Walmart the Devil?

[Clevername]

So I finally just watched 'Walmart - high cost, low prices' and I gotta say it's disturbing, of course the film is going to be a bit biased but do you really think walmart is as evil as they are portrayed? I saw my hometown gutted just like in the film with walmart destroying all local business and becoming the only remaining store left. I am now fortunate enough to live in a fairly affluent area where walmart is pretty small and ineffective due to the large 'buy local' vibe around here. I must say that buying local and keeping your money in your community works wonders.

Here is a link if you're interested, it's definitely worth checking out.
http://www.walmartmovie.com/
and no I'm not associated with the film and don't care if you buy or not.

[Rukentuts]

All I know about Wal-Mart is that with their "low prices" you are paying for what you get. I made the mistake of going there to be laceless warm fleece shoes for bike riding, and they are already developing a hole in the cloth in the side after less than a month.

Their suppy-chain methods are utterly fantastic. However their other practices leave much to be desired.

[Clevername]

Of course all are entitled to their own opinions I just really hate the fact they built their empire on Made in America goods and now it's all from china. I'm far from anti-chinese just very pro-American. I hope the euros in this forum don't let them infest their communities as well.

[Collegeguy]

The internet would have killed small business in towns anyway.

[Rukentuts]

The internet would have killed small business in towns anyway.

Eh...not for essentials. Ex. A local grocery store would still have pretty much anything someone needs.

[Badpaladin]

I wouldn't call them the devil. They provide a ton of employment for a lot of people.

That isn't to say they don't step all over smaller businesses, but they're not the issue. Small business' biggest enemy is the consumer, because people have decided they'd rather shop online or in a store that carries everything in one place. They barter with local governments and try to weasel out deals that serve them the most, but that's something any other company would do. I wouldn't call them evil for any of that, just opportunistic.

That said, I make a concerted effort to avoid any kind of stores like Wal-Mart save for Trader Joe's, since they're one of the few non-tech corporations that actually focus on quality of product.

[SirRobin]

Again, I don't think Walmart is evil because its Walmart. I don't think they are even particularly bad. Walmart is nothing more than a side effect, a symptom if you will, of our own economic mismanagement during the last few decades. Walton was hardly the only one in the race to the bottom. He just happened to win it.

[Collegeguy]

Eh...not for essentials. Ex. A local grocery store would still have pretty much anything someone needs.

My old folks now buy their groceries from the internet. Fast forward 50 years and almost everything would be killing small business.

[Rukentuts]

My old folks now buy their groceries from the internet. Fast forward 50 years and almost everything would be killing small business.

Mine did for a time, but eventually it got too cumbersome.

[Trunksee]

Yea bave to agree that walmart isnt evil. It the crappy financial set up that we have that throws things haywire. You cant honestly say walmarts good it employs a lot of people. The wages compared to the jobs it took out with small businesses pay less, more than likely are less and doesnt promote the society. We have become an every man for himself society destined to eat ourselves alive. I prefrer to buy locally but to be fair youd have to be dumb to do that in society today and pay more. We have a failed ecconomic model and its not Walmarts fault, we failed ourselves.

[Rukentuts]

Actually Trunksee, small businesses are allowed to pay lower minimum wages than Wal-Mart.

[RüneRS]

Actually Trunksee, small businesses are allowed to pay lower minimum wages than Wal-Mart.

Yeah but who would want to work in a small business?

And if they open a walmart in our town, we will treat it like they did in South Park

[Clevername]

http://walmart1percent.org/top-reaso...reators/#_ftn1

Sources cited on site, just more argument how they hurt America.

[SirRobin]

http://walmart1percent.org/top-reaso...reators/#_ftn1

Sources cited on site, just more argument how they hurt America.

Now I'm not saying Walmart is doing more good than harm. What I am saying is that if Walmart wasn't the floater, then it would be Kmart, or Target, or Shopko, or one of the various others. The economic environment we've fostered over the last few decades is what has made Walmart's current form possible. If we had paid more attention to stability and sustainability, instead of delusions like cheaper is better, Walmart would have never been in the position to gut so much of our previous economic organization in the first place.

Listening to some of those interviewed in these type of exposes hardly makes me sympathize. I recall a few "well I've always voted republican but..." Well then, congratulations, here are your consequences.

[Rukentuts]

Now I'm not saying Walmart is doing more good than harm. What I am saying is that if Walmart wasn't the floater, then it would be Kmart, or Target, or Shopko, or one of the various others. The economic environment we've fostered over the last few decades is what has made Walmart's current form possible. If we had paid more attention to stability and sustainability, instead of delusions like cheaper is better, Walmart would have never been in the position to gut so much of our previous economic organization in the first place.

Listening to some of those interviewed in these type of exposes hardly makes me sympathize. I recall a few "well I've always voted republican but..." Well then, congratulations, here are your consequences.

I cannot speak for KMart or ShopKo, but I know for sure Target doesn't go out of their way to target small markets the way Wal-Mart does.

[Skippy88]

My local town got a Walmart a few years back and while some stores have come and gone I don't think Walmart was the main cause of it. We still have a pretty good downtown area as well as a good 'First Street" where a bunch of restaurants have set-up. If anything not only have they provided jobs but they brought other businesses who have opened around the store providing even more jobs.

[Strah]

Yeah..
No.

[Laize]

Walmart costs the American people quite a bit every year. Just because we save money at their checkout doesn't mean we don't pay it elsewhere. Their impoverished employees collect welfare to supplement their income.

I view this as a problem with welfare rather than Walmart, but it's a problem nonetheless. Indeed I think that if people began quitting Walmart to work for other companies in large enough numbers, there'd be some changes around there.

They're currently not changing because they have no reason to change. Not even a union would fix that fact either.

[Kamatayan]

@clevername

The movie you watched is one of the most biased pieces of garbage out there also it is old and outdated Walmart has made many changes since then.As a former Walmart employee i can say that most of my bad times while working there was not with Walmart or it's managers it was the customers who made it a crappy place to work.

I ask you this question why so much hate for Walmart but not for a company such as McDonalds who pays it's employees less money and provides no heatlh insurance at all???If you ask me Mcdonalds is just as bad if not worse than Walmart. As far as buying locally from Mom and Pop stores why should i pay 40 bucks for the same pair of jeans that i can get at Walmart for 10 bucks.

[SirRobin]

@clevername

The movie you watched is one of the most biased pieces of garbage out there also it is old and outdated Walmart has made many changes since then.As a former Walmart employee i can say that most of my bad times while working there was not with Walmart or it's managers it was the customers who made it a crappy place to work.

I ask you this question why so much hate for Walmart but not for a company such as McDonalds who pays it's employees less money and provides no heatlh insurance at all???If you ask me Mcdonalds is just as bad if not worse than Walmart. As far as buying locally from Mom and Pop stores why should i pay 40 bucks for the same pair of jeans that i can get at Walmart for 10 bucks.

As another former Walmart employee I would disagree that the customers were mostly to blame for the poor working conditions. Just as I would disagree over just how many "changes" Walmart has made since. However, again, Walmart is an almost unimaginably huge company, at this point, so it is very much a "your mileage may vary" situation. Additionally, while Walmart is a behemoth, its competitors, and the economy in general, has adjusted to it. So its wake is no where near as destructive as it once could be.