Walmart

[SamsonFCDES]

Things I hate about Walmart:

- Endlessly searching up and own row and rows of stuff looking for my GF.
- The nearest one is 70 miles away.
- A lot of their crap breakes, you get what you pay for.
- Those barny trains and such in the entry way.
- Door greeters
- They hurt small bussness folks
- They are supposed to save you money...yet I still always end up paying for a huge amount of crap


Things I like about Walmart:

- That its 70 miles away
- They donate a lot of money
- They have Xboxes set up so I can pass time waiting for my GF to get done shopping
- The fish tanks
- Some have MyDonalds, I like crapy fast food once in a while.

[FFTide]

It certainly makes you better than those who do not donate.

Because we all have a score sheet in heaven. (*Note sarcasm George*)

[fireguy919]

I can not believe me and George are on the same page lol. When Wal-Mart came into our area it was a big relief. They created a lot of jobs. And brought a lot more business in to the area with them. All the mom and pop stores are still here. The only ones that went our was grocery type place and that was Giant Eagle that did that. Our Wal-Mart has helped up with a lot of things. We did a haunted corn maze for the last couple of years and they have helped with that the people that work there come and support us. We have received quite a few donations from them. To help by things like our AED and TIC. If it wasn’t for Wal-Mart or community would have been in deep troubles. When they come the bring other business with them. The people there are very into helping the community. Their safety committee gets us involved in their projects as well. We have had a lot of good PR thanks to them. My hats off to them. Thanks George for showing us how much Wal-Mart is giving back to help.

[cozmosis]

WalMart didn't ride into town and hold a gun to your head. Somebody must have invited them in.

Actually, it's not as easy as calling them and inviting them to town. The city I work for is a community of 15,000 and is growing by 1,000 every year. I believe that we are the largest community in the state of Arkansas without a Wal-Mart. Currently, we have no general merchandise store in the entire community. We've got 15,000 people and you have to leave town to buy underwear or a pair of jeans. If Wal-Mart wanted to come to town, I figure that the mayor would be out on the main drag ready to hug their necks.

[ameryfd]

Until all of the other major corporations step up to the plate in the same magnitude-yes it does. "Destroyer of rural America"? Hardly.

Can you provide a source for your study of philanthropic giving by "mom and pop" businesses?

It's an insult to insinuate that I acquanited this donation to the second coming. But it still is more than any other corp.-as fas I can research_ has done.

As much as an insult as it is to tell those of us whose communities have been hurt by walmart to "go to hell"

As far as a source....Specifically, mine came from several Chambers of Commerce in our area. Plus there are several sources mentioned in the book by Bill Quinn.

Consider this... Walmart had revenues last year of 287.5 billion dollars. The national average of small town business budgetary charitable giving around 10% of revenue. That includes things like donating the hotdogs for the church social or giving door prizes for the firemans raffle. That means Walmart needs to donate about 28.7 billion. Last year, Walmarts Charitable giving was $170 million....guess what George, that equals less than 1% of their revenue. Walk down to any Mom and Pop in your community (if Walmart hasn't forced them all out of business and ask them what percentage of their revenue went back to thier local community....I'm guessing every single one will tell you a number greater than 75/100ths of a percent.

Finally, tell those communities where Wal-mart came, ran the mom and pops out of business, then didn't make the revenue they need in thier economic model so they shut the walmart down and left the communities without anything...tell those communities that Walmart hasn't destroyed rural America.

Oh yeah, let's not forget about Walmarts great impact on Federal taxpayers as well.....one 200-person Wal-Mart store may result in a cost to federal taxpayers of $420,750 per year – about $2,103 per employee. Specifically, the low wages result in the following additional public costs being passed along to taxpayers:

$36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
$42,000 a year for Section 8 housing assistance, assuming 3 percent of the store employees qualify for such assistance, at $6,700 per family.
$125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming 50 employees are heads of household with a child and 50 are married with two children.
$100,000 a year for the additional Title I expenses, assuming 50 Wal-Mart families qualify with an average of 2 children.
$108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children’s health insurance programs (S-CHIP), assuming 30 employees with an average of two children qualify.
$9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.

In Georgia, one of 25 states where Wal-Mart happens to be the largest employer, over 10,261 children of Wal-Mart employees were recently found to be enrolled in the state's Peachcare program, which provides low-cost health insurance coverage to Georgia minors in families meeting federal poverty criteria. Six percent of Peachcare's September 2002 rolls (totalling 166,000cases) were children from Wal-Mart families, blowing away the enrollment level of the next highest private employer, Publix with 734 children.

[Smoke20286]

Yes WalMart surely sucks, it is a blight upon both our nations there are at least 5 occaisions in my country where WalMart simply closed their stores when discovering that their employees were attempting to form a union.

WalMart doesnt give a crap about the people of the gulf coast, they, like many others just see a to get some good PR.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

So, even though they have given more money (as of now) than anyone else, they don't give enough? Please.

Your source material is BS. I would like specifics. I am willing to be that you're 10% figure includes religious tithing. That skews the number dramatically. I would also like to know if the $170 million you cited for WalMart includes the discretionary money that each store can donate locally. I would also like to know if it includes the money donated by the WalMart foundation.

I cannot refute (right now) your stats about the effect on the welfare system. But you're probably right. It would be far better if these people were unemployed. You're trying to tell me that the "mpom and pops" have the ability to employ all these people and to pay them the same amount? Of course they don't. You're trying to tell me that people should not have the opportunity to purchase goods at the lowest possible price smply because there are local businesses that might be hurt? Of course they do. It is a basic tenet of economics. A new store comes to town and offers goods at lower prices and forces other businesses to either lower their prices or move along has been going on in this country for 200 years. It's called free enterprise and capitalism. And it is a good thing.

To prohibit these companies from coming in, IMHO, is an anti-trust violation.

For every story of a community "ruined" by WalMart, there is a story about communities, rural as well as inner city, that have been saved by WalMart.

[hoseheadmaps]

you can still hate the people who give out the money - just look at most of the people on welfare -they hate the republicans and g. bush but if theirs money being handed out, the stories different. why couldn't some of those people sitting around the superdome clean up their own mess - don't just sit there get up and do something instead of bitching and crying. the aid would have been there faster if the lowlife scumbags weren't looting and shooting people. the hurricane caused people to rape and pillage. those people should be ashamed of themselves

[Smoke20286]

So, even though they have given more money (as of now) than anyone else, they don't give enough? Please.

George, it has nothing to do with the money they have given to the relief effort WalMart remains a terrible organization to work for. It destroys local buisness and is anti worker and vehemantly anti-union. Lots of people are giving big money to the relief operation including Celine Dion, you can keep her too by the way

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

George, it has nothing to do with the money they have given to the relief effort WalMart remains a terrible organization to work for. It destroys local buisness and is anti worker and vehemantly anti-union. Lots of people are giving big money to the relief operation including Celine Dion, you can keep her too by the way

This is a union talking point that has no basis in fact. Several people have already called for the union vs. non-union crap to be left off of here.

[Smoke20286]

This is a union talking point that has no basis in fact. Several people have already called for the union vs. non-union crap to be left off of here.

Call away mate it is hardly crap that hundreds of people lose their jobs simply because a group of money grubbing bastards want to skim off more profit

[ameryfd]

So, even though they have given more money (as of now) than anyone else, they don't give enough? Please.

Your source material is BS. I would like specifics. I am willing to be that you're 10% figure includes religious tithing. That skews the number dramatically. I would also like to know if the $170 million you cited for WalMart includes the discretionary money that each store can donate locally. I would also like to know if it includes the money donated by the WalMart foundation.

IFor every story of a community "ruined" by WalMart, there is a story about communities, rural as well as inner city, that have been saved by WalMart.

OK George, since you've now not only told me to go to hell, now you're calling me a liar.

http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/969..._416901112.pdf

Check your chamber of commerce. I am a member of one in my community. I KNOW what other local businesses (including mine) give as a percentage of revenues.

Oh yeah....the Walmart corporate line about it's OK that a significant number of our employees are on governmental assistance because at least they have a job....is a bunch of BS (to use your words). Let's talk about the high paying manufacturing jobs that have been lost because the nations #1 retailer has decided to buy foriegn made crap. Wanna source? How about the Washington times...

"More than 80 percent of the 6,000 factories in Wal-Mart's worldwide database of suppliers are in China. Wal-Mart estimates it spent $15 billion on Chinese-made products last year, accounting for nearly one-eighth of all Chinese exports to the United States. If the company that Sam Walton built with his "Made in America" ad campaign were itself a separate nation, it would rank as China's fifth-largest export market, ahead of Germany and Britain".

We can discuss this point like adults or we can sit and call people names and tell them to go to hell....your choice.

[GeorgeWendtCFI]

OK George, since you've now not only told me to go to hell, now you're calling me a liar.

http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/969..._416901112.pdf

Check your chamber of commerce. I am a member of one in my community. I KNOW what other local businesses (including mine) give as a percentage of revenues.

Oh yeah....the Walmart corporate line about it's OK that a significant number of our employees are on governmental assistance because at least they have a job....is a bunch of BS (to use your words). Let's talk about the high paying manufacturing jobs that have been lost because the nations #1 retailer has decided to buy foriegn made crap. Wanna source? How about the Washington times...

"More than 80 percent of the 6,000 factories in Wal-Mart's worldwide database of suppliers are in China. Wal-Mart estimates it spent $15 billion on Chinese-made products last year, accounting for nearly one-eighth of all Chinese exports to the United States. If the company that Sam Walton built with his "Made in America" ad campaign were itself a separate nation, it would rank as China's fifth-largest export market, ahead of Germany and Britain".

We can discuss this point like adults or we can sit and call people names and tell them to go to hell....your choice.

I didn't call you a liar. I said that the source material you "cited" was BS. Telling me that you "know" how much people give is not a source. The source material you provided on WalMart giving is enlightening and informative.

Unfortunately, the issue of the amount of goods that are manufactured overseas is a serious one-one that scares me. But to even remotely suggest that it is solely the fault of big bad WalMart is not right. Go into ANY retailer, big obx or Mom and Pop. See how easy it is to buy USA. It is a far larger problem that simply was not caused by WalMart.

[WebFire]

One thing that makes me chuckle is listening to people rip apart Wal-Mart and fight almost to death to keep it from coming into town. Then when it opens, they go shop there weekly.

The next town over had a Wal-Mart coming to town and all the news was about the residents' resistance to it. Protests, petitons, the whole deal. But guess what. It has been busier than hell since it opened.

[WebFire]

Oh, and it created like 350 jobs in a somewhat poor county. And no small Mom 'n Pops have went away that I know of.

[WebFire]

"More than 80 percent of the 6,000 factories in Wal-Mart's worldwide database of suppliers are in China. Wal-Mart estimates it spent $15 billion on Chinese-made products last year, accounting for nearly one-eighth of all Chinese exports to the United States. If the company that Sam Walton built with his "Made in America" ad campaign were itself a separate nation, it would rank as China's fifth-largest export market, ahead of Germany and Britain".

Oh ok. I bet if I walked into your house and looked around, 80 % of what YOU HAVE BOUGHT was made overseas.

[coldfront]

The problem with your theory is that the corporation is so succesful. The bottom line is:

PEOPLE WANT WALMART!

They want to be able to buy products at as low of a cost as possible. Too friggin' bad if they choose to patronize WalMart instead of the mom and pops. If people were so offended by WalMart, they wouldn't shop there.

The botom line is, if you do the research, that WalMart is one of the top philanthropic corporations in the country.

The people don't have choice.Wal-Mart is the only game (most small) town.
The america dream at work.I feel their grip tighting around mom and pop as I type!!!!!!!!

[ehs7554]

The union hates Wally World but they love the union(that makes no sense) (cause everyone shops there at one time or another). Good for old Sammy Walton.

[ameryfd]

Oh ok. I bet if I walked into your house and looked around, 80 % of what YOU HAVE BOUGHT was made overseas.

Dude, you don't know me and your wrong....anyway, the jist of this fourm isn't premised on what a wonderful person I am, I think it has something to do with Walmart

[FTMPTB15]

For every job that a Wal-Mart creates, I'd be willing to bet that 2-3 "Moms and Pops" lose their job/source of income. Wal-Mart has successfully driven America away from supporting local business and is creating a Monopoly. Small businesses can not do anything when a Wal-Mart comes into town, they simply can not compete with a Corp. as large as Wally. It is ridiculous that Wal-Mart does not care about these people's livelyhood and would rather throw up another (unnecessary) store. No one can deny the fact that Wal-Mart forces small businesses to close due to their inability to be able to compete. In a day and age when everything is becoming less personal, it would be nice to be able to go to a Moms and Pops store and have a pleasant shopping experience all while supporting some locals (who turn around and support our community). But noooooo everyone is sooo excited about probably the worst shopping experience ever. Ask anyone in Wal-Mart where something is and I'd bet they couldn't tell you.. or they will give you a general area of the store where it MIGHT be found. Why? Because that store is the most cluttered/disorganized store ever. Oh, and those blue vests that they wear are all misprinted items. They meant to read, "How may I not help you."