Reason #1,873,319 To Love WalMart

Willie T

Here is a LONG, LONG list of companies that outsource.

Please open this (ALL OF US) and see just how many companies are listed that you buy from. And then just imagine how many of those companies you see might happen to OWN other companies you also purchase from. It's staggering.

May I see a show of hands of those of us who are no longer going to patronize these companies and their possible subsidiaries?

WalMart might be bad. (By the way, in '86, Sam W. spoke out strongly in favor of using only American products... despite what his successors now do) But how true to our "American only" cause can we be if we willing buy from everyone else doing the same thing?

Even this joke of a president we now have thinks we should all buy a foreign prayer rug and begin bowing to Mecca. I don't like it either, but let's call all of us guilty of contributing into this courtroom of ours, instead of just a few.

And they are all not on this list. I spoke directly with those Harley executives I mentioned when 6 of them were on their way to no less than ten foreign countries to set up contracts.

And do you use Simpson Fasteners? Well Google "Simpson Strong-Tie Company lnc". They have so many pages in Chinese that it will choke you. Do you honestly think China is importing American Simpson products? Right.

And I know NONE of us are going to purchase toys for our children at Toys R Us this Christmas..........

My God, even Yahoo and Google are on there.

And not a single person on this forum is using a computer that does not sport foreign parts inside it.

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Mike Finley

...and therefore it's all good then.




So have you figured out yet when the last time a Walmart worker hired your services and helped you put food on the table?

Zinsco

I love the nutty things that spill from the mouths of construction workers!
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Willie T

Yes, I have. It was about three months ago that I did a floor for one of them.

I think you are confusing "workers" (the ones you started out defending for lost wages) with executive level policy makers.

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Willie T

An interesting article from Time magazine. Please read the caption under the photograph. He was a shaker and a mover, and he left a lot of little people hurting for business. But he did so, straight up, stating he was joining the future, and all the while openly advocating that people adverse to changing with the changing times should reconsider before they WERE left behind. Most small companies chose not to.

Pay particular attention to the many other big movers who started the same changes at the same time. Like it or not, the wave of the future which we Americans have always driven ourselves toward was coming. He took his chances with the gamble that he could ride that wave. He succeeded.

It's a shame America could not remain Walton's Mountain or Maybury RFD forever, but that is not how progress, which we Americans do value so highly, works.

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Mike Finley

That must have been a nice floor job paid for with an $8.85 hour job.


That's great retoric to paint a d-bag as a forward thinking revolutionary.

I've read his auto-biography, I've read a few books about Walmart the company too.

Sam Walton was a cheap ass penny pincher, nothing revolutionary. He won race to the bottom and dragged the rest of the country with him.

Now if you'd like to read something that will be revolutionary to you. Try reading 'Cheap' by Ellen Shell. You might have to read it twice, cause the first time you'll probably be resisting the truth in what you are reading, the 2nd time you might open yourself up to the true truth of what discount culture does to a country.



By-the-way - isn't it a bit strange that a company started by a man who originally was a proponent of buying American now is single handedly one of the biggest proponents of outsourcing? The company goes 180 degrees in a different direction from what the very man who created them wanted, yet some would defend them as guiltless in responsibility even though they have done the exact thing that their founder was against.

J.C.

How can someone defend Walmart and try to make them out to be the ones being screwed? I don't even know where to begin.
Walmart is not going to save this country, only help to destroy it.

Do people not understand how they sell their products so cheaply? They sell stuff so cheaply by taking it from the worker that actually makes it and sells it. If the American worker doesn't want to make something for nothing, they have a worker overseas do it instead. Walmart saves $1 on that pack of toilet paper and passes .10¢ of the savings onto the shopper. Sure my neighbor Joe lost his $15 hour job with benefits making toilet paper but, who cares, I just saved .10¢ on toilet paper.

I'd like my neighbor to keep his job. If Joe gets to keep his job, there's a much better chance I get to keep mine. And yes, when I go shopping I do watch what I buy and whenever I can, I always try to help Joe out. People don't seem to understand if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem.

Willie T

Well, I do have to say I enjoyed my shopping excursion to locate her book.

The very first site I opened said the market price of the book was $89.95. But...

buy from our discount outfit and get it for only $25.95 (with another discount offered, $ 22.06)

And... Wait! there's more... join our club and you get the $22.06 price up front.

Still more... in that club, we'll also give you another discount, bringing the price all the way down to $18.75.

She's good. She knows how to place her book where she can move it. I can see her heart is truly in what she writes about.
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So much for the phony nonsense. This champion, it seems, is just like anyone else.

And of course the blame goes elsewhere. Someone else tricked us into wanting to buy cheap. Kind of sounds like those horrible lending agencies who forced people to get greedy and over-extend themselves on mortgages. Shame on all of them for duping us, the poor unsuspecting (and "unthinking"?) American public.

I can see that finding fault and pointing fingers of blame sometimes comes easy................ But where does personal responsibility come in?

Somehow I suspect no one here is going out to find the higher prices so they can do their part as the solution. And why not? Simple, the big stores brainwashed them.

Sad.

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Zinsco

I just ordered this book at amazon for $17. Thanks for the suggestion.
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Cdat

I thought I was speaking plain and simple. Don't try to read something that isn't there. I'll try to explain it this way:

My mom worked for Walmart for many a year. She had nothing bad to say about them. She flat out stated that the only people who complained were the worthless welfare pukes that wanted a free ride.

She also said that 90 percent of their customers were on food stamps and bought junk. Walmart caters to poor people but they have such a good marketing team, that middle and upper class shop there too expecting a discount or a bargain.

My mom and dad have never owned a new car or paid a trades person to do anything. Why? They can't afford too. Something breaks, my dad fixes it to the best of his ability. If it is something major, he muddles thru it the best he can and it sits jerry rigged forever. Never done right but done to what he can afford.

I have a list of people that I did work for that went out of business because they could not compete when walmart moved in. These were people that owned new cars, bought nice stuff and paid trades people to do what they didn't have the skills to do themselves.

So, a walmart moves in, puts 5-20 businesses out of work and replaces those jobs with 100-200 low paid ones that can't afford me and 1 or 2 people that can barely afford me. Walmart didn't do me any favors just now.

Now, let's look at walmarts products. Do I get those factory workers that work for them as my customers? Nope, they could never afford me and I couldn't afford the commute to work.

But wait, walmart does have some American suppliers! Yeap, but they drove many more into the ground because they expect a certain fixed price or else. Those companies that pander to walfart aren't making very much money. They are barely breaking even. If an unforeseen event happens, they often collaspe and go out of business.

That isn't change or new business. That is warfare. Plain and simple. To the victor goes the spoils. The only people that say that 'global' is the future are: People with big investments in other countries and people who are riding their shirt tails hoping to make a buck off of their leftovers (vultures).

BamBamm5144

These same things could be said for any major store. I have an Ace Hardware literally a mile down the street. Seven miles the other way is a Home Depot. Guess where I go when I need nails or screws because I do not want to pay the extra two dollars? I have two grocery stores within 3 miles of me. I drive to the Super Wal Mart next town over and over the course of the year, grocery shopping there saves me roughly 600 dollars compared to prices at the local supermarket.

I understand they have done things wrong. No one is forced to work there. The stores that went out of business were the ones who offered one pair of shoes in one style at one high price. It is a JOB. Of course people are going to complain about it. Especially people who are in the later years of their life making that 8.25 an hour being ticked off about the life decisions they made. It isnt my fault.

To contradict Cdat, I could say that now because of the lower prices for the same quality of products Wal-Mart offers, now people who weren't able to afford me beforehand, have now saved enough money at walmart so now they can.

Mike Finley

That is hilarious. I can't do the math to figure out how saving $.25 on a pack of toilet paper allows an $8.50 an hour paycheck to allow a person to afford a $30,000 kitchen remodel.

If $600 a year is breaking you and you are a business owner that's a very telling thing. I'd have to ask why be in business for yourself?

You could get a job working for somebody else instead of being in risk with so little reward.

In fact - Get a job at Walmart!!!!! I hear they pay great!

Willie T

Now, let me get this straight. These big box stores are bad guys because they offer low prices to people who otherwise could not live at the same level they do buying from the Big Boxes?

Constantly on this very forum, I hear contractors say that if people cannot afford their prices, tough. They openly state that they have no intention of ever lowering their prices. They feel they are worth every penny they charge. Am I right so far?

Yet, these same contractors fully expect to continue to get their lumber yard discounts as they always have. Even though, because they cannot purchase in the same volume as the contractor, their own customers do not enjoy this price reduction. Nor is it passed on to the customer unless it is absolutely necessary in order to win the bid. Otherwise, the contractor’s price remains at the same higher point.

Now, if one of us, as contractors, happens to fall into an advantageous situation where he can procure materials at a very good price, what happens? Nothing – if I am to believe what I read here. The price to the consumer remains the same. And the contractor buys another new tricked out GMC dually to the tune of 35 to 50 thousand dollars. (And we all know many are closer to 70K)

Why? Well, the good-hearted guy who passes on none of his extra profits to the customer is doing his fellow contractor a good deed by keeping prices high. Very commendable.

Nothing I have said so far contradicts the very sentiments expressed here, does it? No, you know it doesn’t.

Now, suppose some misguided idiot of an upstart contractor happens to feel that since he also has parents who cannot afford much (like some of us), he wants to help them and others like them too. He decides that he will determine an overall salary he can live with. And suppose he sets his rates accordingly. He’s living quite well with a stock F-150, and a medium size home. And he likes the idea of helping a few other people finally be able to do the same… and still get some home improvements done.

His workers are not getting scale…….. but neither are those of the “good” contractor. They are all making about the same. As, around here, so are Big Box employees when compared to hardware store employees. Almost no middle class worker in our area – no matter where they work – makes much more or less than a couple of bucks from any worker down the street. And this includes Big Box people.

This benevolent contractor also buys foreign tools, just like us. And he supports all those companies on the list I posted, just like us.

Only real difference is that he passes on some savings to his customers…….. unlike us.

Is he honestly and truly the devil we want to portray the Big Box operators as being?

If so………………….. Why?

And if not…………….. Why not?

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Willie T

double post....

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Cdat

So, you will never complain when an illegal alian takes your job because they offer similar service for 1/10th the cost? I hope you get some luv from Mexico sometime soon.

Willie T

A clear, thought out answer to my questions. Thank you.

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

BamBamm5144

Mike, I don't do Kitchen Remodels. I also look at things like that 600 a year can go to pay other things. Pay my cable bill for 5 months, pay half of my personal use car insurance, can go to buy wood to build something useful in my garage.

I also assume that anyone who makes 8.50 an hour will not have a house nice enough to be worthy of them spending 30,000 on a kitchen remodel. Lifetime employees of Wal-Mart are not customers who are going to purchase your product.

Sure, some of their business practices are unethical, however, you can not sit here and honestly say you would not like to have the bank account of any member of the Walton family. With millions of employees, how can everyone be kept happy? Its hard enough to keep two guys happy if you ask me.

Comparing an illegal alien to Wal-Mart is apples to oranges. It makes no sense. Wal Mart employees pay taxes and are legal citizens. Wal-Mart started as ONE store with one goal. Sell more variety of consumer products at a cheaper cost. His idea worked.

Cdat

Just explaining things in a nutshell. You shop at walmart and say screw the competition? Then I say, I hope you get what you deserve.

Willie T

I'm still struggling to see the logic here. The Big Box stores are a reality. Mexicans are a reality. Lower priced competition is a reality. An overall, downturned economy is a reality. More foreigners are on the way... we will soon be supporting half the nation on welfare... (thank you BO)

All of this, everyday, everywhere.

So the answer is to keep on gouging customers so that they will appreciate us more?

__________________
"True eloquence consists in saying all that is necessary, and only that which is."
François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
Bill Everett - St. Petersburg, FL

Cdat

Do you gouge customers? I don't. I offer my services for a fee. They can shop elsewhere if they so desire. Can others do my work? In my area? I haven't met one yet. Maybe he or they keep a low profile and we just don't bump into each other. Who knows? I really don't care.

I do know however, that I will not shop at walfart. I buy American made all the time, when I can. Not always possible but I attempt to support Americans rather then Chinese, Indians, Asians, Mexicans, Central Americans and South Americans and Africans.

I know, I know! Call me old fashioned and stupid! I am a lot dumber then half or more people on this very board. But, guess what? I make money and I spend it on American products. I haven't been hurting for business yet and we have the worst unemployment in the nation! Go figure?!