott Wal-Mart...Or else...

the only way to boycott walmart is to go off the grid, which is what im doing, or shop at farmers markets, which is also what im doing!

reply to post by hadriana


See..that was I was saying above..If we all dropped walmart would the alternative be any better? How do we know who owns what and where each and everything comes from..It's so frustrating and time consuming..They have us addicted and left with few choices. It really is hard to grow all of your own food and buy meat from locals and to just drop out of mainstream..I am willing to try everything..I mean, compared to a lot of friends and family I am near saintly when it comes to my purchases..but listen..I am no saint..it's hard..it's time consuming and some days it's just easier to just run over to kroger and buy the Gdam gallon of milk.

Wal-mart can continue to employ millions.. They will just need to be bossed into paying them a fair wage, or mandated to.

I think evenutally, you will see marketing strategies all about renewing america with things like, "we pay our employees competitively" or "our products 100% made in the USA" as a selling tactic.. They will wait till its PC and popular and a 'Thing" then they will roll out their own small lil parade of raised for the hourlies....

Unless. There is a massive change in the way US politics works. We have a right who has INTENTIONALLY dragged us soooo far right, that a conversation about capping wages for CEOs and executives, is absolutely blasthemous even though its exactly whats choking out system.


Keep wal-mart. Change the pay scal DRAMATICALLY. Include profit sharing, and 'loyalty' raises for employees who are retained.

This is so stupid.

Unfortunately, the vast wealth that Wal-Mart is sucking out of our communities is not put back into our communities

Walmart sells things, charges sales tax. Sales tax=community money.

The profits are funneled out to Wal-Mart executives and shareholders.

Probably true, but without Walmart, several people wouldn't have jobs.

We may enjoy the low prices, but very little of the money that we give to Wal-Mart gets recycled in our local areas.

Once again sales tax

In fact, Wal-Mart has actually been forcing some U.S. manufacturers to pack up and move overseas

Stupid statement! No company or person can force anyone to do anything. What did they do hold a gun to their head?

In the old days, you could actually support a family selling electronics or running a general store. But you can't support a family working at Wal-Mart. The vast majority of the jobs that Wal-Mart creates are very low paying. Large numbers of Wal-Mart employees are actually on welfare, and this is part of the reason why we have seen such an explosion in the number of the working poor in America

Thousands of jobs are are low paying. Thousands of people are on welfare and are struggling. There is actually proof that a few towns that kept Walmart out, still died. People just drove to the next town over to go to Walmart .

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Agree entirely, though I'm in the UK, it is very difficult to find goods that aren't " Made in China " these days, even on the labels of " Quality " goods...Though it is fair to say a lot of stuff these days is designed to have a short lifespan, or built in obsolescence, or unrepairable, so that we are constantly replacing things, and fuelling the Chinese economy.

Perhaps it is time for the West to start making durable, quality goods, and educate the public to buy on quality, and durability, not cost ?

Or, is it as I suspect, ( UK at least..) that people actually LIKE shopping for it's own sake, so replacing poor quality items is their excuse for shopping ?

A trip to the local retail park seems to be the highlight of some families weekends, where I live. How sad.

You guys should watch that south park episode about Walmart and how they tryed to boycott it.

reply to post by mikellmikell


Why did you wait until July or June for that matter to purchase AC's for your cabins? Sound stupid to me and like YOU brought that upon yourself !
I'm sorry to be off topic a little BUT for real dude YOU screwed yourself...
Just for the record - The only time I EVER step foot in Wal-Mart is if it is 2am and I have to have it or else (EMERGENCY ONLY) I stopped shopping there 2 years ago...

Walmart is nothing but a bunch of thieves who make you work to the bone.
I use to work as a contractor for them and my my I had some terrible experiences with them.

Death to Walmart!!!

Yea but I think there goal to help keep inflation down helps our economy more then it hurts our economy.

Americans should just stop buying china made products. Double check your labels before you throw it in the buggy. If every single person would do this even on something as small as toothpaste, im sure it would make a dent somehow.

i]reply to post by TrueAmerican


So Wal Mart is killing the American dream? Driving mom and pop out of town and putting their workers on welfare?

Here's a flame for ya buddy.

Wal Mart isn't doing that. Neither is Kohls or any of the other major chains where 80% of their tags on the merchandise say " Made in China" or "Made in Indonesia". The American shoppers are doing it to themselves.

In regards to Wal Mart though, to stay on topic, people aren't "brainwashed" into thinking prices are lower. It's called marketing and every store that ever was has always done that. Don't get mad because Wal Mart does it better. Like I used to say a long time ago: "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful, hate me because I'm an a**hole.....do it for the right reasons." Don't bash Wal Mart because they're successful, bash the people who make them that way if that makes you feel better..

I look at threads like this as just another example of people not taking personal responsibility for their own lives. Instead of looking at themselves and finding out what they can DO to make a situation better, they take the easy way out, cry in their Wheaties every morning and look for a scapegoat to wag their fingers at. In this case, that scapegoat is Wal Mart. Now I'll admit, I personally think they went overboard with their business model, but since I'm not on their board of directors, there's not much I can do about that.

What I can do is comparison shop. Not everything at Wal Mart is cheaper than everywhere else. That's just not possible and we all know it. But since I seem to be in the minority here in regards to going to different stores to find the best bargains, nobody is giving Wal Mart an incentive to adjust their business practices to where everybody is better off. So in defense of Wal Mart on THAT topic, no, they're not going to change the way they do business because we're not giving them a reason to.

What I'm getting at is if people change their shopping habits, then Wal Mart is going to adjust the way they do business. If they want to keep making the profits they are, trust me, they will adjust....they will stay on top....and things just may be a little better for people. But I really don't see that happening because the majority of people, by and large, believe what a minority of people tell them.

And since people are all about the "convenience" of this, that and the other thing, they'll keep going to Wal Mart because it is convenient. But Wal Mart certainly isn't putting a gun to peoples heads forcing them to take the easy way out to shop 1 mile away instead of 5 because they THINK the prices are lower. Consumers are doing that themselves.

I imagine most Americans would rather buy American but have got used to low prices, and make due with the lower quality of the products from China. It will be painful for a while if we do change our sources from Chinese products, and thats a hurdle we either face or sink further into the made in China pit. It would take 3-4 years to ramp up American production, which would entail a lot of factories re-furnishing all their machinery and the tax encentives to help large and small business's come back to the forefront. Question is....... are Americans willing to submit to the rebuilding process of America? It could be helped by a new 'Buy American' push in the media, a jump on the bandwagon. It would likely take off with a lot of energy, but it would take a decade before we were to realize the benefits to our Nation. And in that time I'm sure there would be those that would line themselves up to plunder the new system, as always.

AND thats if everything else remains 'static'........ that is, we have no major natural disasters, no wars, no pandemics or anything that would hamper our reconstruction of the manufacturing/monetary base. We also have a HUGE population that has NEVER had to scrimp or sacrifice to get by and are completely unable to fathom the concept. they have been spoiled from birth with every conceivable luxury at their disposal. A complete re-education would have to be put into action to activate such a cultural change or 'Shock' Necessity is the mother of invention, but old cliche's are just that 'OLD'.

Just about anybody who has ever shopped at Walmart has come away from the store mad and angry by the service or the treatment while inside. And their employees are being used like toilet paper essentially.
There is no quick answer on the horizon....... unless we all decide enough is enough, and life threatening.

I hate Wal-Mart. Hate. I don't know a soul who likes it.

However, in an area like I live in, there isn't much of an option. In the town I grew up in the only options were Wal-Mart or a small chain grocery store. The other option was driving 30+ miles to any other kind of store. People just cannot afford to shop at those other grocery stores.

I moved out of that town when I got married to an even smaller town of about 2000 people. We have one grocery store in town. I bought ice cream there in a pinch the other night. The cheapest was $5 for a half gallon, but it went clear up to $8. I know prices are different everywhere, but compare that to what we usually pay. Same brand, $1.99 at Price Chopper. Ridiculous. We cannot afford to shop small town stores, even with gas prices included.

We shop at Aldi, though to be honest I have no idea how they compare to Wal-Mart when it comes to their employee benefits, etc. I just know I can buy avocados for $.44 each rather than $1.50 or more elsewhere. I have cut down our Wal-Mart shopping list as much as possible, but we still end up having to buy stuff from there. Mainly toiletries likes shampoo and the like. Ever tried to buy shampoo at a salon or grocery store?

When it comes down to it, in areas like mine, it just isn't possible not to shop there. We flat out can't afford it. We can barely afford it at Wal-Mart. No matter how much I hate them and everything they stand for.

I don't like Walmart... I do not shop Walmart... and even though my wife got a Sam's Club Card... thanks to "events" I formulate, we have not shopped there much either...

The sad truth, however, is that there is not much produced in the USA that is easy to find. Sure, I could go on the net, but when I need something today...that is..TODAY...NOW... I have to buy what is available. That means 90% of the time...foreign made.

The company I work for... a farm supply business sells t-shirts. T-Shirts with a big ol' American Flag.... made in Honduras. I was pissed. I am the asst manager and my manager wanted to know why I didn't take advantage of the special pricing for team members and get one... I was livid. I said that is "hypocritical as hell" out very loud on the sales floor... "to wear an American Flag shirt made in a foreign country".... he didn't ask me again. Few others bought them either.

On the other hand... we have many customers... all red, white, and blue...buying cheap foreign crap that breaks easy... still want the cheapest and then wonder why I don't discount it further....

Most customers that shop Walmart are like a trapped man starving to death and slowly eating parts of his body to stay alive.... buying Walmart today even though it knocks one more year off the inevitable collapse of our country... and knowing it too.

Still many of the customers at Walmart... and even my store... are not capable of critical thought... so they go in...credit cards blazing... buying the very things that will kill them and America.

I am digging a big hole in the country.... and when the whole damn thin folds up... I will close the door... wait a few months... and then come out and see which language I have to learn.

Originally posted by audioengineer
This is so stupid.

Unfortunately, the vast wealth that Wal-Mart is sucking out of our communities is not put back into our communities

Walmart sells things, charges sales tax. Sales tax=community money.

And if there were one hundred small local companies selling the same products, you think that sales tax wouldn't be going back into the community?
I also think you should double check how much tax Wal-Mart actually pays.

The family actually takes their money into off-shore tax havens. In the case of a hundred small businesses they wouldn't have the impetus to do that - not being corporations. All that money from the small business run by the local family would be staying in the community. The family business doesn't take their money out of the country to avoid taxes. They also spend it again in the community in the businesses of their friends and neighbors.

Originally posted by audioengineer

The profits are funneled out to Wal-Mart executives and shareholders.

Probably true, but without Walmart, several people wouldn't have jobs.

If hundreds of smaller companies rose up to take their place - which is what would happen in any economic situation - those people would still have jobs. In fact, they would probably be earning more, with good benefits packages too. If you work for a smaller local business you are treated like a real person, because the people who own the business actually have a stake in the community and are not some ghostly apparition you only hear about and never see.

Originally posted by audioengineer

We may enjoy the low prices, but very little of the money that we give to Wal-Mart gets recycled in our local areas.

Once again sales tax

Once again, you're wrong. Sales tax is a small % of the money. The vast majority of the money any Wal-Mart store makes is immediately funneled out of the country and into a tax haven. They avoid paying much of their tax this way, not contributing to the state in which they operate.

If Wal-Mart didn't exist, there would be hundreds of other smaller businesses providing those products, employing more people, paying just as much tax (probably more because they cannot afford a team of tax lawyers to fight and negotiate a tax bill down to almost nothing in the way that corporations often do).

Originally posted by audioengineer

In fact, Wal-Mart has actually been forcing some U.S. manufacturers to pack up and move overseas

Stupid statement! No company or person can force anyone to do anything. What did they do hold a gun to their head?

In competitive terms, yes. They have a monopoly, they might not be able to force businesses to do that, but they can threaten them. If you had a business with Wal-Mart being your only option, and they tell you that unless you do as they say they will stop dealing with you, what are you going to do, say no and end your business?

It angers me that so many people are so stupid and naive when it comes to how corporations are destroying our communities. The fact that these corporations are extracting wealth from communities all over the world is plain to see for anyone who has even the most basic grasp of economics.

The very intention of a corporation, it's structure and the way they operate proves this. The business model REQUIRES the extraction of wealth from communities. That is what a corporation is, it's how they grow and become dominant in a market.

As if Americans want to work hard in factories like it's the industrial revolution anymore. However, if they kept some manufacturing they could get in mexicans to work the plants. They just don't want to work hard anymore though like they once did. It's a changing world. I think walmart is the best thing going. Every dollar counts. If you save even 1 dollar it matters. And I know the food at wal mart is about 35% less than at Safeway. Way better bargans. As far as jobs go, well globalization has been in full effect for a long time and will continue to do so. You got to work smart now a days not hard. If you can't then you work at walmart.

They're opening up a wal mart here in Pointes-Aux-Trembles the part of Montreal that needs the least a big company like them, they're gonna ruin a lot of small buisenesses.
Apperently it will be the smallest wal mart in north america, first it was a zellers.

Crap mart only sells the finest crap to fit your needs and wants, want a pair of cheap jeans? Go at crap mart.

Kinda like that name... Crap mart!!

Wal mart is a huge problem for the US econoy and has been for some time now. I avoid Wal mart as well as other big box stores whenever possible. It is better to shop local. One of the big problems is that most Americans are convinced they "need" a bigger tv, louder stereo, or the newest video game. I think that it will take a change in our thinking before any real changes come. We spend as little as possible on our food sources so that we can have "extra" money to spend on gadgets we could easily live without. I am not saying that I am any better, I have a PS3 a flat screen tv, and a laptop. We all need to take a good look at our priorities and adjust. Buy local when you can, buy American always.

I like Wal-Mart mainly because I can shop at 4:00am every two or three weeks when not too many people are there crawling all over each other. The other main reason is I can get most everything in one stop. I leave Wal-Mart and go to a grocery store that opens 6:00am to get a few other items that I'm particular about that Wal-Mart doesn't carry and to buy gas every two or three months.

I really have no expectation of quality electronics or appliances and just chunk them when they break and get a new one the next time I'm at Wal-Mart.

When I go to Wal-Mart I'm not looking for a lot of conversation and most of the associates are busy restocking, straightening up and cleaning but it's not to hard to find the right associate if needed.

As far as the so called Mom & Pop local stores most seem, at least to me, to be doing you a favor just letting you in the door. A quick poll of friends will find you a mechanic, plumber, etc. for a more reasonable rate than a store front.

I like local restaurants even most of the chains because they do seems to appreciate your business.

I'm retired and pinch pennies. I accept short term savings buying multiple cheap electronics or appliance rather than some expensive maybe repairable ones that may or may not last longer because made in America doesn't necessarily mean quality anymore.

Originally posted by Mapkar
reply to post by Infi8nity

 

I agree completely. Large corporations are terrible for us. The problem is, we are so accustomed to "low prices" that even if we could bring back the small stores no one would buy anything because the prices would be higher.

The biggest obstacle to overcome is the average American consumer, they are largely idiots. Wal-Mart has told them they have "the low price" and people assume it is the lowest price so they don't compare.

I can buy a 5 gallon gas gas can at the local farm supply store for almost exactly 2/3 of Wal-Mart's price, that is a huge difference. I can usually get oil for close to 1/2 price by buying it on sale at the local auto parts store and I use good synthetic oil. They have opened 1 "Neighborhood Market" grocery store and are working on the second, both within about 2-3 miles of me, I'll never darken their doors. I don't really need a reason other than their prices which are expensive (judging by the prices at the local super center). Kroger consistently is much lover on a lot of things, even our smaller regional chain is often cheaper.