The Anti Walmart commercials

[Gab]

I have tried really, really hard not to ever shop at WalMart. However, both of my daughters shop there, at least some of the time. So, when I visit the home of one daughter (out of state) I end up at WalMart buying food for them, or toiletries that I need. I sure don't want to quarrel with family over international trade issues and workers rights, especially when both young families are struggling.

Here at home, I can avoid them. I shop at Grocery Outlet, Goodwill, Value Village, St. Vincent De Paul, other thrift shops and a local independent grocery store.

[Yankee07]

[One Half Full]

I've never shopped at Wal-mart, frankly. My only take on that is that the Problems with American's needing to cut costs pratically makes walmart need to do what it does. American debt creates cheap imports. Outsourcing makes it hard for Americans with needed skills to find jobs so they need to take lower paying jobs so wal-mart is needed and thus can justify purchasing items from other countries. The Debt problem is actually a boom to business, (because CEOs get exorbinant bonuses for lowering costs) and more of an incentive to outsource to India etc... am I mad???

Uh CEO pay is based on lowering costs by firing Americans and hiring Indians.

My head hurts. That is all the thinking I can do today...

[chpxiii]

Can't have it both ways, folks. We can't have cheaper goods to buy (and not just at WalMart) and expect that employers who make those goods can still pay folks here in the states US wages that are ten times higher than what is paid to make those same goods in China, Vietnam, Phillipines....you name the third world place.

Correct. Consider the inverse: if people were paid decent wages, they could actually *afford* the more expensive goods. It's about quantity now, not quality. In all areas of life.

Since our government decided some time ago that profits for the big employers were most important, that's how the decisions are made. Bye bye US jobs. But we can buy cheap stuff on credit which artificially props up our economy. A devil's bargain to be sure.

What's ironic about all of this is that *WE ARE* the government, the PEOPLE are. And yet, we talk about The Government as if it were some far off entity - which it now has become. Unfortunately.

[tinroofrusted]

I love WalMart.
I think it has gone a long way from what Sam Walton intended it to be, but I think they're great.

And the best part? Walmart doesn't allow unions in their stores. As long as that is the case, I will continue to shop there, as I abhor unions, and think they are no longer needed, and harm places way more than helping them.

[AMISLANDER]

I used to be a big time Walmarter....for the basics: toilet paper, paper towels, detergents, that kind of stuff...however, I found in the Bradenton/Sarasota area, you are more likely to get robbed going in or out of the store & the stores are just not clean,not layed out well...just kinda scary.

Target has really gained shoppers in our area due to the advent of the Super T's and just plain cleanliness, layout/design of movement for shopping.

However, I did have to go into the big T to get a box of xmas cards Saturday. They were in the far back corner of the store. I did not buy anthing but the cards being the shopper I am (in for one thing & no distracting me).

[cso5@]

Put me in the love Wal*Mart column.

We have a supercenter here, it's clean and safe. And cheap.

Score that a win.

I hear a lot of the plight of the poor Wal*Mart workers who are so underpaid -- but does Target pay any more? Home Depot? Any store at the mall? The pizza place? Why is Wal*Mart singled out for paying people minimum wage plus a little?

I am fortunate that I don't have to try to support my family on a minimum-plus wage job. But I work part time at a minimum-plus wage job -- hell, I'm broke people and I'll do what I have to to make ends meet. Or get close to meeting.

It's tough no matter what stance you look at from -- I have a frightening student loan balance. But going to school allowed me to have a better job. But how far ahead am I really? These loans will be with me well into my dotage. Grrrr. So it's not as easy as saying, well, go to school to get educated, then you can get a better job.

Meanwhile, I'll buy the cheapest toilet paper and other essentials I can possibly buy, thanks.

[robivi3]

Another SAM's issue. The produce is garbage. Publix here is ONLY USA grown. The peaches, pears, romaine, all of it is of horribly inferior foreign, sewer water grown quality and we are huge salad eaters in our house. We also only buy that corn fed beef from Publix or the best (but not cheap) from the Glatt Kosher Market here.

I was up in Crossville Tennessee at the Walmart and found the beef prices super high, in general grocery stores there (Food Lion, Kroger) gave me stiicker shock plus the %9.25 tax on EVERYTHING! It seems that other than housing and Insurance things are more expensive in northern rural areas plus here there are no taxes on any necessities so you might by 110.00 worth of groceries and typically pay abot 60 cents in taxes that includes the drugstores also.

I just find that Walmart and Sams are not necessarily great deals, you come out much better as far as usable portions of produce by using Publix, not sure about Kroger and all. SAMs sells these massive Romaine hearts grown in some third world Country, typically Mexico or Chile for $2.99, the smaller California hearts are 2.99 at Publix but by the time you open them ALL of the Publix hearts are useable and FRESH, not the SAM's garbage, Cali has the strictest regulations on produce production anyway.

Not to trash SAM's, they do have excellent prices on other quality items.

[coma]

I live in a small town with a supercenter and nothing else. being military, I try to shop on post as much as possible. The commissary is one of our greatest benefits. The PX isn't that great. They stock too many high-end brands, especially in clothing, and I can't afford to shop there except on the clearance racks. Even without tax, it's still too expensive, so I hit wal-mart sometimes out of necessity.

i like Target better, but the nearest anything-but-wal-mart is 50 miles away, and gas being what it is and my car not being so great, I never get that way...

So I have a love/hate relationship with them. I skip it as much as I can, but go there sometimes.

[isitreal]

The Wal-Mart Effect.

A good read for all those responding. It's amazing how much they effect EVERYTHING..

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/22/RVG9QGMOMN1.DTL

[robivi3]

Well, there goes all my anti-Walmart yap. They just reopened the H/cane damaged walmart here and my son landed a job there. So far, pushy but OK. They've kept to the work schedules and he is out on time at nite, we'll see.