Do you shop at Walmart?

[Foxfyre]

What the hell is up with all this run-amok nostalgia? It's all very well and good to have a warm, fuzzy feeling in your tummy and a tear in your eye when you think about "back in the day", but this idea that we're supposed to reverse all technological and economic change to strand ourselves forever at that point - whatever point it was, because people don't even agree about THAT - is just ludicrous.

Just because I remember fondly a time when my life wasn't full of cell phones jangling everywhere I go and rude people carrying on personal conversations at the top of their lungs right next to me in the supermarket does NOT mean I want to go back to a time when having my car break down meant a five-mile walk to the nearest payphone to call for help.

Get a grip, you anti-capitalist weirdos.

Well in truth I do remember those 'olden days' when Sunday really was a day of rest or at least leisure for most of us. Not only did all the businesses in town close, but our parents arranged their week so that housework and other mundane tasks--except for Sunday dinner which was a noon meal then--would not be done on Sunday. So Sunday was a day to just kick back, maybe visit with family or friends. And in my opinion that was a good thing and it was good for people.

But oh well. The world changed. Things have become faster and more complicated and people live much differently now and do business and do their shopping much differently than they did back then. And at least most of us 'old timers' have adjusted to that and deal with it. So okay, we may remember those old days fondly and regret their passing.

But most of us sure as hell don't blame Wal-mart because the 21st century happened.

But you are very right, Cecile, that Wal-mart does not exist for the benefit of its employees. Or its customers for that matter. It exists for the benefit of making money for those who own it and hold interest in their stock.

Nor do the customers shop at Wal-mart for Wal-mart or its employees benefit for the most part. They shop there because Wal-mart offers them products during times they want to shop at a price they are willing to pay. They spend their money at Wal-mart to benefit themselves.

Nor do the employees work for the benefit of Wal-mart or its customers. They work to make money for their own interests.

And somehow, all benefit each other simply by selfishly looking to their own interests.

 

[Harry Dresden]

If the store had the lowest price on something that I wanted yes I would. For those who feel victimized by Walmart's practices I suggest they make themselves better equipped for the job market. Opportunities are plentiful for those who possess the best qualifications, market themselves well and have the wherewithal to commit to what the job market demands.

What dream world do you live in? I'm 51 and have tried to get a job since the economy tanked in '08. Well educated, experienced, but yet never even get in for an interview after submitting enough resumes to wall paper a house.

thats because your now considered an "Old Fart"......

 

[Harry Dresden]

Yup, and I don't feel bad about it either

I am proud to shop at Walmart. I generally shop early in the mornings when the store, with the exception of employees, is not busy and I feel I have the place to myself.

The employees at our beautiful store are happy, and laughing and grateful to have their jobs and don't want to go union. The Photo employee has worked there for 12 years, makes $20.00 an hour and loves her health benefits. Or she did as of three months ago. I don't what if anything has changed since.

I am proud of Walmart, for it offers great pricing as well as jobs to others who might be considered unemployable in other stores.

The store manager is good to the employees and that is reflected in the attitudes of the latter, at our local, clean and spiffy, Walmart.

I like to save money and be made to feel as an important customer. I like to support Walmart but I don't expect perfection; just great prices and friendly attitudes.

and i bet the guys enjoy it when you come in too.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Yup, and I don't feel bad about it either

I am proud to shop at Walmart. I generally shop early in the mornings when the store, with the exception of employees, is not busy and I feel I have the place to myself.

...

I shop at Walmart early in the morning because AquaAthena wears skimpy dresses...

yea.....can you imagine her and Syrenn coming in at the same time?....

 

[JOSweetHeart]

I am working tomorrow and I am not crying about it.

Is being on the job tomorrow what you already wanted?

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. Some people like to be off on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with their families and I can't blame them. I lost three cousins and one of my grandmothers all in just last year alone (I lost one of them three cousins on this day actually last year.) and so to me everyone should try to grab as many holidays with their families as they can get their hands on.

 

[Harry Dresden]

Uh...yes, they are the ONLY incomes they have. Period.
I have a problem with 10 year olds working 14 hour days - obviously you do not.

if they are 10 year olds it is not their primary income

and I wasreall referring to Wal mart employees

WalMart employees are not the reason WalMart is successful.
WalMart is successful because they sell products Americans want at the lowest price possible. Which means 10 year olds working 14 hour days. Which means slave labor, people earning $.12 an hour living on dirt floors...all so you can buy a new Mattell toy for $4 instead of $5.99.

hey our Country had to progress from our "Child Labor" days to where it is now....so now its up to Bangladesh and others to do it.....maybe they need some Unions to go over and shake things up.......

 

[Harry Dresden]

Just reading this at Huffpo and looking at the comments. Made me wonder if people who disapprove of Walmart still shop there.


Walmart's Internal Compensation Documents Reveal Systematic Limit On Advancement

Never have. Never will. I believe in buying American from locally owned stores as much as possible.

One cannot ALWAYS do this. But I do investigate the options before I buy anything. Saving a few pennies at the expense of our economy and American jobs is disgusting.

i hear ya Hugg.....if its American made and costs a buck more then the one made in Slobovia.....ill buy American.....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Just reading this at Huffpo and looking at the comments. Made me wonder if people who disapprove of Walmart still shop there.


Walmart's Internal Compensation Documents Reveal Systematic Limit On Advancement

I cannot vote, Amelia. The choices are too drastic. I do not shop at Wal*Mart, but I frequently pop in and out to pick up something that I cannot find at Costco. I do this with Publix, also.

So, technically, I do shop there, but I don't shop there.

you flip flop just like Romney.........

 

[Harry Dresden]

I will let my signature do the talking...

You could save a lot of space if you just changed your sig to "I'm a fucking moron". It conveys the same message, but more efficiently.

 

[Harry Dresden]

If the store had the lowest price on something that I wanted yes I would. For those who feel victimized by Walmart's practices I suggest they make themselves better equipped for the job market. Opportunities are plentiful for those who possess the best qualifications, market themselves well and have the wherewithal to commit to what the job market demands.

What dream world do you live in? I'm 51 and have tried to get a job since the economy tanked in '08. Well educated, experienced, but yet never even get in for an interview after submitting enough resumes to wall paper a house.

Have you considered that people just don't like you?

 

[Harry Dresden]

WalMart employees are not the reason WalMart is successful.
WalMart is successful because they sell products Americans want at the lowest price possible. Which means 10 year olds working 14 hour days. Which means slave labor, people earning $.12 an hour living on dirt floors...all so you can buy a new Mattell toy for $4 instead of $5.99.

A documentary I saw showed little girls putting together tacky little Barbie doll packages to be sent to WalMart (among others). It pointed out that the child workers did not make enough to actually buy one of the dolls.

And now it's supposed to be a scandalous newsflash that children in impoverished third-world countries can't afford to buy toys.

Lemme ask you something, dumbass. How likely do you think it'll be for children in that country to EVER have toys - and clean water, education, food, other frivolous shit like that - if companies from first-tier nations DON'T go open factories there and give people jobs? What do you suppose those little girls did for money to feed their families before that factory opened? Have you ever even considered these questions, or did you just leap straight to outrage that third-world jobs don't pay the same dollar amounts as jobs in America?

Dudley has to have something to Whine about....

 

[Harry Dresden]

its non union.... first great reason to shop there.


Yeah, when one comes along where i am going ill stop. The closest one is a good 40 miles away. National food brands are national food brands.... and you cant beat their prices.

A few points:

They are carrying less and less national brands, if you've noticed. Try finding Meuller's noodles/pasta. They've been dumped. There are a whole lot of brands that have quietly disappeared, replaced by Wal*Mart's Great Value brand.

Keep an eye on expiration dates. Wal*Mart's expire quicker than anyone else, except for the low income/food stamp places in the low income side of town.

You CAN beat their prices, and by a huge margin: Costco.

A 3 lbs. (48oz.) canister of Folgers Coffee at Costco is $9.99-$10.99 (fluctuates).

A 33.9 oz. canister at Wal*Mart is $8.98

When you can buy 68oz. of Carbonell Extra Virgin Olive Oil at Costco for $9.98 and Wal*Mart sells 17oz. for $4.98, it's really a no-brainer.

I could go on and on.

Of course, if you're 30 miles from a Wal*Mart, you're probably no closer to a Costco. I give you the same advice that Harvey Keitel gave Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta at the end of 'Pulp Fiction': "Move out of the sticks".

Okay, first of all, the word is "fewer", not "less", in this instance. I assume that English is your mother tongue, so perhaps you should learn to speak it.

Second of all, I've never heard of Mueller's pasta in my life, so they can't have been all THAT "national" a brand. WalMart can't carry everything, but they carry the same name brands, in general, that the local supermarkets are carrying, whatever those might be for your area. The only brand of anything that my local WalMart sells that the other stores don't is their own store brand.

she has ya there Synth.....im Italian and LOOK for different types of pasta....and when you mentioned that brand....i said....Mueller's?...........

 

[Nosmo King]

Setting aside for a moment your contempt for all us conservatives and your low opinion of us. . .

Daughter has a government job that more than once has required her to work through holidays. Can we condemn the goverrnment for that or can we assume she knew the drill when she took the job? Son works for a major oil company and he will be on call this Thanksgiving and could be called in for any issues or problems that come up. Shall we condemn the oil companies for not spending mega millions to shut down a refinery because it is Thanksigivng Day?

I spent a lot of years working in hospitals and yes, we were all expected to take turns working on the holidays. I suppose we could have just closed the hospital on Thanksgiving, but oh well. . . .might as well stay open and take care of sick people.

So yes. You can remove the Wal-mart and have no jobs at all in your small community--that is the case in almost every single little burg around here that could no longer support any kind of commerce and industry--or you can appreciate that there are jobs provided by the Wal-mart.

If it was not Wal-mart there, it would be some other big box store providing the large selection and affordable prices that the people demand. And if you didn't have a Wal-mart nearby, there is no guarantee that the more compassionate mom and pop stores that close on Sundays and holidays would be able to survive either because the country has changed and people are willing to driving longer distances to acquire the products they want.

P.S. Our local Wal-mart pays overtime to employees who work the holiday shifts and generally have more people volunteering to take those shifts than they need.

I can imagine emergencies visiting hospitals. I can understand why the processes of refining oil cannot be suspended. I appreciate that some governmental services must be on guard and at post 24 hours a day.

What I cannot imagine is the absolute necessity to tear folks away from their families just to open a store on Thanksgiving evening. Unless, of course, families don't count as much as the bottom line.

Because YOUR family is YOUR problem. THEIR problem is their customers, who want to be able to run out and grab what they forgot the night before, or who maybe just want to get out of the house - WITH family members, usually - and do a little Christmas browsing.

Get the fuck over the idea that businesses exist - or should exist - to perpetuate your hopelessly idealized "Ozzy and Harriet" view of how the world should work, even if you've got to pass laws and FORCE everyone to be 1950s happy.

WalMart's CUSTOMERS want them to be open on Thanksgiving. If they didn't, WalMart wouldn't make enough money that day to make it worth opening. WalMart serves its CUSTOMERS, not its employees. If you want to shop somewhere where the employees matter more than you, as the customer, do, go for it. The rest of us are not interested.

American Consumerism uber alles. Gee. We only have an entire month to have that stilted ethos shoved down our throats or up our asses. So long as a profit is made, who cares about family? Money is what matters. But don't EVER SAY ANYTHING ABOUT AMERICAN VALUES EVER AGAIN!!!! If the bottom line dictates your values, to Hell with them!

 

[Harry Dresden]

I find it humorous how many talk like they never go to walmart yet lets face it they are mostly talking out of their ass. Like its suppose to be some dirty little secret that people like to save money LOL Only a fucking idiot pays more for something on purpose. Do you fools think it somehow makes you better then the rest that you act like you pay a dollar more for sugar? LMAO

The savings isn't that much. Other stores offer similar savings on almost everything.

More important is whether or not we support "Made in China" and slave wages. We can say we shop there to save money but really, that's a pretty empty argument. Shopping at WalMart is the way you say you really don't give a flip about your country or your fellow citizens.

made in china is not just a walmart thing....


I shop at ikea.... and most of it is made in china
I shop at target...and most of it is made in china
i shop at macys, nordstorms, sacks, neiman marcus....and it is made in china.
i shop at bed bath and beyond....and most of it is made in china
i shop at home depot and lowes...and most of it is made in china
i shop at mom and pops...and most of it is made in china..
Most ALL of my stainless steal restaurant small wear equipment.... is made in china

hell.... ralph lauran... his USA olympic uniforms... were made in china.


so blaming walmart for made in china is a strawman.

when my Nephew was born i turned him over to look at his ass to see if he was made in China......

 

[Harry Dresden]

The average WalMart factory worker in Bangladesh makes $43 per month. On average, 14 hours per day.
Thank you for shopping at WalMart.
The Walton family is worth over $100 billion, gives less than 1% to charity, while 47% of WalMart employees children have no health insurance.
Thank you for shopping at WalMart.

(Source, iamwhatiseem's signature)

They aren't slaves. They can leave any time they want. They choose to work. But, for the record, I do support child labor.

I suspect the "average Bangladesh WalMart wage is actually less than that but its true that people like the Waltons AND those who line up like little robots DO support the dead-end cruelty of child labor and of slave conditions for both children and adults.

katzen, you are morally and ethically bankrupt. I actually skip over most of your posts because I don't want to believe that people like you exist. (To be fair, there are a few others here who are filled with the same sad hatred and bitterness that seems to eat at you.)

Yes, they are slaves. In this economy or any other, there simply are not jobs for a certain segment of our society. That does not mean we should value them less or pay them truly slave wages.

The fact is that individuals don't really have a lot of power over their immediate world. Most of us have no choice but to put up with landlords, banks, bosses, etc. But, one place where we have the ultimate control is how we choose to spend our money.

I've boycotted Proctor and Gamble for more than 30 years. Have they missed me? Nope. But, I can look at myself in the mirror.

All stores sell the same crappy Chinese stuff because the United States actually has a very small manufacturing base. Government regulations sent most manufacturing out of the country.

No they don't. And, how many times do you have to be told to turn off fox?

are you Whining AGAIN?......thats all you do....

 

[Harry Dresden]

Walmart hires most people part time to avoid giving them health insurance.

so do a lot of other companies.....the Post Office wants to do that....

 

[Foxfyre]

I am working tomorrow and I am not crying about it.

Is being on the job tomorrow what you already wanted?

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. Some people like to be off on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with their families and I can't blame them. I lost three cousins and one of my grandmothers all in just last year alone (I lost one of them three cousins on this day actually last year.) and so to me everyone should try to grab as many holidays with their families as they can get their hands on.

Amen. Family is precious and we should never take it for granted. But the fact is, some people WANT to work on the holidays, most especially when they get premium pay to do so. There was a time we needed the money far more than we needed time, and I volunteered to work holidays to get the double pay. So I do not sneer at those who choose not to work on Sundays or holidays and I don't sneer at those who do.

Again, I very seriously doubt more than a few Wal-mart employees, if even that, are being REQUIRED to work on Thanksgiviing. But the fact remains that nobody is forced to work for Wal-mart and we all have the choice of what we are and are not willing to do in matters of family, work, religion, where we live, and every other aspect of the American way of life. We are a free people where nobody has the right to dictate to us what we must do in such matters.

Wal-mart is in business to make money and for no other reason. They made a marketing decision not to allow their competitors to get the jump on them by remaining closed on Thanksgiving evening. They are by no means the only retailer who made that decision. If it works out they may do it again. If nobody is interested in shopping on Thanksgiving evening, they'll all chalk it up to an experiment that wasn't profitable and they won't do it anymore.

Wal-marts customers won't be going to Wal-mart to help Wal-mart out. They will be going there for products they want and Wal-mart has.

Wal-marts employees won't be going to work for Wal-mart's benefit or the customers' benefit but to earn money to use for their own purposes.

 

[Cecilie1200]

What the hell is up with all this run-amok nostalgia? It's all very well and good to have a warm, fuzzy feeling in your tummy and a tear in your eye when you think about "back in the day", but this idea that we're supposed to reverse all technological and economic change to strand ourselves forever at that point - whatever point it was, because people don't even agree about THAT - is just ludicrous.

Just because I remember fondly a time when my life wasn't full of cell phones jangling everywhere I go and rude people carrying on personal conversations at the top of their lungs right next to me in the supermarket does NOT mean I want to go back to a time when having my car break down meant a five-mile walk to the nearest payphone to call for help.

Get a grip, you anti-capitalist weirdos.

Well in truth I do remember those 'olden days' when Sunday really was a day of rest or at least leisure for most of us. Not only did all the businesses in town close, but our parents arranged their week so that housework and other mundane tasks--except for Sunday dinner which was a noon meal then--would not be done on Sunday. So Sunday was a day to just kick back, maybe visit with family or friends. And in my opinion that was a good thing and it was good for people.

I appreciate that it was nice back when life was slower. On the other hand, I refuse to let myself be blinded by the golden glow of nostalgia to the point where I forget that the "days of yore" weren't ENTIRELY spiffy.

And more importantly, I'm not going to try to decree that THAT is the only acceptable way of doing things, and anyone who chooses to do otherwise should be forced to comply with my worldview . . . which is where I'm REALLY differing with these leftists and their "misty water-colored memories".

But oh well. The world changed. Things have become faster and more complicated and people live much differently now and do business and do their shopping much differently than they did back then. And at least most of us 'old timers' have adjusted to that and deal with it. So okay, we may remember those old days fondly and regret their passing.

A lot of old-timers still do things the old way in their own personal lives. Congratulations to them. So long as they understand that I'M not compelled to do the same, we're good.

But most of us sure as hell don't blame Wal-mart because the 21st century happened.

Yup. That IS the crux of the problem.

But you are very right, Cecile, that Wal-mart does not exist for the benefit of its employees. Or its customers for that matter. It exists for the benefit of making money for those who own it and hold interest in their stock.

Well, yes and no. Yes, it exists to make money for its stockholders, but it does that by serving its customers. So, in essence, it exists to serve its customers.

Nor do the customers shop at Wal-mart for Wal-mart or its employees benefit for the most part. They shop there because Wal-mart offers them products during times they want to shop at a price they are willing to pay. They spend their money at Wal-mart to benefit themselves.

Just try to convince a liberal that shopping is not about charity and bestowing benevolence on those workers and businesses you've deemed socially worthy. TRY it. I dare you.

Nor do the employees work for the benefit of Wal-mart or its customers. They work to make money for their own interests.

Again, yes and no. Yes, they're working for their own benefit, but the SMART ones, the ones who keep their jobs for a long time, understand that their own benefit coincides with WalMart's best interests in this.

And somehow, all benefit each other simply by selfishly looking to their own interests.

Quite true, and a big shout-out to Adam Smith.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I am working tomorrow and I am not crying about it.

Is being on the job tomorrow what you already wanted?

God bless you always!!!

Holly

P.S. Some people like to be off on holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas to be with their families and I can't blame them. I lost three cousins and one of my grandmothers all in just last year alone (I lost one of them three cousins on this day actually last year.) and so to me everyone should try to grab as many holidays with their families as they can get their hands on.

Many people don't have families. Many other people are estranged from their families, or just don't get along well with them. And many people of a third group are in a financial struggle, and have decided that supporting their families has to take precedence over warm fuzzies.

Oh, and as someone pointed out, many people don't celebrate the same holidays that we do, and so see no significance to tomorrow at all.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I can imagine emergencies visiting hospitals. I can understand why the processes of refining oil cannot be suspended. I appreciate that some governmental services must be on guard and at post 24 hours a day.

What I cannot imagine is the absolute necessity to tear folks away from their families just to open a store on Thanksgiving evening. Unless, of course, families don't count as much as the bottom line.

Because YOUR family is YOUR problem. THEIR problem is their customers, who want to be able to run out and grab what they forgot the night before, or who maybe just want to get out of the house - WITH family members, usually - and do a little Christmas browsing.

Get the fuck over the idea that businesses exist - or should exist - to perpetuate your hopelessly idealized "Ozzy and Harriet" view of how the world should work, even if you've got to pass laws and FORCE everyone to be 1950s happy.

WalMart's CUSTOMERS want them to be open on Thanksgiving. If they didn't, WalMart wouldn't make enough money that day to make it worth opening. WalMart serves its CUSTOMERS, not its employees. If you want to shop somewhere where the employees matter more than you, as the customer, do, go for it. The rest of us are not interested.

American Consumerism uber alles. Gee. We only have an entire month to have that stilted ethos shoved down our throats or up our asses. So long as a profit is made, who cares about family? Money is what matters. But don't EVER SAY ANYTHING ABOUT AMERICAN VALUES EVER AGAIN!!!! If the bottom line dictates your values, to Hell with them!

Guess what, Tardboy? Those "poor, oppressed" WalMart employees are ALSO CONSUMERS. A lot of them are THRILLED with that extra holiday pay because they're planning on spending it on Christmas presents for the family members you're lamenting their lost relationships with.

And if you don't want to be a consumer, pal, don't. Ain't nobody gonna make you, or frankly give a tin shit whether you are or not. But the rest of us understand, to a greater or lesser degree, that no man is an island. We are all incapable of making every single item we will ever need in our entire lives. We need to get those items from someone who CAN make them, and that makes us consumers. So spare me the ultra-righteous whinging and moaning about the evils of reality as a human being, okay?

And DON'T fucking tell me what I can and can't talk about, dipshit. I'll talk about American values all goddamned day long if I take a notion to, and YOU neither fucking OWN that concept or that term, nor do you DEFINE them for anyone else, so get that right through that pointy little fucking dunce cap you call a head. YOU don't get to decide that "American values" have to somehow exclude the simple need to purchase items from other people, or the less-basic enjoyment of purchasing items from other people, and you DON'T get to decide that "American values" has to be defined as "trying to make the world exist in some personal static, unchanging half-memory, half-daydream of perfection I've got stuck in my head". Got it? Good.

Now fuck off.