Wal-Mart...The Fourth Reich?

[NATO AIR]

I still don't see how they are evil because they pay less than another place. People accept the job, jobs don't go find you tackle you and make you take them. And as I said, the vast majority of people that work there are only in for a short stop on their way to much bigger and better things.

i disagree.... wal-mart is the No.1 user of sweatshop labor, its most ardent defender (while claiming to be moral and caring

You way overestimate the fact that a vast majority of people leave wal-mart shortly... many people stay behind at wal-mart, though their turnover rate is much higher than a target or a costcos.

them paying folks so little contributes to overall wages in retail being down, with the expection of costco's, which is essentially the anti-wal-mart.

their benefits also suck ass, and now you have state attorney generals all over the place going after them for it, as well as breaking the law in more ways than i can imagine...

they are an out of control business, and they will pay the ultimate price for it eventually...

 

[no1tovote4]

i disagree.... wal-mart is the No.1 user of sweatshop labor, its most ardent defender (while claiming to be moral and caring

You way overestimate the fact that a vast majority of people leave wal-mart shortly... many people stay behind at wal-mart, though their turnover rate is much higher than a target or a costcos.

them paying folks so little contributes to overall wages in retail being down, with the expection of costco's, which is essentially the anti-wal-mart.

their benefits also suck ass, and now you have state attorney generals all over the place going after them for it, as well as breaking the law in more ways than i can imagine...

they are an out of control business, and they will pay the ultimate price for it eventually...

If what you say is true, they surely will.

 

[Said1]

And if they keep it up Walmart will lose market share and on wallstreet unless they make themselves competitive. Of course you don't pay a membership to get into Walmart either.

I still don't see how they are evil because they pay less than another place. People accept the job, jobs don't go find you tackle you and make you take them. And as I said, the vast majority of people that work there are only in for a short stop on their way to much bigger and better things.

Except for the greeters. For most of them it's their last stop.

 

[no1tovote4]

Except for the greeters. For most of them it's their last stop.

Sort of sad, but most like the job and are only doing it to give them something to do other than sit at home and cut the roses.

 

[freeandfun1]

why is Wal Mart so bad? I only hear anecdotal references to "they treat their employees bad" but yet, they always seem to have plenty of employees.... hmmm

I grew up in a relatively small town. Before Wal Mart came, all the other stores were owned by the same group of people that ran roughshod over the town. Before Wal Mart, ever town had their family that owned the towns stores, lumber yards, etc. Now those families are being forced to compete, or find a new line of work. So frankly, I have no problem with Wal Mart.

BTW: I haven't shopped at a Wal Mart in years. Why? Because I can afford not to. What about those families that can't afford to shop elsewhere? Where will they go?

 

[Merlin1047]

Hannity quoted a statistic yesterday in regard to the Wal Mart - China connection. I have not been able to find a link. But Hannity stated that if Wal Mart were a nation they would rank 5th among China's trading partners. Hannity also claimed that nearly eighty percent of all Wal Mart goods are made in China.

So every time we shop Wal Mart, we are funneling money to one of our worst enemies in the world.

 

[Merlin1047]

Here's an article from a union web site. Probably not what you would call unbiased, but since it refers to court rulings, I doubt that there could be any really substantial spin.

===========================================

http://ufcw2008.org/Wal-Mart-Vigilante6-03.htm
Judge Slaps Wal-Mart for Anti-Union Actions

Retail giant Wal-Mart has shown repeatedly that it is no giant when it comes to fair treatment of its workers. But the law is catching up with the retailer. A judge with the National Labor Relations Board ordered the company to reinstate a Kingman, Arizona, worker who had been intimidated, harassed, and finally fired for union activity.

The worker will receive full back pay for the year he was out of work.

Of broader significance for the 1.3 million “associates” who work for Wal-Mart across the country, the judge ordered that the company must amend and reprint its benefits handbook, which illegally states that union-represented workers are not eligible for benefits.

Finally, the judge ordered that Wal-Mart must post a notice in each of its stores admitting to its violations of the law and promising not to discriminate against union-represented workers. It is the first time Wal-Mart has been ordered to make a national remedy to its anti-union tactics.

As it has in all other labor cases that have gone against it, the company said it would appeal the decision.

The fired worker, Brad Jones, was a leader of an effort to unionize his store’s Tire and Lube Express department. A majority had signed cards to join Local 99 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW), and an election was scheduled for August 2000.

Due to the company’s anti-union tactics, the NLRB blocked the election – but the company continued to intimidate workers. The judge found that the store manager targeted Jones and two other union supporters by directing supervisors to hold them to a higher standard and “wait for them to screw up.” The two others left the company. Jones was fired after receiving a good performance review.

The UFCW is leading a national campaign to expose Wal-Mart’s illegal and unfair practices, and demanding that the company honor labor laws, pay fair wages, and end trade in goods from countries with child, forced, or slave labor.

Wal-Mart workers are also fighting in court in some 30 states over the company’s overtime policies. A federal jury in Portland, Oregon, found Wal-Mart guilty in December of forcing employees to work unpaid overtime.

 

[NATO AIR]

So every time we shop Wal Mart, we are funneling money to one of our worst enemies in the world.

if not the worst... they sit and wait for us to become weak in any way and then they will strike from behind...

not to mention they're supporting genocide in darfur/sudan and propping up oppressive regimes from iran to burma to north korea to cuba to zimbabwe

 

[fuzzykitten99]

my hubby and i shop at walmart because they have the best prices on basics like soap, toothpaste, gerber foods (toddler) for my son. they actually have the biggest variety of gerber graduates foods. Cub foods next door doesn't even compare to the selection, and neither does target.

when i couldn't breastfeed my son anymore, we had to switch to formula. a can of Enfamil powder, about 28 oz was $16-17 at walmart. target was no less than $22 for the same can. The price difference has no effect on quality because it is the same product. My son went through one large can in about a week. the difference in savings is crucial when you are cutting corners everyewhere else to save for a house, like we were.

I don't know what i would do without walmart. they saved us many times, because ours is open 24 hours.

my son came down with a bad ear infection on tuesday night. since it was after 11pm, all the urgent cares were closed. he was in such pain(parents, you know that heartbreaking cry), and we had no tylenol or anything-we had run out a while ago and forgot to get more. i was able to run out at almost midnight(in my jammies no less), and get tylenol and some ear drops to make him comfortable until we could get him to the doctor the next day. nothing else is open around here at that time of night. we have a walgreens, but it is not a 24 hour one.

and, at least wal-mart continues to let the salvation army stay in front of THEIR stores...

 

[KarlMarx]

my hubby and i shop at walmart because they have the best prices on basics like soap, toothpaste, gerber foods (toddler) for my son. they actually have the biggest variety of gerber graduates foods. Cub foods next door doesn't even compare to the selection, and neither does target.

when i couldn't breastfeed my son anymore, we had to switch to formula. a can of Enfamil powder, about 28 oz was $16-17 at walmart. target was no less than $22 for the same can. The price difference has no effect on quality because it is the same product. My son went through one large can in about a week. the difference in savings is crucial when you are cutting corners everyewhere else to save for a house, like we were.

I don't know what i would do without walmart. they saved us many times, because ours is open 24 hours.

my son came down with a bad ear infection on tuesday night. since it was after 11pm, all the urgent cares were closed. he was in such pain(parents, you know that heartbreaking cry), and we had no tylenol or anything-we had run out a while ago and forgot to get more. i was able to run out at almost midnight(in my jammies no less), and get tylenol and some ear drops to make him comfortable until we could get him to the doctor the next day. nothing else is open around here at that time of night. we have a walgreens, but it is not a 24 hour one.

and, at least wal-mart continues to let the salvation army stay in front of THEIR stores...

That's the thing about Wal-Mart. They make available products that would not normally be available to lower and working class people or at least make them cheaper and thus have a hand in helping to increase their standard of living. Fuzzykitten has a good point. I remember infant formula being really really expensive and how quickly my kids went through it (which makes me wonder WHY is infant formula so expensive? I have a hunch that there are some anti-freemarket forces at work... but that's another story!).

Some people don't like Wal-Mart for various reasons e.g. their benefits "suck". Well, Mom and Pop stores don't pay generous benefits to their employees either (if they pay them at all). (Of course that begs another question, why are benefits so expensive... but then that's another topic, now isn't it? I could mention greedy lawyers and start bashing them.... but that's another topic now isn't it?).

Some people don't like Wal-Mart because they are anti-union. Hmmm. No one complains about IBM being anti-union though! I once worked for IBM and can tell you, that IBM had a policy of no unions, never, ever, don't even discuss it... period! Yet, no one goes around boycotting IBM products. Actually, speaking of unions, in the private sector, only 8% of employees are unionized. Compare that with the public sector, which is mostly unionized. In some cases, employees have actually voted NOT to have unions. Labor unions don't automatically look out for the interests of the workers. One has to only bring up the example of the Teamsters and other labor unions that were influenced by organized crime.

Some people don't like Wal-Mart because they force the competition out. That is how free markets work. Free markets are about the efficient allocation of scarce resources. The company or person that does that well benefits. Wal Mart apparently does and puts pressure on other stores to streamline their operations so that they can deliver a cheaper product or go out of business. Is that a bad thing for the consumer?

I think that many of the complaints levied against Wal Mart can be made against their competitors as well. Wal Mart is targetted however because they're #1, and like the US, everyone else hates them!

 

[fuzzykitten99]

That's the thing about Wal-Mart. They make available products that would not normally be available to lower and working class people or at least make them cheaper and thus have a hand in helping to increase their standard of living. Fuzzykitten has a good point. I remember infant formula being really really expensive and how quickly my kids went through it (which makes me wonder WHY is infant formula so expensive? I have a hunch that there are some anti-freemarket forces at work... but that's another story!).

Some people don't like Wal-Mart for various reasons e.g. their benefits "suck". Well, Mom and Pop stores don't pay generous benefits to their employees either (if they pay them at all). (Of course that begs another question, why are benefits so expensive... but then that's another topic, now isn't it? I could mention greedy lawyers and start bashing them.... but that's another topic now isn't it?).

Some people don't like Wal-Mart because they are anti-union. Hmmm. No one complains about IBM being anti-union though! I once worked for IBM and can tell you, that IBM had a policy of no unions, never, ever, don't even discuss it... period! Yet, no one goes around boycotting IBM products. Actually, speaking of unions, in the private sector, only 8% of employees are unionized. Compare that with the public sector, which is mostly unionized. In some cases, employees have actually voted NOT to have unions. Labor unions don't automatically look out for the interests of the workers. One has to only bring up the example of the Teamsters and other labor unions that were influenced by organized crime.

Some people don't like Wal-Mart because they force the competition out. That is how free markets work. Free markets are about the efficient allocation of scarce resources. The company or person that does that well benefits. Wal Mart apparently does and puts pressure on other stores to streamline their operations so that they can deliver a cheaper product or go out of business. Is that a bad thing for the consumer?

I think that many of the complaints levied against Wal Mart can be made against their competitors as well. Wal Mart is targetted however because they're #1, and like the US, everyone else hates them!

our walmart has self-check out lanes. you scan the stuff yourself, and pay with cash or credit/debit card. it comes in REAL handy when you only have a few things and don't even want to wait in the express lines.

 

[KarlMarx]

our walmart has self-check out lanes. you scan the stuff yourself, and pay with cash or credit/debit card. it comes in REAL handy when you only have a few things and don't even want to wait in the express lines.

Yes, I've seen that in our Home Depot and a couple of other places. Seems to me that self checkout is the way of the future. Just like self serve gas pumps, someday, we'll all be doing self serve checkout.

P.S. yes kiddies, Karl Marx actually does Home Improvement --- however, it sometimes is NOT pretty!

 

[007]

Hannity quoted a statistic yesterday in regard to the Wal Mart - China connection. I have not been able to find a link. But Hannity stated that if Wal Mart were a nation they would rank 5th among China's trading partners. Hannity also claimed that nearly eighty percent of all Wal Mart goods are made in China.

So every time we shop Wal Mart, we are funneling money to one of our worst enemies in the world.

I've heard and read this very same info, and that's exactly why I don't shop at Wal Mart. Frankly, I don't like their selection. You either buy their chinese crap or not. I don't mind shopping somewhere else, or paying a little more. I'm usually always more pleased with my purchase, not to mention I feel better knowing I haven't helped fund china's massive growth.

 

[Said1]

I've heard and read this very same info, and that's exactly why I don't shop at Wal Mart. Frankly, I don't like their selection. You either buy their chinese crap or not. I don't mind shopping somewhere else, or paying a little more. I'm usually always more pleased with my purchase, not to mention I feel better knowing I haven't helped fund china's massive growth.

Plus their washrooms and employees are just nasty IMHO.

 

[hylandrdet]

I referred to Wal-Mart as a "Reich" because this corporation is conquering markets using the two best known forms of warfare...

1. Applying overwhelming force- Build your "army" quickly and charge with a sense of stradegy.

2. Establishing a sense of dependence- Attack to collapse their self dependence, thus forcing the so-called "enemy" to rely upon you for assistance.

I'd personally thought that Wal-Mart's contract with China was great news. I believe that the American dollar could reform nations with more efficency, and with less manpower, than any army known to man; apparently so does Osama Bin Laden.

Bin laden never showed fear towards America itself, he showed fear towards the American Dollar and its influence. That's why he attacked the WTC.

Mark my words; with a strong dollar, I could actually see a democratic China within my lifetime.

To sum it up; money talks, BS fight unnecessary wars.

 

[pretender]

Wal-Marts move into small towns promising lower prices effectively putting the smaller retail businesses out of business. It takes a while for the loyal customers of these family owned small businesses to succumb to the lower prices but it eventually happens. After the small businesses in the small towns go out of business and Wal-Mart has gained the market share they slowly begin to raise their prices. They are now the only game in town so they can do anything. Why do you think Wal-Mart builds stores in small towns? The only place you will find better prices are where there are other stores like Target, aka competition. Wal-Mart sucks, IMHO. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart.

 

[Merlin1047]

II'd personally thought that Wal-Mart's contract with China was great news. I believe that the American dollar could reform nations with more efficency, and with less manpower, than any army known to man; apparently so does Osama Bin Laden.

Bin laden never showed fear towards America itself, he showed fear towards the American Dollar and its influence. That's why he attacked the WTC.

Mark my words; with a strong dollar, I could actually see a democratic China within my lifetime.

To sum it up; money talks, BS fight unnecessary wars.

I don't know how you managed to come to that conclusion. We do not "reform" hostile governments by sending our dollars to them. I'd like you to cite a single example where trade with a hostile government has yielded any benefits. And don't try using Germany, Italy or Japan because we defeated them militarily first. THAT is ultimately what "reforms" our enemies.

The only thing we accomplish is by purchasing goods from China is to help them buy the means to defeat us either militarily or economically. I hardly think that making China wealthy qualifies as "great news".

 

[Merlin1047]

our walmart has self-check out lanes. you scan the stuff yourself, and pay with cash or credit/debit card. it comes in REAL handy when you only have a few things and don't even want to wait in the express lines.

Fuzzy and Karl - apparently neither of you have ever been the victim of identity theft or you would not be such fans of self check-out. Last year some slimeball appropriated my wife's identity and used it to get credit cards. Then she (we found out it was a woman) promptly ran up several thousand dollars in purchases. Fortunately the credit card company picked up the unusual spending pattern and called us. We were out only fifty bucks, but the aggravation of countless police reports, dealing with several stores, credit bureaus etc etc was a horrendous headache.

Every time a merchant accepts your credit card without verifying your identification, that merchant is making it easy for criminals to perpetrate this type of fraud. Do-it-yourself checkout makes this kind of fraud laughably easy. Again, Wal Mart is NOT doing you a favor by failing to ask for ID when you make a purchase with a credit card. Self check out may seem convenient but on average it's slower than if the process was handled by a clerk. You don't notice the extra time because you're busy checking yourself out. Compare the lines sometime and see which moves faster. But Wal Mart doesn't provide self check-out for speed or convenience. They do that because it's cheaper for the store to let you check yourself out than to hire a clerk. And when you pay using your credit card, Wal Mart couldn't possibly care less if you are the proper owner of that credit card or if someone else is using your name.

 

[KarlMarx]

Fuzzy and Karl - apparently neither of you have ever been the victim of identity theft or you would not be such fans of self check-out. Last year some slimeball appropriated my wife's identity and used it to get credit cards. Then she (we found out it was a woman) promptly ran up several thousand dollars in purchases. Fortunately the credit card company picked up the unusual spending pattern and called us. We were out only fifty bucks, but the aggravation of countless police reports, dealing with several stores, credit bureaus etc etc was a horrendous headache.

Every time a merchant accepts your credit card without verifying your identification, that merchant is making it easy for criminals to perpetrate this type of fraud. Do-it-yourself checkout makes this kind of fraud laughably easy. Again, Wal Mart is NOT doing you a favor by failing to ask for ID when you make a purchase with a credit card. Self check out may seem convenient but on average it's slower than if the process was handled by a clerk. You don't notice the extra time because you're busy checking yourself out. Compare the lines sometime and see which moves faster. But Wal Mart doesn't provide self check-out for speed or convenience. They do that because it's cheaper for the store to let you check yourself out than to hire a clerk. And when you pay using your credit card, Wal Mart couldn't possibly care less if you are the proper owner of that credit card or if someone else is using your name.

Good points.... but come to think of it... I have never been asked for ID whenever I used a credit card... ever.

I think that your idea is a very good one and would help to cut down on credit card theft immensely. Another, would be to have a photograph of the user on credit cards, Still another one would be to have a PIN on credit cards, so that even if they are stolen, they would be of little use.

I took a class on web security a few weeks ago. The fellow who taught it is a web security consultant plus a former employee of the NSA (National Security Agency), so I think that he knew what he was talking about.Apart from the technical stuff here is what I learned.

1. Online credit card transactions online are pretty much secure IF you see the "lock" icon at the bottom right hand corner of your browser (if you use Internet Explorer put your cursor on it and it should say "SSL Secured (128 bit)" . Mozilla Firefox will show a lock icon, too). Never, ever, ever do a credit card transaction without it. Stick with the big sites e.g. amazon.com and so forth, because they are pretty good about keeping your credit card number secure once they get them, but stay away from "mom and pop" websites. Apparently some of the smaller outfits will transmit your credit card number once they get them without bothering to encrypt the messages.

2. PayPal is pretty secure too and he seemed to think that was a good way of transmitting money in a secure fashion.

3. If you have Windows XP, upgrade to Service Pack 2. It has a lot of security features built in e.g. a firewall etc.

4. If you do online banking, or shopping, consider changing your passwords on a fairly regular basis (at least once a year). Good passwords are at least 6 characters long and combine letters with numbers. Don't use obvious ones like your user ID, girlfriend's name etc. I prefer to use a password generator to pick my passwords (a password generator is a program or website which generates a password for you, rather than having you pick one yourself). You might also want to stay away from using other obvious ones such as IAM2SEXY, too. If you've thought of it, chances are hackers already know about it.

5. I'm going to state the obvious here, if you don't have antivirus protection on your machine (and don't keep it up to date with regular upgrades).... you are asking for trouble. Consider it an insurance policy.

6. Keep up with the latest patches for your computer. Windows XP has a feature that does auto updates for you. Many times, hackers are able to break into your machine by exploiting flaws in your computer's operating system software. Flaws, which, have usually been fixed by patches.

7. One last thing... this is one of my suggestions. IMHO... Those free screensavers... stay away from them too. Many times they are full of spyware which tracks where you go on the web then transmits the information to third parties. The entire reason that they are free is because... well, they're invading your privacy for someone else's economic gain.

 

[Merlin1047]

I took a class on web security a few weeks ago. The fellow who taught it is a web security consultant plus a former employee of the NSA (National Security Agency), so I think that he knew what he was talking about.Apart from the technical stuff here is what I learned.

All that is certainly true and I've already taken most of those precautions. But in our case it didn't matter. First - I don't keep any sensitive information on the computer so it wouldn't matter if someone gained access. Second - the identity theft was perpetrated using my wife's SSAN. She had been employed by the state of AL as a social worker and the idiots used her SSAN as a means if identifying files for which she was responsible. I don't know for sure if that is how her number was obtained because there are many, many other sources. Doctor's offices and hospitals are one of the most popular sources for obtaining SSANs for illegal purposes.