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- Go to My First Wal-Mart Rant of the Year
PatB - I don't equate blowing up the Wal-Mart busniness model with
a loss of convenience. Far from going back to the kinder, gentler time, I want the U.S. to progress to the point where we enjoy more sustainable diverse communities, where all people have a chance to live the American dream of owning a small business, where we might even build a pedestrian friendly society.
Buying cheap junk made in China and sold to a corporation that wants to destroy the cultural landscape of the United States may be convenient but it sure isn't progress.
posted by
FreeManWalking
on January 8, 2007 at 5:29 AM
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Ten minutes ago I was wishing for a time machine
so I could find a small town with no franchise fast food stores, no cell phone sales offices, no cable networks, no satellite providers - where the farmers come in on Saturday mornings to buy seed corn and yard goods at the local dry-goods and feed store. A place where folks keep cord wood stacked on the covered porch so the wood is dry for the kitchen stove, where coffee is percolated in a big enamel pot and stands warming on the back of the stove until it's gone. But could I give up the washer/dryer and the dishwasher? The thermostat-run furnace and A/C?
And here's your WalMart Rant, a different way of asking for a time machine...
posted by
Pat_B
on January 7, 2007 at 10:21 AM
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Arrghh. This one burns deep in me.
First, I despise Wal Mart. Yet I can't begrudge their ability to grow -- the people, the moronic, imbecilic consuming public, has obviously made its choice. They could go downtown to the mom and pops, but they don't.
The sad thing is, I have tried for years to go to my locals first. I can handle the fact that they're usually more expensive. But the worst thing is, they almost never have what I need -- "but I can get it in a couple of days."
It sucks. Wal Mart has spit out mom and pop and sucked them dry, and Wal Mart also obviously subscribes to the same employment practices cotton mills and coal mines used for years.
I could go on for days, but I've already gone on too long in your comments. Sorry about that...
posted by
strat
on January 4, 2007 at 8:47 AM
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I loathe Walmart too. I loathe everything about it, but I'm afraid nothing is ever going to change because people only see a yellow smiley face and low prices. And of course, part of what I hate is how people like my sister and brother in law who live in a very rural area literally have nowhere to shop but the local Wal Mart. Of course, that's what they do. Any small businesses that may have existed out there are long gone. That's one thing I like about living right in the "big city" - there are no Walmarts around here! I'm all about the small, privately owned business. I remember thinking how cool it was when I was in Portland Maine that all of the indie coffee shops were super crowded but Starbucks was kind of dead. Of course Starbucks started out small too. I have a cousin named Starbuck (yeah, really) and my crazy uncle had somehow heard of the little coffee company (this was the early 80s) and wrote to them, and they sent a bunch of mugs and stuff with their name on it....But I digress! Poo on Walmart, is really what I was trying to say.
posted by
Holy_Grail
on January 1, 2007 at 10:40 AM
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For me it has nothing to do with leadership......it has everything to do with the free market and the right to start a business and have it grow as large as it can. The share the wealth, control big business attitudes only cost the consumer in the long run.
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on January 1, 2007 at 10:33 AM
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Ariel - sounds like in Britain people are waking up
posted by
FreeManWalking
on January 1, 2007 at 9:52 AM
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Corbin - there are great leaders and then there are popular leaders. A
great leader has the forsight and intestinal fortitude to say "the will of the public be damnded" and go on to do what is best for America. In our day of politicians being slaves to hopes for re-election this may not happen but it has in the past.
There is nothing American about big ugly stores being built to the detriment of every community they come into. Wal-Mart provides jobs that keep people from being entreprenurial minded and ultimately keep people from being free. Wal-Mart wants to destroy this country so that there is nowhere else for shoppers to go except to the great corporate Satan.
posted by
FreeManWalking
on January 1, 2007 at 9:51 AM
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Dylan - the only breakups I know of have all been utilities (or at least
energy related businesses). Breaking up Wal-Mart could set a valuable precedent.
posted by
FreeManWalking
on January 1, 2007 at 9:45 AM
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posted by
Blue_feathers
on January 1, 2007 at 8:42 AM
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FreeMan
In Britain, they have Tesco, another giant, gobbling up all in sight.
It was reported a few days ago that Tesco opened 40% of new supermarket floor space last year. All 2,000,000 square feet of it.
However, there is a growing public repugnance against Tesco, and some business commentators can see a sharp decline in its sales volume.
The buying public do have a voice, and can influence the mammoths.
Happy New Year(s)
el Tel
posted by
ariel70
on January 1, 2007 at 8:42 AM
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Yeah!
Let's limit all companies to 1000 employees, make minimum wage $20.00 an hour, unionize every business in America...including the Pearl Vision franchises.......limit corporate profits to 1% of sales and executives salaries to just 3 times the minimum wage.......oh, wait most of that's already been tried....in the former Soviet Union...what a sparkling success that was.....
I know I'm hoping for $8.00 a gallon for milk and $5 bread...
I think Walmart's impact on small town businesses sucks....but the so called solutions are far worse....the only way to fight it comes from the consumers...and frankly they made their choices quite obvious.......FMW, I understand your frustration....
But this is the progress and evolution of business.....what does amaze me is how many "Progressives" only want certain types of "progress".....
JMHO
posted by
Corbin_Dallas
on January 1, 2007 at 8:04 AM
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I agree with the idea of splitting Wal-Mart into smaller companies (and of course unionizing its work force).
I hope we choose a more peaceful route than the one suggested in this post, though. We're looking for justice, not a prison sentence.
My stepdad works at Wal-Mart. His stories help me -- in a limited way -- understand the condition of workers there. The owners would have them working 80 hours a week for company scrip (instead of cash payment) if they could get away with it.
Unfortunately the powers-that-be in Washington, in the Republican Party and to a somewhat lesser extent in the Democratic Party, are philosophically opposed to government intervening to temper the growth and dominance of big business. (Not just philosophically opposed, but financially bound by corporate contributions to groups that support "business friendly" candidates.)
posted by
Dyl_Pickle
on January 1, 2007 at 7:50 AM
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