Do you shop at Walmart?

[WillowTree]

I bitch about obama in the shower even.

 

[Katzndogz]

Walmart is the downfall of the US. You wanna know what kills small business? Walmart.
You guys bitch about Obama, while shopping at Walmart.

Nonsense. Wal Mart doesn't kill small business, it increases small business. There isn't a Wal mart store that's not surrounded by independent stores like a hen sitting on a clutch. The businesses that Wal Mart kills are the ones selling shoddy overpriced merchandise. And, those businesses should die. The corner grocery selling molded produce and green meat with shelf goods long LONG past their expiration date should absolutely be put out of business. If you really want to buy shoddy goods and pay more for them, by all means support your local small business. No one is stopping you.

It really is quite easy for a savvy small business to remain healthy and solvent right next to a Wal Mart, plenty do. They just can't offer the same things as Wal Mart, charge more for them and expect customers to flock to the door. With a knowledgeable manager a nearby anchor like Wal Mart can only increase business. Saying that Wal Mart kills small business is like saying Macy's will kill a mall.

 

[auditor0007]

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.

While this will never happen, could you imagine if everyone in the US had an advanced degree and wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or wanted some other high profile job? Who would work at Walmart or any of the low paying jobs? There is a point when we need to ask ourselves if people who work full-time deserve a certain level of compensation. This doesn't mean that a Walmart worker should make as much as the store manager. But if they work full-time, should they not earn enough to pay their rent, put food on the table, and be covered by adequate health insurance? These are simple basics that I believe everyone should receive if they work for a living.

 

[depotoo]

No they don't, well at least not compared to the ones around here.
They never give you raises, it's hard to get benefits, and they treat their employees like crap. Every grocer here for sure pays more than Walmart. Plus most are in a union.
People who defend Walmart are complete morons.

So tell me, what stores are paying alot more? What county in the US? Let me have some names and I can compare them for you. And you did not answer my question as to what you think someone should make for those positions and what their skill sets are.

Albertson's, Safeway, Rosaurs, Yokes. Etc.
first off most are unions, which Walmarts prevents their employees from doing in the US. You make a decent income as a checker at all of those places. Checkers at Yokes make more than what my dad does, and have awesome benefits. I have friend who have college degrees but stayed at both Yokes and Albertson's because they could make more as a checker.
And I think people should make a decent living wage. They have to deal with the asshole public all day.
I was a checker at Kmart where I made crap when I was younger. The public are jackasses, especially ones who shop at Walmart or Kmart. Worst job I have ever had.

what county? I can't compare unless I have that info. So far as the unions, seems maybe that is really your gripe, are you union per chance?
Upon my research, I can't find anything on Yoke's other than they are located in Washington and in Idaho.
Now so far as Albertsons, starting wages are the same as Walmart in almost every cateogry. There is about a $2 difference per hour from Walmart on the high side. But, if you will note, many stores are having to be closed by Albertsons.
albertsons to close stores - Bing
Seems Albertsons keeps missing revenue estimates. We no longer have any Albertson's in our area as they have all been closed.

So I did find this about Yoke's in Idaho -

Yoke’s Fresh Market, a grocery store that anchors
the Bonner Mall in Ponderay, soon will complete a
$3.5 million renovation that includes a new façade,
signs and fresh paint. The renovation began
last fall with new paint and signs on the outside of
the store. In January, the store began interior work,
renovating a department at a time so the store
could remain open. Preparing for the grand reopening
on May 23, Yoke’s has added 15 to 20
employees to its current work force of 100. It is
also raising wages to the levels paid at the 11
Yoke’s stores in Washington state. For many
Yoke’s employees, that means an increase of a
dollar or more an hour. New employees now start
at $8.05 an hour, up from $7.75.

Now according to this that means they would start on average around 25 cents more per hour than the average for Walmart, Target, Publix, Safeway, etc.
Yokes also only has 11 locations of which they have shut down a couple of their other stores already.

Now, once again, it seems to me your grip eis that Walmart is not unionized and nothing more.


Safeway pays pretty much identical to Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Kroger & Publix.

 

[Connery]

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.

While this will never happen, could you imagine if everyone in the US had an advanced degree and wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or wanted some other high profile job? Who would work at Walmart or any of the low paying jobs? There is a point when we need to ask ourselves if people who work full-time deserve a certain level of compensation. This doesn't mean that a Walmart worker should make as much as the store manager. But if they work full-time, should they not earn enough to pay their rent, put food on the table, and be covered by adequate health insurance? These are simple basics that I believe everyone should receive if they work for a living.

I do not believe that an advanced degree is a guarantee for a job or position, it merely qualifies a person for a specific position.

Sure if a person works full time they should get the rewards that come with that position. Should someone does not and finds that untenable they should leave or find alternative employment. This shell game of switching hours or compelling employees to do more than they get paid for is a very old one. There are laws to protect employees and there is the free market to get a job or start a business. The world does not care whether I succeeded or have enough to pay my rent, that is my responsibility. I need to use all that is at my disposable whether it be job assistance, returning to school, working several jobs or whatever the situation calls for in order to maintain myself and survive in this world.

 

[Katzndogz]

I don't find much in Europe to be admirable. Most of their social engineering BS is just that big piles of BS. The one thing they did get right is the minimum wage. There is no across the board minimum wage. It is classification by classification. What minimum wage is for your job, depends on your job category. Some categories pay as little as $3.00 an hour. Some pay more than $100.00 an hour. If a person cannot live on $3.00 an hour, it is their obligation to move into a different category. The problem isn't that people become low wage workers and cannot pay rent, put food on the table or have health insurance. It's that they expect to do that on low wages! If they do choose to make their living for their entire lives, then they have to make personal adjustments, get roommates, learn to like rice and beans, go to the free clinic. Or find a way to advance.

No matter how much a worker needs, tasks have a value of their own. Mopping floors has a value. Stocking shelves has a value. The value remains the same no matter what the laborer needs. I've run businesses for many years, all kinds of different businesses. It isn't easy to get people to recognize the value of what they do. A man who was hired to mop floors and clean cages wanted $30.00 an hour because that would meet his needs. I could not budge him into recognition that floor mopping had a value of its own that didn't require paying someone $30.00 an hour so I let him go.

If a store, like WalMart has job requirements whose value does not match the living expenses of the worker, the solution is to get workers who are not wholly dependent on their salaries. Retirees, second income spouses, living at home young people are ideal candidates for those positions. It is not up to the employer to meet the needs of employees. It is up to the employer to find employees whose needs match the value of the work they do.

 

[auditor0007]

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.

While this will never happen, could you imagine if everyone in the US had an advanced degree and wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or wanted some other high profile job? Who would work at Walmart or any of the low paying jobs? There is a point when we need to ask ourselves if people who work full-time deserve a certain level of compensation. This doesn't mean that a Walmart worker should make as much as the store manager. But if they work full-time, should they not earn enough to pay their rent, put food on the table, and be covered by adequate health insurance? These are simple basics that I believe everyone should receive if they work for a living.

I do not believe that an advanced degree is a guarantee for a job or position, it merely qualifies a person for a specific position.

Sure if a person works full time they should get the rewards that come with that position. Should someone does not and finds that untenable they should leave or find alternative employment. This shell game of switching hours or compelling employees to do more than they get paid for is a very old one. There are laws to protect employees and there is the free market to get a job or start a business. The world does not care whether I succeeded or have enough to pay my rent, that is my responsibility. I need to use all that is at my disposable whether it be job assistance, returning to school, working several jobs or whatever the situation calls for in order to maintain myself and survive in this world.

The US became the superpower that it is behind its middle class. That middle class was created by demanding that American workers be paid fair and reasonable wages for the work they did. We no longer back the American worker, and because of this, we are losing the middle class. The funniest thing about it is that we blame the poor workers for all of it. American business continues to shoot itself in the foot for the long run in the name of instant profit for the short run.

 

[tjvh]

You know it's funny... Ever since I became aware that there is a certain fringe element of Liberals that despise everything Wal-Mart stands for I have become quite fond of shopping there.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

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.

how the fuck do you know any of this?

Seriously??
How the fuck can you NOT know any of this???

 

[Katzndogz]

We are losing the middle class because more and more of the middle class is being forced into government dependency. The government answer is to pay as much in dependency as the middle class used to make by working.

In reality, no one cares that someone in Bangladesh is making $43.00 a month because $43.00 a month is a substantial middle class lifestyle in Bangladesh. Having ten year olds working 14 hour days is an acceptable trade off to having ten year olds pedaling their ten year old asses on the street for 25 cents a roll. In Bangladesh there is no government provided welfare. It may feel noble to liberals to have these kids dying of starvation in back alleys, but it really is better for them to work 14 hour days. It's okay if you choose to die for the cause, it is not okay to demand that someone else die for YOUR cause.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

We are losing the middle class because more and more of the middle class is being forced into government dependency. The government answer is to pay as much in dependency as the middle class used to make by working.

In reality, no one cares that someone in Bangladesh is making $43.00 a month because $43.00 a month is a substantial middle class lifestyle in Bangladesh. Having ten year olds working 14 hour days is an acceptable trade off to having ten year olds pedaling their ten year old asses on the street for 25 cents a roll. In Bangladesh there is no government provided welfare. It may feel noble to liberals to have these kids dying of starvation in back alleys, but it really is better for them to work 14 hour days. It's okay if you choose to die for the cause, it is not okay to demand that someone else die for YOUR cause.

Sorry. I guess if it makes you feel better by believing this then so be it.
No one should have to work 14 hours per day for $.12 an hour.
The reason they do is because we choose the lowest price on the shelves...again and again.
If tomorrow Americans everywhere started choosing fair trade products and stopped buying products that use slave labor - then it would stop.
You could say the same thing about black slavery in the south in early America. They lived better as slaves here than in the jungles of Africa - but that doesn't make it any less wrong.

 

[Sarah G]

I shop Costco .. they're fair to their employees.

I wish we had Cosco around here, I've had occasion to use their brand in several items and they are quality.. My city has Walmart. I go sometimes but I don't especially like it. Cheap product average prices.

 

[HUGGY]

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.

 

[Amelia]

We are losing the middle class because more and more of the middle class is being forced into government dependency. The government answer is to pay as much in dependency as the middle class used to make by working.

In reality, no one cares that someone in Bangladesh is making $43.00 a month because $43.00 a month is a substantial middle class lifestyle in Bangladesh. Having ten year olds working 14 hour days is an acceptable trade off to having ten year olds pedaling their ten year old asses on the street for 25 cents a roll. In Bangladesh there is no government provided welfare. It may feel noble to liberals to have these kids dying of starvation in back alleys, but it really is better for them to work 14 hour days. It's okay if you choose to die for the cause, it is not okay to demand that someone else die for YOUR cause.

Sorry. I guess if it makes you feel better by believing this then so be it.
No one should have to work 14 hours per day for $.12 an hour.
The reason they do is because we choose the lowest price on the shelves...again and again.
If tomorrow Americans everywhere started choosing fair trade products and stopped buying products that use slave labor - then it would stop.
You could say the same thing about black slavery in the south in early America. They lived better as slaves here than in the jungles of Africa - but that doesn't make it any less wrong.

Please address Katz' point that if the $.12 an hour job were unavailable, the children might then have no means of support and would be more vulnerable to starvation or the sex trade.

 

[boedicca]

I don't shop at Walmart because I cannnot stand the ambiance - and prefer doing as much shopping as possible on the internets. I save time, which makes me happy.

 

[sakinago]

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

Can you people at least look at the sampling of the surveys or studies before you post them. I wish huffington post would be more responsible, but no one is ever going to expect that from them.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

Walmart is the downfall of the US. You wanna know what kills small business? Walmart.
You guys bitch about Obama, while shopping at Walmart.

That's a load of crap. You clearly don't get economies of scale. Go to business school.

 

[TheGreatGatsby]

I shop Costco .. they're fair to their employees.

I wish we had Cosco around here, I've had occasion to use their brand in several items and they are quality.. My city has Walmart. I go sometimes but I don't especially like it. Cheap product average prices.

Average prices? Try the cheapest prices.

 

[Katzndogz]

We are losing the middle class because more and more of the middle class is being forced into government dependency. The government answer is to pay as much in dependency as the middle class used to make by working.

In reality, no one cares that someone in Bangladesh is making $43.00 a month because $43.00 a month is a substantial middle class lifestyle in Bangladesh. Having ten year olds working 14 hour days is an acceptable trade off to having ten year olds pedaling their ten year old asses on the street for 25 cents a roll. In Bangladesh there is no government provided welfare. It may feel noble to liberals to have these kids dying of starvation in back alleys, but it really is better for them to work 14 hour days. It's okay if you choose to die for the cause, it is not okay to demand that someone else die for YOUR cause.

Sorry. I guess if it makes you feel better by believing this then so be it.
No one should have to work 14 hours per day for $.12 an hour.
The reason they do is because we choose the lowest price on the shelves...again and again.
If tomorrow Americans everywhere started choosing fair trade products and stopped buying products that use slave labor - then it would stop.
You could say the same thing about black slavery in the south in early America. They lived better as slaves here than in the jungles of Africa - but that doesn't make it any less wrong.

Except the workers in Bangladesh aren't here. They are able to improve their standard of living in Bangladesh. If everyone stopped buying products made with low wage labor, not only would prices rise, but those people would not have jobs at all. These people aren't slaves. They are glad to have a job. But to those who consider all working for money nothing but wage slaves I can see it being slavery.

 

[Katzndogz]

We are losing the middle class because more and more of the middle class is being forced into government dependency. The government answer is to pay as much in dependency as the middle class used to make by working.

In reality, no one cares that someone in Bangladesh is making $43.00 a month because $43.00 a month is a substantial middle class lifestyle in Bangladesh. Having ten year olds working 14 hour days is an acceptable trade off to having ten year olds pedaling their ten year old asses on the street for 25 cents a roll. In Bangladesh there is no government provided welfare. It may feel noble to liberals to have these kids dying of starvation in back alleys, but it really is better for them to work 14 hour days. It's okay if you choose to die for the cause, it is not okay to demand that someone else die for YOUR cause.

Sorry. I guess if it makes you feel better by believing this then so be it.
No one should have to work 14 hours per day for $.12 an hour.
The reason they do is because we choose the lowest price on the shelves...again and again.
If tomorrow Americans everywhere started choosing fair trade products and stopped buying products that use slave labor - then it would stop.
You could say the same thing about black slavery in the south in early America. They lived better as slaves here than in the jungles of Africa - but that doesn't make it any less wrong.

Please address Katz' point that if the $.12 an hour job were unavailable, the children might then have no means of support and would be more vulnerable to starvation or the sex trade.

It's worse than that really. Parents will break the bones of their children and allow them to heal as twisted limbs to make them more sympathetic beggars. There are worse things than working for a living.

A Rolling Crone: CHILD BEGGARS IN INDIA

Frommer’s Guide to India in the “Mumbai” section deals with the problem of beggars: ”Families of beggars will twist and weave their way around the cars at traffic lights, hopping and even crawling to your window with displays of open wounds, diseased sores, crushed limbs, and starving babies, their hollow eyes imploring you for a few life-saving rupees…. In the worst of these tales of horror, children are maimed to up the ante by making them appear more pathetic. The choice is stark: Either lower the window and risk having a sea of unwelcome faces descend on you, or stare ahead and ignore them. To salve your conscience tip generously those who have made it onto the first rung of employment”

In India you quickly steel yourself to the crowds of children who are grabbing your arm, knocking on the window of your car, thrusting flowers into your pockets, repeating endlessly the only words of English they know: “Hello Madame, food, hungry, money, please, eat…”

If nothing else, healthy children CAN work which makes not breaking the bones of children, nor allowing open festering sores far less attractive.

By all means, stop buying low cost goods that might be made with child labor. What do these kids need arms or legs for?