WalMart under terrorist attack ...

[ViRedd]

Hezbocrats Attack Wal-Mart
By Herman Cain
Tuesday, August 22, 2006

The Hezbocrats, a roaming band of militant guerrillas seeking their party

[tj_142]

Anyone know? Is Wallmart that bad to work for?

a different platform........a little twisted...

[ViRedd]

From the above article: "They say that Wal-Mart treats its employees poorly, but who is complaining? In January, 25,000 people applied for 325 available jobs at a proposed Wal-Mart store outside of Chicago. According to Wal-Mart, over 75 percent of its store managers started with the company as hourly workers. Wal-Mart’s prices save the average American household over $2,300 per year. The company is so unpopular that over 127 million customers shop at its U.S. stores each week."

Sounds like a pretty good place to work to me, tj.

The employees of Walmart are not union members. The Democratic Party depends upon unions for large donations. Therefore, Democrats, especially those on the extreme left are the ones trying to undermine WalMart. They say they support the "poor," and yet, they are trying to drive WalMart out of business even though they keep prices at a rock-bottlom level and provide jobs for entry level employees. Many of their entry level employees have been able to get off of welfare thanks to WalMart. Like Hitler (I think it was Hitler) said: Tell a lie often enough and it will be percieved as the truth.

Vi

[plantbuilder]

*presses vi's nurse button*

[ViRedd]

Gentle presses ... please. :kisses:

Vi

[tj_142]

Sounds like a pretty good place to work to me, tj.

Vi, that might be pushing it, lol, the box stores has taken the small out of small town, however the savings passed upon the shoppers is really incredible, I dont agree with there buying tactics, but Walmart does clothe and furnish the poor.

[plantbuilder]

http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/
http://www.ips-dc.org/projects/global_econ/walmart_pay_gap.htm
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000039&sid=arNjFjq0qpd0&refer=columnist_crystal
http://jeffknows.com/index.php?walmart
http://www.newrules.org/retail/news_slug.php?slugid=338
http://www.rense.com/general65/lips.htm
next you will be defending disney right?

[plantbuilder]

rather wal-mart creates the poor to clothe and furnish

[OneLegUp]

tj...

home depot is pushing out the small store... super markets pushed out the small market.. it is the nature of the consumers demand for larger selections of goods and lower prices...

as to the unionizing...

If WalMart were to unionize... it would bring in at least... as in minimum.. $600,000,000 direct to the unions in dues. It would also bring in and additional $300-400,000,000 in direct payments from WalMart to the unions which is a little known fact..union members pay dues but the businesses ALSO..in addition.. pay the unions direct for each hour the union member is on the job...

I know this to be true, as a former union lather..the union got $5 an hour for each hour I was on the job directly form the contractor..this said nothing of my dues...

Initial costs with no raises... appx. $1 Billion dollars

When all is said and done... the net effect would be additional costs of close to $1.5 Billion minimum...

Now to cover the additional $1.5 Billion. WalMart will in turn need to raise prices by an additional $1.7-$1.8 BILLION... to generate revenue to cover the extra matching taxes and overhead etc...

And who will pay the extra $1.7-1.8 BILLION...? consumers who in turn will have less money to spend on other items....

pay more get less.. with unions

ps.. I don't go to Walmart nor does any family member... but I'll defend their right to be non union......all day

[Dankdude]

As someone who has met Sam Walton, he would roll over in his grave to know what his kids have done to his store.

Sam Walton was all about Buy American.

[Glass Man]

Bigger is usually not "better", Wal Mart and The US Government are very good proof of that.

Neither of them are good for society. They both work towards keeping the poor down and powerless. They both find their profit and power the same way, at the expense of the masses. The world suffers as they grow.

It doesn't take a left wing "Liberal" to understand what is right, but it does seem to take and extreme "Conservative" to argue for what is wrong (I'm referring to greed & hatred).

The standard of living must improve for all people as a whole for it to truely and permantently improve at all. Our current technological level could enable all of humanity to live much better and peacefully, but greed continues to pit us against each other.

How much of our time, money, and energy is wasted on "War"? Think of all the fighting we (humans) spend on fighting. We have political & religious wars between countries. We have our own country warring against us with the "War on Drugs", and many other battles against our rights.

Just imagine the amount of Good that could be done with the Pentagon budget. It's not about "defense", it's about "control". It's much more economical to make & keep friends than it is to continuously fight with your enemies. Friends give gifts, and enemies give hatred. I don't have the time or energy to hate, why do our leaders?

GM

[capt carnuba]

Simply put, the economics of high volume and cheap prices are all about deafening the consumer to quality and quality is the end result of education. Think about it.

[nuggdigger]

Wonder what the regional ramifications are of supporting a global economic value. I can't deduce that value of ecomomics relates soley to quality, more to value. Quality is relative to craftsmanship..and this is directly related to economics. Sure wally has most products, but so does the dollar store. What are you really getting for that dollar and where is it going. What about local venture initiative and buisness/industry. One pays tax dollars locally and expects local benefits. What can be expected from ones community when all locally earned dollars are vested in international economic "bargains."
I learned this lesson this spring working in a small isolated town similar to the size of my hometown. There were various stores and buisnesss all successfully competing together and all the money stayed local.
Where I'm from, you could not get a quarter of those stores to fly in my hometown, bucause, half an hour down the road is wally, homedepot, supertore, etc. I always figured..gopher a ride..spend 10 bux on gas and save 20 on groceries, bargain! No wonder we can't even keep a allnite convenience store here. They had two there:)Wonder how many miles I put on my vehicles, savin 10 bux so my neighbors could struggle by and close thier local buisnesses:cry:
Support is mutual. Part of good stewardship is not solely looking at the immediate economic savings.

For a laugh i must add..wife is shoppn now..prolly at wally:o If wally sold cars, would they be Lada's or Hummer's, and would quality matter in a bargain then?
peace

[The Cannarchist]

Personally,I've always favored the Rolls Royce end of the market.

You get what you pay for.

(Unless you are buying Dutch seeds that is)

[ViRedd]

As a consumer, I love WalMart. A while back I had to buy some air-stones. I went to PetMart to look them over in their aquarium department. The 12" air-stones were slightly over seven bucks each. WalMart is in the same shopping center, so I priced them there. They were slightly under three bucks each. Same size, same brand ... and less than half the price. They also have some VERY reliable dual air pumps for under ten bucks. So, I guess in some of your minds, I'd be better off paying the higher price? Hey, how about if, in the future, I buy the seven dollar plus ones at PetMart and sing GumBaya at the cash register as I check out? :rofl:

A voice of reason in the room ---------->>> OneLegUp :)

Vi

[Dankdude]

A voice of reason? Hardly.
I think not, it's because of business practices companies such as Wal * Mart that Textile mills in the Untied States are a distant memory.
It's because of Companies like Wal * Mart that jobs are being outsourced.


What's wrong with Wal-Mart?

On July 28, I joined nearly 200 residents of Chatham and Orange counties who packed themselves into the dining room of Dockside Restaurant near the county line. The last time I witnessed a cross-county gathering of this scale was in 1986 when citizens waged a pitched battle to prevent the licensing of the Shearon Harris Nuclear Power Plant.
This time the threat was Wal-Mart. Those gathered at Dockside were concerned about its impact on the local economy, its association with sprawl, its treatment of workers, and with the global role of the Arkansas-based behemoth.

Although the world's largest retailer lacks the dramatically explosive potential of a nuclear power plant, its impact has been devastating to communities across the United States. It has played a major role in the dismantling of America's manufacturing base and the disappearance of the middle-class worker.

Although the feared north Chatham Supercenter has yet to appear and things have been quiet lately along the Orange-Chatham line, Wal-Mart is again in the news. Last month, the nonprofit group Wal-Mart Watch obtained a memo to the company's board of directors written by its executive vice president for benefits, Susan Chambers.

The memo confirms what anti-Wal-Mart activists have been claiming for years: that pay, benefits and working conditions at Wal-Mart are bad, and intentionally so. This is a corporation that seeks to maintain profits by keeping its employees on the edge of poverty.

And that's not all. As Robert Greenwald's new film Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (www.walmartmovie.com) dramatically illustrates, Wal-Mart is complicit in the evisceration of main streets across the United States. Its policies drive local stores and American manufacturers out of business. The retail giant has been charged with a wide range of abuses, at home and abroad.

Wal-Mart's success is a matter of legend. As Simon Head put it in the New York Review of Books, "With 1.4 million employees worldwide, Wal-Mart's workforce is now larger than that of GM, Ford, GE, and IBM combined. At $258 billion in 2003, Wal-Mart's annual revenues are 2 percent of U.S. GDP and eight times the size of Microsoft's. In fact, when ranked by its revenues, Wal-Mart is the world's largest corporation."

Because of Wal-Mart's size and economic clout, its low standards drive down those of other companies--or it drives them out of business completely. Even the most self-interested Americans should be concerned about Wal-Mart's employment practices--someday, someone you love may have no option other than a Wal-Mart style job.

Now, with the holiday buying season approaching, Americans are waking up and fighting back. The release of the Greenwald film is only the first step in High Expectations Week (Nov. 13-19), a campaign in which Wal-Mart Watch, along with partners like Sierra Club and SEIU, is coordinating a coalition of over 400 organizations to raise awareness about the problems associated with this economic behemoth.

In the midst of what Business Week has termed "A Stepped-Up Assault on Wal-Mart," Susan Chambers' memo to her board of directors couldn't come at a worse time for the Arkansas-based corporation.

Chambers tells the directors that "Wal-Mart has a significant percentage of associates and their children on public assistance." According to Liza Featherstone's book Selling Women Short, packed in the envelope with their meager paychecks, Wal-Mart provides employees with instruction on how to apply for public assistance programs like food stamps and state health insurance for the poor.

A congressional study discovered that for a 200-employee Wal-Mart store, the government is spending $108,000 a year for children's health care; $125,000 a year in tax credits and deductions for low-income families; and $42,000 a year in housing assistance. This typical Wal-Mart store costs federal taxpayers $420,000 a year, which averages out to $2,103 for each Wal-Mart employee. It all adds up to an annual welfare bill of $2.5 billion for Wal-Mart's 1.2 million U.S. employees. That's not counting the burden Wal-Mart places on state and local governments.

Wal-Mart has long depended on high turn-over, with some 50 percent of its employees departing before they were eligible for benefits. Even so, the memo from Wal-Mart's Susan Chambers expressed concern that workers were staying too long, thereby pushing up wage and benefit costs, although she stopped short of calling for efforts to push out more senior workers.

She wrote that "the cost of an associate with seven years of tenure is almost 55 percent more than the cost of an associate with one year of tenure, yet there is no difference in his or her productivity. Moreover, because we pay an associate more in salary and benefits as his or her tenure increases, we are pricing that associate out of the labor market, increasing the likelihood that he or she will stay with Wal-Mart."

So much for the quaint idea that workers who do a good job at successful businesses should have some measure of job security.

The New York Times reported on the memo a mere four days after its business section ran a story on Wal-Mart's plan to expand its health care offerings. Turns out they need it.

The Chambers memo states that workers "are getting sicker than the national population, particularly in obesity-related diseases." Like the uninsured in general, Wal-Mart workers tend to overuse emergency rooms and under-use prescriptions and doctor visits.

According to Ralph Nader, although Wal-Mart requires an employee to work 34 hours a week to qualify as full time, the average workweek is only 32 hours. Part-time workers have to wait two years to qualify for insurance. Given the high turnover, few workers even reach eligibility. Of those who qualify, not many are willing to pay a premium that, under the current system, takes one-fifth of the average paycheck.

While the new proposal would cost workers only $11 per month, it would have limited coverage the first year and a very high deductible. Critics have called it a plan that only makes sense for healthy people.

We have yet to see an internal memo documenting Wal-Mart's practice of discrimination against women. According to Liza Featherstone, sexism is widespread at Wal-Mart. She reviews patterns of denial of promotion opportunities to women, underpayment of female employees, and the prevalence of exclusive, men-only meetings. Barbara Ehrenreich reports similar abuses in her book Nickel and Dimed.

Wal-Mart's working conditions take their toll on employees. According to Simon Head's recent article in the New York Review of Books, "[I]t is hard for Wal-Mart employees to take pride in their work or to have confidence in themselves ... With its deliberate understaffing, its obsession about time theft, its management spies, and its arbitrary punishments, Wal-Mart is a workplace where management's suspicion can affect the morale of even the best employees, creating a discrepancy between their objective record of high productivity and how they come to regard their performance on the job as a result of their day-to-day dealings with management. This discrepancy helps keep wages and benefits low at Wal-Mart."

Wal-Mart flouts state and federal laws that protect labor organizing. According to Mother Jones, the National Labor Relations Board has ruled that Wal-Mart repeatedly broke the law by interrogating workers, confiscating union literature and firing union supporters. At the first sign of organizing in a store, Wal-Mart dispatches a team of union busters from its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., sometimes setting up surveillance cameras to monitor workers.

"In my 35 years in labor relations, I've never seen a company that will go to the lengths that Wal-Mart goes to, to avoid a union," said Martin Levitt, a management consultant who helped the company develop its anti-union tactics before writing a book called Confessions of a Union Buster. "They have zero tolerance."

Wal-Mart works relentlessly to find low-cost production facilities overseas. In doing so it has no regard for the consequences for American businesses or workers despite being called by Fortune "America's most admired corporation."

Hedrick Smith's Frontline documentary "Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" tells of Circleville, Ohio, where the local RCA plant was once a source of good jobs with good pay and benefits. In 2003, RCA's owner, Thomson Consumer Electronics, lost a sizeable portion of its production orders and six months later shut the plant down, throwing 1,000 people out of work. The reason: Wal-Mart was now purchasing those products from China.

With tragic irony, a Wal-Mart Supercenter is now going up next to the empty Thomson plant. It will offer poverty wages to middle-aged workers who once earned good salaries in the manufacturing sector. Asked what the future held for kids coming out of high school, Circleville's mayor shook his head and said, "We don't know. We don't know."

When U.S. producers attempt to use our laws to protect themselves, Wal-Mart can be counted on to lend a hand--to the Chinese. Five Rivers Electronics is an American TV manufacturer that sued the Chinese for unfair trade practices. Wal-Mart filed a brief opposing Five Rivers action. "Why would Wal-Mart testify to support jobs in China instead of American jobs?" asks Five Rivers President Thomas Hopson.

"Wal-Mart and China are a joint venture" is the answer given to Frontline by Duke professor Gary Gereffi, an expert in retail chains. China uses Wal-Mart to break open the U.S. market; Wal-Mart turns to Chinese factories for goods to sell at "unbeatable" low prices.

Meanwhile, as Head reported in the New York Review of Books, the labor-backed watchdog group National Labor Committee has found gross violations of local labor laws among Wal-Mart suppliers in China, Bangladesh and Central America. Such violations are also found in U.S. dependencies such as American Samoa, where Wal-Mart can take advantage of cheap sweatshop labor yet still attach a "Made in America" label to imported garments.

In 2003, Head reports, the Korean owner of a plant in Pago Pago supplying garments to Wal-Mart was convicted of human trafficking and of holding more than 200 Vietnamese workers under "conditions of involuntary servitude." The National Labor Committee has found that Wal-Mart suppliers in China, Bangladesh and Central America routinely withhold employees' wages, enforce unpaid overtime, ignore restrictions on working hours, and deny employees health care and maternity benefits.

Wal-Mart is far worse in this regard than other retailers. In 2004, the National Labor Committee found that 90 percent of Bangladesh's garment manufacturers violated their female employees' right to maternity leave. A number of manufacturers--including Liz Claiborne, Costco, the Gap, Levi Strauss and Sears--pledged that any woman in Bangladesh sewing their garments must be guaranteed her legal right to maternity leave. Wal-Mart gave no such pledge.

But what about closer to home? Wal-Mart has a long history of using predatory pricing to drive local competition out of business. According to Forbes, for every new Wal-Mart, two rival supermarkets will close.

Often Wal-Mart will open a store close to town until the competition dries up. Then that store is closed and moved to a larger space perhaps closer to an interstate.

Wal-Mart opened a Supercenter in Hillsborough last year. Their old store remains empty. The reason: Wal-Mart controls the lease through 2009 and can keep out any prospective competition.

Still, some communities clamor for Wal-Mart and the jobs it promises. However, a study released last month by David Neumark of the Public Policy Institute of California contends that Wal-Mart stores reduce employment by anywhere from 2 to 4 percent and depress local wages by as much as 5 percent.

Those who defend Wal-Mart say it meets the needs of the poor for low-cost goods. In fact, Wal-Mart tricks consumers by offering a small number of high-profile products at rock-bottom prices. These are loss-leaders to lure shoppers into departments where they often select less competitively priced alternatives. And, as the competition leaves town, Wal-Mart's low prices are right behind.

Still, there is a cottage industry in justifying obscene profits, the loss of livable income jobs, and unethical production practices using the "helps the poor" rationale. Such calculations usually leave out a number of factors, including:


1. The full, systemic environmental cost of shipping products from China and other distant lands.

2. The full environmental cost of our travel to make big-box purchases.

3. The life-cycle costs of short-lived products that low-income consumers purchase because they appear to be less expensive.

4. The health costs associated with the typically highly processed foods that are available at big box stores.

5. The cost to communities where stable local businesses are driven under by big-box competition.

6. The waste processing and disposal cost of the packaging and non-reusable, non-repairable, non-recyclable goods sold at big box stores.

7. The costs, detailed above, to taxpayers for public assistance for Wal-Mart employees.

Thus, big-box retail Wal-Mart style is a shell game in which costs are shifted to the public while profits accumulate in the Walton family coffers. The challenge to those who seek a socially responsible and environmentally sustainable economy is to develop systems that assign these costs to the corporations that create them, thus transforming Wal-Mart's "really low prices" into really accurate prices.

In the meantime, a movement is needed for socially responsible production, retail and consumption. To a great extent that will depend on businesses identifying themselves as such and organizing mutual support and public outreach networks. But just as important will be a citizens' movement that goes beyond the formidable task of stopping Wal-Mart to demanding and supporting the creation of an ethically sound economy.

[ViRedd]

Well, I'm convinced now. We should just wipe WalMart off the face of the earth. Hmmm ... I wonder what would happen to your state, Dank? Here's the details for Texas: :hmm:

Texas Community Impact
Last Modified: Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Real Estate
As of July 2006, Wal-Mart's presence in Texas includes:
Supercenters: 262
Discount Stores: 57
Neighborhood Markets: 30
SAM'S CLUBS: 70
Distribution Centers: 15
Average store size (national average)
Supercenter: 185,000 sq. ft. with approx. 142,000 items
Discount Store: 101,000 sq. ft. with approx. 120,000 items
Neighborhood Market: 41,000 sq. ft. with approx. 29,000 items
SAM'S CLUB: 130,000 sq. ft. with approx. 5,500 items



People
As of August 2006, the total number of Wal-Mart associates in Texas is 145,363.
The average wage for regular, full-time hourly associates in Texas is $10.04 per hour (Wal-Mart Discount Stores, Supercenters, and Neighborhood Markets). Additionally, associates are eligible for performance-based bonuses.
In recent years, Wal-Mart has contributed four percent of an associate's eligible pay to their combined Profit Sharing and 401(k) Plan.

Suppliers
In FYE 2006, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc spent for merchandise and services with 5,272 in the state of Texas. As a result of Wal-Mart's relationship with these suppliers, Wal-Mart supports 224,977 supplier jobs in the state of Texas.
Supplier figures provided by Dun & Bradstreet.

Taxes and Fees
Wal-Mart collected on behalf of the state of Texas more than $1.3 billion in sales taxes in FYE 2006.
Wal-Mart paid more than $240.2 million in state and local taxes in the state of Texas in FYE 2006.

Community Involvement
In 2005, Wal-Mart Stores and SAM'S CLUB gave $24,828,760 in cash and in-kind donations to local causes and organizations in the communities they serve in the state of Texas. Through additional funds raised through stores and Clubs throughout the state, Wal-Mart contributed and raised a grand total of $31,470,705 as a result of its presence in Texas.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[ViRedd]

Dank ...

This is from the article you posted. Sound familiar?

Politicians understand how to sell bad economic ideas to voters far better than businessmen know how to give away good economic ideas to voters. The politicians are paid in votes – the currency of their realm – by appealing to the voters' base motive: theft. Politicians therefore invoke a modified version of one of God's commandments: "Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote."

[Dankdude]

I don't know where you get your figures, But I'm here to tell you that Walmart doesn't pay $10.04 an hour for Full time employees.
More like $7.00 an hour, it's the managers who make the $10.04 an hour.
My daughter's best friend works full time for Walmart. Those numbers are way skewed.

Were ever you got your figures is a bald faced lier.

[Dankdude]

Here is a link to the Article I deleted.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/north/north425.html

While your at it Vi, find out how long you have to work as a employee for walmart before you are fully vested in their 401k.

[The Cannarchist]

Average wage

[Dankdude]

Funny thing is Sam Walton Pretty much saved the Textile Industry in the United States. When he was alive, he bought Only American Products and still turned a profit.

Once Sam Walton Died, his Heirs started buying from Foreign interest had it wasn't long after that the Textile industry in the United States went belly up.

[The Cannarchist]

Gotta speak chinese now Danky......

[Dankdude]

Well I remember Meeting the man when I was driving truck and had to make deliveries to The Bentonville Ar Distribution center.
Funny thing was, his Business card was a $1.00 bill with his signature and phone number on it.

[ViRedd]

More from your article, Dank ...

Now, with the holiday buying season approaching, Americans are waking up and fighting back. The release of the Greenwald film is only the first step in High Expectations Week (Nov. 13-19), a campaign in which Wal-Mart Watch, along with partners like Sierra Club and SEIU, is coordinating a coalition of over 400 organizations to raise awareness about the problems associated with this economic behemoth.

And the Sierra Club is against WalMart because??? Hmmm, could it be that the Sierra Club is an anti-capitalism, leftist organization? Here's the facts:

Wal-Mart Pledges One Acre for Every Acre Developed
Last Updated:Friday, July 21, 2006


Founded in 2005, Acres for America is a one-of-a-kind partnership between Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to conserve critical wildlife habitats for future generations.

Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has committed $35 million over 10 years to permanently conserve at least one acre of priority wildlife habitat for every developed acre of Wal-Mart Stores’ current footprint, as well as the company’s future development throughout the 10 year commitment, making this one of the largest public-private partnerships ever and the first time a company has tied its footprint to land conservation.

Since 2005, the Acres for America program has funded projects in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan and Oregon.

To date, the Acres for America program has permanently conserved 360,000 acres, helping connect conservation landscapes totaling more than 4.6 million acres.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation will consider recommendations for projects that would generate the greatest impact to important fish, wildlife or plant resources. To apply, or for more information, log onto www.nfwf.org.

Site Profiles - A look at the sites in the Acres For America partnership:

• Michigan - Arcadia Dunes shoreline
• California - McCloud forestlands
• Arizona - North Rim of the Grand Canyon
• Arkansas - Newton County ( Click here for Arkansas site dedication photos )
• Louisiana - Catahoula and LaSalle Parishes
• Maine - Washington County
• Oregon - Deschutes Basin
• Idaho- St. Joe Basin


Information from the Acres For America launch announcement in 2005:



Click here to view a video tour of the sites.
• Acres For America Press Release
• Acres For America Grant Announcement
• Video News Release
• Television Ad
• Print Ad
• Photo sheet and credits
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Information
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Website
• Click here to find out how to receive funding.

[ViRedd]

And who was it that brought up the "Greed Factor?" In 2005, WalMart donated $245,000,000 to various charities, much of which went to low income areas and causes. Not too bad for greedy capitalists, eh?

Me tinks that some of you would be protesting the decline in typewritter production caused by that "greedy" computer industry. :rofl:

Vi

[Dankdude]

Look I don't deny that Walmart does put money back into the community, but I have seen it for myself, They come into a community and small medium sized businesses die.
Also in the town 50 miles away (that's where the nearest Walmart is from me) Walmart had just a regular store, last year they opened a Supercenter and closed the old store, to this day, they still own the property where the old store was and to this day they have not rented or sold the property. (Eliminating the competition maybe?) Albertsons in the Town Closed it's doors last month. Now let's look at the packaging of the meat at your beloved Wally World.
They package the meat in tray packs that they inject Carbon Monoxide gas into so that the meat is bright red, You can not tell if the meat is bad or not, I have went through the store and noticed there were many trays of meat that were past the user date.
If you know anything about buying meat, Fresh Beef is purple in color, once gone bad it turns brown.
To this day I refuse to buy meat at Walmart, and anyone who is smart wouldn't buy it there either.

The contributions Walmart makes in this area is to the Children’s Miracle Network, I think that they think that it gives them absolution for all the businesses that are forced to close their doors in small communities.

From a Business standpoint they are predatory.

[ViRedd]

We all know that WalMart depresses minorities. Here's more proof that WalMart is anti-diversity:


National gay business group teams with Wal-Mart
08/21/2006 @ 1:22 pm
Filed by RAW STORY


Please Note: at press time a statement is expected from Pride At Work, the lesbian and gay union organization, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, please check back for updates.

Advertisement
The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce released a statement today announcing a new partnership with Wal-Mart, the nation's largest retailer.

Wal-Mart will be represented on the Chamber's Corporate Advisory Council and will sponsor Chamber events and initiatives.

The press release follows:

#
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) announced today a partnership with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as part of the company's ongoing commitment to advancing diversity among all of its associate, supplier and customer bases. This partnership will include executive representation on the NGLCC's Corporate Advisory Council (CAC) and sponsorship of the organization's 2006 events and initiatives.

As part of Wal-Mart's involvement with NGLCC, Dee Breazeale, vice president of divisional merchandise, SAM'S CLUB Jewelry, will serve on the organization's Corporate Advisory Council (CAC). The CAC is composed of NGLCC corporate partners whose mission is to discuss issues upon which members of the NGLCC and CAC work together to educate Corporate America and the public on the economic benefits of providing a diverse workplace and creating mutually beneficial relationships with the LGBT and LGBT-friendly business community.

In addition, Wal-Mart will assist the NGLCC in developing, expanding and promoting corporate diversity business development and procurement opportunities by sponsoring some of its programs including two of the organization's conferences. Last month, NGLCC recognized the company as the newest corporate member of the chamber at the NGLCC's International Business and Leadership Conference in Montreal.

"We are honored to have Wal-Mart's support of the NGLCC. Our partnership will not only provide more opportunities for the NGLCC, but the business community as a whole," said NGLCC Co- Founder and President Justin Nelson. "We are pleased with this addition to our organization and to our council."

Wal-Mart joins a highly respected group of companies with representatives on the CAC, including IBM, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, American Airlines, Intel Corporation, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, Lehman Brothers, Travelport, Merrill Lynch, American Express, Cisco Systems, Avis, Orbitz, Intuit, Kodak, Fannie Mae, Millennium Hotels and Resorts and Kimpton.

[Dankdude]

The difference between the Walmart that Sam Walton started was that he worked within the community with small businesses and was out to crush The corporate Giants and helps out the small business and the Walmart today crushes everyone.

Let's look at it this way Vi, you stand against Communism, if you were to really look at Walmart's Business practices, it is communism on a smaller scale. Sound like your being quite the corporate supremacist Vi.

[ViRedd]

Albertsons in the Town Closed it's doors last month.

It couldn't happen to a nicer company, Dank. Albertson's opened a brand new store in my community about three years ago. Their old location is still vacant and they will not allow anything that will compete with them to move in. Albertson's was the main anchor tenant in the shopping center. They still have years to go on their lease and because of their "greed," they are allowing the rest of the tenants to survive in a dying shopping center.

If you know anything about buying meat, Fresh Beef is purple in color, once gone bad it turns brown.
To this day I refuse to buy meat at Walmart, and anyone who is smart wouldn't buy it there either.

How close is your nearest CostCo? They have excellent meat at great prices.

Vi

[Dankdude]

Meat prices are meaningless if you are going to take the chance of ptomaine poisoning when you cook dinner. I would rather pay a little more for my meat and have a guarantee that my meat is fresh.
Albertsons in this area had the lowest Meat prices and it was guaranteed fresh, I know that Albertsons was very Expensive in California, but in Texas they were reasonable.
We don't have a Costco around here. The nearest one is 257 miles away.

What Walmart does here, it exactally the same thing that Albertsons did in your community.

[Wavels]

The vilification of Wal-Mart is astounding. No one is forced to work or shop there. Why should consumers not have a choice..?
I read this in today's LA Times...quite timely....



It costs a lot of money to be poor. Go into a small grocery store

[ViRedd]

But the Democrats are standing in the way because labor unions hate Wal-Mart's policies and because Wal-Mart bashing has a placebo effect on Bush-bashing addicts.

That's exactly correct, Wavels. The city of Inglewood, California is mostly made up of poor inner-city Blacks and Hispanics. A couple of years ago, Wal-Mart wanted to build a Mega-Store in Inglewood and these self-serving politicians, beholding to the unions, denied Wal-Mart the access. As many of you know, a Wal-Mart mega store sells everything a family would need to survive basic day to day living, including groceries ... at great prices. As the Times article points out, the usual agenda of stores in poor neighborhoods is to sell their products at usuary prices due to risk of being robbed, greed and a captive customer base. The costs of denying Wal-Mart access to Inglewood are terrible, especially if one considers the loss of employment (Wal-Mart hires local people) and higher prices the citizens of Inglewood have to pay for daily living.

Hey, Democrats ... lets make the poor even poorer through your
"Feel-Goodism" policies of keeping Wal-Mart out of low income communities and hiking the minimum wage. Sound like a good idea? :hmm:

Vi

[joe6pack]

Hezbocrats is a stupid term. Neither the democrats nor Hezbolah want too be associated with eachother. IMO Hezbolah shares more with the bibble thumping born again evangelical christian right factions of the republican party.

This rhetoric shows your bias and blind following of the neocon pundent news media.

Whether you like walmart or not - comparing the democrats to hezbolah is just plain invalid and stupid.

-joe

[ViRedd]

Hezbocrats is a stupid term. Neither the democrats nor Hezbolah want too be associated with eachother. IMO Hezbolah shares more with the bibble thumping born again evangelical christian right factions of the republican party.

This rhetoric shows your bias and blind following of the neocon pundent news media.

Whether you like walmart or not - comparing the democrats to hezbolah is just plain invalid and stupid.

-joe

I'm always in amazement at the lack of humor in the liberal ranks. Instead of commenting on the issue at hand; Is Wal-Mart is a plus or minus to a community, you choose to comment like this?: IMO Hezbolah shares more with the bibble thumping born again evangelical christian right factions of the republican party. Now if THAT isn't bias, what is? :hmm:

Vi

[funkyflava]

i think walmart does not respect personal property rights of individuals, they seem to be in bed w/ commecial developers and locals that think that they can call any house w/1bath blighted. it seems to be such a shame that the high courts of our land think it's o.k. to just take private property... how sad
i do think that free will is the best way to walmarts pocket. if ya don't like shop some where else, i do
FF

i don't like unions, they seem to work against productivity. sorry if i miss spoke about the topic at hand.
and i can't think of a living wage, just what your worth> and would you like fries w/that.

[ViRedd]

i think walmart does not respect personal property rights of individuals, they seem to be in bed w/ commecial developers and locals that think that they can call any house w/1bath blighted. it seems to be such a shame that the high courts of our land think it's o.k. to just take private property... how sad
i do think that fee will is the best way to walmarts pocket. if ya don't like shop some where else, i doFF

I couldn't agree more. Good post. :)

Vi

[funkyflava]

:good:

[Wavels]

As a consumer I enjoy Wal-Mart. I like the ability to choose where I spend money. I have to admit that there are certain items that I buy almost exclusively at Wal-Mart.....paper towels, light bulbs, trash bags, detergents, fishing equipment,...... they seem to be less expensive than most of their competition on these things and more. I love the discount DVD bins!!!!
I do not buy clothing from WMT ...except underwear!!!...
No Corporation can make 100% of the public happy.

Hi ff, good post.... eminent domain is a travesty and governmental abuse on a grand scale!


In defense of Wal-Mart.....this was in today's NY Sun...
Wavels



Why would folks line up to work with Wal-Mart? Our view is that despite all the negative publicity, people think Wal-Mart offers unusual opportunity for those willing to work hard. It is a fact that more than 75% of store managers started out as hourly workers. It is also a fact that people have some confidence that the company will be around ten years from now, because it is smart, aggressive and determined to move every aspect of their business forward.

also...
He noted that while Wal-Mart can record, respond to, order and replace a product bought in any of its stores almost immediately, most health care organizations still require massive amounts of duplicate paper work, and lack even rudimentary systems.

Possibly the most bullish thing one can imagine for health care costs in this country is Wal-Mart indeed lifting its benefits expenditures, and consequently playing a role in the modernization and improved efficiency of the health care industry. It works with bikes, lawn mowers, granola, plasma TVs and garbage bags — why not flu shots?

excerpted:
http://www.nysun.com/article/38463?page_no=3

[ViRedd]

The difference between the Walmart that Sam Walton started was that he worked within the community with small businesses and was out to crush The corporate Giants and helps out the small business and the Walmart today crushes everyone.

Let's look at it this way Vi, you stand against Communism, if you were to really look at Walmart's Business practices, it is communism on a smaller scale. Sound like your being quite the corporate supremacist Vi.

I've been thinking about your post for awhile, Dank. Wal-Mart is NOT like communism at all. Wal-Mart is more like the NY Yankees of the 1940s & 1950s. A giant among giants, Wal-Mart trains their people better, buys smarter and offers more punch for the dollar than their competitors. CostCo does the exact same thing. They, like the NY Yankees, give the fans (customers) what they want ... and the fans flock to the stadiums. Wal-Mart, CostCo and others like Home Depot know that the customer is the ultimate boss. As long as they satisfy the customer, they will stay in business and thrive. People are not forced to shop at any box store, nor are they forced to work there. Unlike communism, Wal-Mart, etal, operates on the basis of free choice.

Vi

[plantbuilder]

it's a shame that all those benefits y'all see depend on labour exploitation in other countries.
i would like to see wal-mart exist without it,
but that is not possible.

comparing wal-mart to the yankees eh?
yah you can definitely compare the two corrupt franchises for sure
however wal-mart does not have to pay any fines for exceding salary cap values

still no comment on comparing wal-mart to disney corp eh?
both let gays and blacks work in the park/store...
yet refuse to pay 30 cents an hour to overseas manufacturers.

peace
pb

[joe6pack]

I'm always in amazement at the lack of humor in the liberal ranks. Instead of commenting on the issue at hand; Is Wal-Mart is a plus or minus to a community, you choose to comment like this?: IMO Hezbolah shares more with the bibble thumping born again evangelical christian right factions of the republican party. Now if THAT isn't bias, what is? :hmm:

Vi

i never said i was liberal. no matter what my politics i don't agree with calling an american political party by the name of a terrorist organization. like wise for those who compare bush to hitler and such...

while you might see bias in my statement it really wasn't. my point was that the christian right faction of the republican party mix religion with politcs like hezbolah.

one last point the title of the thread includes the term and that is why its appropriate for me to comment on the threadss title - its not off topic.

walmart - i could care less - i shop there - it is what it is and we live in a global market economy

[Dankdude]

I've been thinking about your post for awhile, Dank. Wal-Mart is NOT like communism at all. Wal-Mart is more like the NY Yankees of the 1940s & 1950s. A giant among giants, Wal-Mart trains their people better, buys smarter and offers more punch for the dollar than their competitors. CostCo does the exact same thing. They, like the NY Yankees, give the fans (customers) what they want ... and the fans flock to the stadiums. Wal-Mart, CostCo and others like Home Depot know that the customer is the ultimate boss. As long as they satisfy the customer, they will stay in business and thrive. People are not forced to shop at any box store, nor are they forced to work there. Unlike communism, Wal-Mart, etal, operates on the basis of free choice.

Vi
The difference is that the Wal Mart that Sam Walton envisioned and what it is today are two different animals.
Sam Walton Wanted to keep jobs in America by buying US goods Exclusively, and he would negotiate a reasonable price.
Wal Mart today buys very little in the United States and almost exclusively from Countries that foster slave labor and thus fosters a clamant of communism. Ever hear of a thing called Human Rights?
The survey says: BUZZ!!!!! X

[ViRedd]

i never said i was liberal. no matter what my politics i don't agree with calling an american political party by the name of a terrorist organization. like wise for those who compare bush to hitler and such...


Point well taken, Joe ... my apoligies. :tiphat:

Vi

[ViRedd]

Wal Mart today buys very little in the United States and almost exclusively from Countries that foster slave labor and thus fosters a clamant of communism. Ever hear of a thing called Human Rights?
The survey says:[/COLOR][/SIZE]

Because of the Global Economy, China is breaking out with a serious dose of capitalism. Want to see skyscrapers, Rolls Royces and Mercedes Benzes? Try downtown Bejing. :)

Vi

[joe6pack]

on walmart - I agree with what has been said about their buying practices supporting inhumane labor practices in china and elsewhere. the only thing is if we all say spontaniously stop shopping there - and they go out of business - something else will take their place and sell cheap things that are produced as cheaply as possible.

If a political party really wanted to stop this it would need to be an enforced trade tax and or tariff on countries with unacceptable labor practices.

Walmart vs. Disney -- -- hmm --- disney is kinda a weird place, did you know all the employees are considered "cast members" all of the employees even the cleaning crew (- I knew a guy who worked in IT there, they have a huge setup - it's the ship like building across from downtown disney) Basically this allows them to discriminate because the appearance of a "cast member" is part of the job and they can hire/fire/promote/discipline based on this criteria.

-joe

[OneLegUp]

Who here has personally visited some of WalMarts factories overseas?

I'll bet a $1000.... not a single one of you WalMart critics has, yet you easily state they employ and condone slave labor etc...

Some here know I've been working on a project for quite sometime and I made every attempt to have it made in the USA... it couldn't be made here..

I went overseas to HK... all the Taiwanese, Japanese, Korean etc are using China.. so it was off to China... now I hate communism ... about as much as I hate socialists and socialism...... and thusly had a real moral dilemma..... see I too had heard the rumors about slave labor, low wages, unsafe work conditions etc..

Hell my sister in law..who is much like many here ... a fire breathing socialist..backer of redistribution of wealth...etc. said I had to go to China...

So I visited a total of 7 factories..small and large..4 of them were used by WalMart...

I demanded in every case..to thoroughly inspect the factories and other facilities...in not one case did I see slave labor.. in not one case were the employees without ... in every case I saw clean dorms facilities(yeah some beds were unmade, cloths strewn on the bed etc..nothing different than millions of American's rooms) for those who needed rooms.. in every case where dorms were necessary.. the cafeterias were clean and the food good... yes this round eye ate with the workers.....

I asked what their wages were... and when I was initially told the days pay I was taken aback... Then they said come with us... we went to a restaurant whose outside remined you of a mom/pop diner..inside it was lined with oak paneled walls, grand piano (the lady was playing Mozart), A/C... wine rack, fine linens etc... What some would see easily as being a 4-5 star restaurant here... The meal... 2 steaks, vegetables, bread, potatoes, desert and wine... was $4... half a factory workers days wages...

Here that meal would have easily cost... $50-60

I asked everything.....

Through some fancy foot work and fast talking...I've even acquired a contract used by ...errr some of the people... it states

....."shall comply with all international labor laws and requirements, not use child labor or forced labor, provide safe and humane working conditions. All subject to verification thorugh independent parties and inspections.."

In fairness the factories located in souther China around DongGuong, Shenzhen, Shunde.. all in the Guangdong Province where the metal stamping is done...it's hot so you do see the employees with their company smock open or in some cases with the typical "white undershirt on". It would be impossible to air condition these facilities.. each has large fans to circulate the air... and I found the floors to be clean of grease, oil and obstacles that could impair movement in case of emergencies..

I bring the above point up because I can easily see a film using Michael Moore brand of reporting could in a nanosecond be ginned up with proper editing, to have it appear the conditions are poor etc...

In the areas were assembly work is done..all employees had clean smocks, clean work areas and were well lit...

For the employees who live on site...there were basketball courts, indoor rec rooms and more...

One thing I should point out is every factory has a large number of dorms. This is because many of the workers come from the countryside and rather than look for apartments etc..find it is easier to live on site.

As to tariffs... don't work...

President Bush has attempted to place several tariffs on goods from overseas... one of which was called the Byrd Amendment that placed tariffs on steel and some finished good using foreign steel. It was named after ... Sen. Robt. Byrd D-WVa...

The purpose of the amendment was to save 60,000 jobs...by imposing tariffs

The result ...It was found to be illegal under the WTO...and it cost 300,000 jobs for net loss of 240,000 jobs... that will never come back to the states...

As to buying American... Sam Walton was a businessman ..and if the consumer wanted something or there is demand for something... He'd have acquired it...he acquired product made in Japan which at the time was the equiv. to acquiring Chinese product today... that is what business people do...but what's available

That is what WalMart is doing still to this day... ever see a toaster, toaster oven, coffee maker ...or other small appliances made in the USA.. no

so they get them from China or in some cases Malaysia, Costa Rica etc...BFD...

or are they not supposed to not sell these items because they aren't made here..in the USA anymore..nor any items similar if the USA doesn't have factories for them...?

They sell Amercian products... as much if not more than other stores... remember it's consumer driven...

Their job is to sell ANYTHING..what is wanted by the consumer

and use SWAT..sell what's available today... simple rule

Lastly Vi is 100% correct... a wave of capitalism is sweeping China.. some of this wave is good and some bad as they still haven't come to grips with using cleaner technology for energy production... it is being addressed. They have banned all new licenses for dirty mopeds etc and are working diligently on getting rid of the older vehicles which really are a blight...

I've been going back and forth now for 6 years... the changes are amazing and they are loving the freedoms.. more will come...

In closing I don't use WalMart and have only been in one store twice.. During my time there I saw nothing different being offered that isn't offered at CostCo, Bed Bath and Beyond etc.. I personally found the stores over crowded and for me ... not to be used.....nonetheless... for some it works and I defend them only because I despise anyone telling someone how to run their business if it is run within the parameters set forth as being legal... If I were to sit back while unions, dems and others ransacked WalMart...what will stop them from imposing their brand of justice on any other business they don't like..

Could even be yours...

[meloyelo]

I'll throw 2 cents into this pot.
I am a small busines owner. Part of my client base is comprised of small retail businesses. Fortunately for us there is no Walmart near enough here to affect these small retail businesses as they have a hard enough time just dealing with the price of oil, electricity, commercial space, the economy in general without having a huge congolomerate undercutting their prices by 50%. They would lose out and belly up and I'd be right behind them.
So despite your altruistic nature to save us from ourselves Vi, I'll have to say no thanks. I'd rather stay in business.
-melo

[plantbuilder]

http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/upload/Wal-MartLungcheongReport.pdf
http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/upload/Wal-MartPanyuReport.pdf
http://www.chinalaborwatch.org/upload/PiersData.pdf

[Kurious]

I defend them only because I despise anyone telling someone how to run their business if it is run within the parameters set forth as being legal... If I were to sit back while unions, dems and others ransacked WalMart...what will stop them from imposing their brand of justice on any other business they don't like..

Isn't that what the robber barrons claimed when vertical intagration was a legal business practice?

Kurious

[ViRedd]

OneLegUp ...

That was an excellent post regarding your personal experiences in China. I especially found the resturant experience to be enlighting. What we would consider "slave" wages, is really decent pay by the Chinese worker's standards. What the naysayers don't mention, or don't realize is that before Western businesses started farming out work to the Third World, these people were truely slave laborers. The dumps in Calcutta come to mind where there were entire families eking out a living by foraging through the trash. I'd bet anything that if Wal-Mart went union, the complaints from the Left would stop overnight.

Vi

[Dankdude]

I'll throw 2 cents into this pot.
I am a small busines owner. Part of my client base is comprised of small retail businesses. Fortunately for us there is no Walmart near enough here to affect these small retail businesses as they have a hard enough time just dealing with the price of oil, electricity, commercial space, the economy in general without having a huge congolomerate undercutting their prices by 50%. They would lose out and belly up and I'd be right behind them.
So despite your altruistic nature to save us from ourselves Vi, I'll have to say no thanks. I'd rather stay in business.
-melo
I don't know Vi I would pay attention to what Meloyelo has to say.
Corporate Supremacy isn't always a good thing.
Just go back in history and study what Standard Oil and US Steel did to the business landscape.
Sorry OLU, but it is the small business man who built this country since the days of the US Steel and Standard Oil break up. What most do not understand is if a Mega-corporation has a economic down turn it can crash the whole stock market.... Anyone remember what happened when the Federal Government screwed with Microsoft?
Gobbling up small business is never a good thing, The state of Small business is what the real economic indicator is.

[ViRedd]

Dank ...

Not all is lost in the US for the small business person. Here's some stats that you may not be aware of. And of course, stats like these don't sell newspapers, nor do they encourage employees to become union members either.

1: SMALL IS BETTER (SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS)

The daily business media - as well as the business weeklies, biweeklies and monthlies concentrate most of their coverage on big business. But small business plays a tremendous, if underappreciated role in the American economy. There are currently more than 25 million small businesses in operation in the US, contributing more than $18 billion a year in sales to the US economy (bizstats.com).

According to the Small Business Administration:

* Small businesses make up 99.7% of all employers.

* Small businesses create more than 50% of the nonfarm private gross domestic product.

* Small patenting firms produce 13 to 14 times more patents per employee than large patenting firms.

* The 22.9 million small businesses in the US are located in virtually every neighborhood.

* Small businesses employ about 50% of all private sector workers.

* Home-based businesses account for 53% of all small businesses.

* Small businesses make up 97% of exporters and produce 29% of all export value.

* Small businesses with employees start up at a rate of 500,000 per year.

* Four years after starting, half of all small businesses with more than one employee remain open.

* The latest figures show that small businesses create 75% of the net new jobs in our economy.

In the United States, according to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, some 11.3% of the working-age population are either running a young business - less than three years old - or are actively trying to start one. Since there are about 180 million Americans between 18 and 64, that means there are more than 20 million entrepreneurs in the nation. The GEM confirms SBA findings that entrepreneurship is widespread, found among all regions of the country, all income levels, all ethnic groups, and both genders.

In fact, one in every 11 American women is now a business owner, nearly commensurate with the rate for all adults. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, the number of majority-women-owned businesses in the US grew at twice the rate for all firms between 1997 and 2002, jumping 14% to reach 6.2 million. In 2002 women-owned businesses accounted for 28% of all privately owned firms in the US, and employed 9.2 million people. Including companies where women are co-owners pushes these numbers up to 10.1 million businesses, accounting for 46% of all privately held firms in the US, employment of 18.2 million people, and $2.38 trillion in revenue generated.

What all of this means, writes John Case in Inc. magazine (April 2004), is that entrepreneurship has become an accepted occupational choice in the United States. It persists at a generally high level regardless of economic conditions. It has become a self-sustaining phenomenon. Entrepreneurship is taught in more than 1,500 colleges and business schools. It is supported financially by millions of people.

Smaller businesses have an inherent advantage in an economy driven, as is the American economy, by innovation, invention and creativity. That's because large companies have high cost structures, and are hesitant to take big chances on unknown products and markets. It's left to smaller companies to explore, discover, invent and create the opportunities of tomorrow.

And what are the opportunities of tomorrow? They are endless, ranging from new technologies (see Growth Strategies issues 942, 953 and 957), to new ways of serving new clusters of consumers, to new business concepts, to other disruptive innovations.

Smaller businesses also have an advantage because in a knowledge-based economy, human capital is more important than physical or financial capital. This environment puts a premium on attracting and retaining good people. But the labor market advantages of big companies - pay, benefits, job security, reputation - have vanished. Desirable employees, today and increasingly in the future, look for "destination" workplaces, where their skills are recognized and rewarded, and work/life balance is not an alien concept.

Growth Strategies Implications

As Zuboff and Maxmin point out in The Support Economy (2002), half of everything we buy and use today didn't exist 100 years ago. It is therefore safe to assume that vast new markets will be created in the coming century for products and services that don't yet exist today. And most will be spawned by small businesses.

Copyright FutureScan Apr 2004
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

[Dankdude]

Globalization is the highest form of communism.

[c-ray]

Globalization is the highest form of communism.

yes but it is corporate communism disguised as capitalism, which leads to corporate welfare big time, meanwhile the people, peons (pee-ons) who support the system get the shaft and farewell to wellfare for the society bye bye socialism

[meloyelo]

Well Vi that cut and paste really dosesn't support your argument IMO. It just supports the fact that small business is essential to the american economy and a huge majority of american workers comprise the smalll business sector. Unfortunately, for us, Walmart does not buy locally. Being who and what they are they can purchase many of their needs once, at the corporate level and pass the benefits down to all their branches. That leaves the small business people in local economies without customers, cause Walmart has already run off or bankrupted their small privately owned business competitors. And those are all real people just trying to make a living, not trying to get filthy wealthy.
Sorry I'll have to leave my argument with that, I'll be gone a little while.
-melo

[bigsur51]

Washington, alleging color television makers in China were illegally dumping their larger-sized color sets in the U.S., thereby threatening to put Five Rivers out of business. The company tracked TV imports from China and found that sales of the Chinese televisions skyrocketed from just over 50,000 sets in 2001 to 1.5 million sets during the first nine months of 2003.[37] The ITC findings detailed that "some imports…have been imported directly by retailers such as…Wal-Mart", but the report did not indicate that Wal-Mart was the primary reason for this increase.[38]

In May 2004, the International Trade Committee (ITC) unanimously agreed that the surge of these imports from China had injured Five Rivers, and then imposed duties averaging about 23 percent on these sets. Wal-Mart filed a brief in support of the Chinese suppliers during the hearing.[39] The argument presented by Wal-Mart and the government of China claimed that the makers of these sets were pricing them fairly. As detailed in the ITC finding, Wal-Marts argument was that "imports, which are not sold under well known brand names, have lower perceived quality and hence price." [40]

Whether dumping itself is a good or bad thing is a matter of dispute. Some believe governments are unjustified in forcefully preventing consumers from having access to imported low cost products.[41][42]
Housing expenses

According to striking workers at a Chinese factory that supplies Wal-Mart, "half of their wages were deducted to pay for their housing expenses while living in housing facilities."[43]

what?!...did i read that correctly?.....an American tv company , suing China for illegal "dumping" of tv's (incidentally , there were a few N.American tv companies that went belly up as a direct result of China dumping) .........

and who was on the Defendant's , China , side , trying to shut down American jobs , say it ain't so Joe, Wal-Mart , or , my version , China-Mart?......

peace
big

[ViRedd]

In May 2004, the International Trade Committee (ITC) unanimously agreed that the surge of these imports from China had injured Five Rivers, and then imposed duties averaging about 23 percent on these sets.

So, in order to "protect" American TV manufacturers (are there any left?), the answer is to "punish" the competition by raising tariffs? Isn't that kind of like this senerio: You're in a rowboat with a Chinese National. The Chinese guy punctures a hole in his end of the boat, so to retaliate, the American pokes a hole in the American end as well? :hmm:

Vi

[resinman]

Hey Vi if you get the weekend addition,,of the Wall street journal

It explains the whole wallmart scenario,,,once you read it,,,the money that they have donated to the republicans,,,is now being diverted to the democrats

You will not here of any more bashings from the 30% of democrats who are raising the stink,,,thats right its 30%,,,mostly money from the labor unions

Bush actually calls walmart up and warns them days in advance for labor violations inspections,,,so we will not here any more problems,,

the only company known to get a call from the whitehouse first,,,hehehhee


resinman

[bigsur51]

did you miss the point Vi?........Wal-Mart fighting Against American jobs?......besides, the Chinese were dumping these tv's below their cost , which is illegal.......

Five Rivers is the last of the N. American tv makers , i believe......

besides , this is just a symptom of a bigger problem.........Honest Money...

peace
big

[plantbuilder]

apparently this is all to enjoy a reaction
enjoy your site

[ViRedd]

apparently this is all to enjoy a reaction
enjoy your site

Nope, its all about getting you to think on a different plane and to reevaluate your beliefs.

I honestly believe that the Democrats are supported by the labor unions. WalMart is not union, therefore the constant attacks against WarMart from the left. I'm not saying that the Republicans don't have their special interests too, but as for WalMart, the subject of this thread, Walmart is the pig the Democrats must poke in order to get continued funding from the unions.

Vi

[plantbuilder]

lol

[bigsur51]

china-mart under terrorist attack?.....left wing , right wing , chicken wing , union , non-union , or onions....all symptoms of the present unconstitutional monetary system of fractional banking........

at times , it is a challenge to articulate one's position , let alone make sure the listener understands what your trying to say...

a little help from an economist , D.V. Gnazzo , in his essay , Honest Money ..quote...

Paper currency, regardless of whether or not it is backed by gold, is not the original hard money of our Constitution. Only Honest Weights and Measures of silver and gold coin is Honest Money. Paper fiat is simply a mechanism of wealth transference, where wealth is siphoned off from “We The People” by the debasement of the currency through inflation and loss of purchasing power. This is a system of wealth redistribution that enables one half of one percent of the world’s elite – to own 95% of everything.

“And the moral of that is – The more there is of mine, the less there is of yours.”

Without a constitutional amendment, any system of paper money is unconstitutional. And even with a constitutional amendment, the efficacy of such a system has already been shown to be counter-productive and self-destructive. Paper money that is fractionally backed by specie creates debt for the many and wealth for the few. Fractional reserve lending is a scourge to mankind that would be best put to rest."...

the war is against " We the People"......

peace
big

[ViRedd]

lol

Thanks for the comment. :)

Vi

[ViRedd]

[QUOTE=bigsur51]
Paper currency, regardless of whether or not it is backed by gold, is not the original hard money of our Constitution. Only Honest Weights and Measures of silver and gold coin is Honest Money. Paper fiat is simply a mechanism of wealth transference, where wealth is siphoned off from

[bigsur51]

Not to mention our 8 TRILLION dollar national debt thanks to government spending inflated, borrowed into existence, paper dollars.

Vi

one of the "Greatest" crimes of the Century.........

[bigsur51]

...here is part of a Petition , an Open Letter To Congress......

The Constitution does not delegate Congress any of the following powers; and the Constitution states that any powers not granted to Congress reside with the states, and or with the people:

* No power to create money.
* No power to form monopolies.
* No power to issue forced loans.
* No banking powers or regulations.
* No fractional reserve banking policies.
* No power to loan money – only to borrow.
* No power to grant charters of incorporation to banks.
* No power to draw money from the Treasury without appropriations by law.
* No power to delegate non-existing constitutional powers to private corporations.
* No power to create any paper currency regardless if it is redeemable in specie.

In light of the above, We The People demand that the following be addressed by Congress, and that proper action, according to due process of law, be taken to comply with the Constitution of The United States, and The Supreme Law of the Land:

* Our constitutional monetary system is a hard money system of gold and silver coin.
* Silver is the standard that defines the dollar.
* The unit of account, the unit of money, and the medium of exchange should all to be the same - a weight of silver as expressed by the standard.
* Both silver and gold coins are the constitutional currency.
* The mint should be reopened to the free mintage of silver and gold coin. Silver and gold coin should only be stamped according to weight and purity.
* The fixed exchange rate of the Coinage Act of 1792 should be repealed.
* The market should determine the exchange rate between the two metals according to weight.
* Abolish The Federal Reserve and remove it from its control and influence of our monetary system.
* Abolish all legal tender laws per Congressman Ron Paul’s Bill HR – 2779.
* Abolish fractional reserve lending, or at the least legislate full disclosure of how it works.
* A constitutional amendment prohibiting the confiscation of gold and silver by the government, under any circumstances, including The War Powers Act, The Trading With The Enemy Act, and all other forms of emergency acts, should be passed.
* All gold confiscated under Roosevelt should be returned to the people.
* An independent audit should be made of all U.S. gold reserves and disclosed to the people.

Respectfully,

just sign up here..........i kind of like this Constitutional stuff , sound right patriotic , doesn't it?......

peace
big

[Carpet Muncher]

Tell a lie often enough and it will be percieved as the truth.


i thought that was Lron hubbard?

[Carpet Muncher]

Saving seafood
Wal-Mart has unsentimental business reasons for promoting sustainable fishing practices.
By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer
July 31 2006: 6:18 AM EDT

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Next time I dig into a slab of grilled salmon, or lay a slice of smoked salmon on a bagel, I'm going to remember Mitch Keplinger.

Mitch is a fishing boat captain who plies his trade in the cold waters off Kodiak Island, Alaska. I met Mitch in June, while reporting a story on Wal-Mart (Charts) and its push to adopt business practices that are good for the environment.

Wal-Mart wants to drive those practices down into its supply chain, deep enough to touch people like Mitch. We'll explain how in a moment.

A burly, opinionated man with a graying beard, Mitch, who is 45, is known as one of the shrewdest fishing boat captains in what has become a tough -- and tightly regulated -- business.

In Alaska, the state department of fish and game tells fishermen when and where they can fish. It limits the size of their boats and the length and depth of their nets. The goal is to protect the fishery for future generations, and it's working; last year's catch of 3 million pounds of sockeye salmon was a record.

As a result, Mitch is a rare species - the owner of a small business who welcomes the heavy hand of government. "The fish come first," he's says. "They've got to come first. We're secondary."

One reason Mitch takes this long-term view is that his father and grandfather were fishermen, and he has a daughter who likes to hang around his boat.

During the day I spent on board, Mitch and his crew of three worked hard for about 12 hours to haul in about 1,000 pounds of sockeye, which they sold to Ocean Beauty, a Seattle-based processor and supplier to Wal-Mart, for 70 cents a pound.

They caught another 500 pounds of pink salmon, which sells for 35 cents a pound. That's $1,050, before expenses, to be shared by the four of them - barely worth the effort.

Later in the season, they'll do better, but the low wholesale price of salmon makes it hard to earn a living running a fishing boat off Kodiak. Many veterans have given up.

This is where Wal-Mart comes in. The giant retailer wants to support fishermen like Mitch, who play by the rules. And it wants to do so for an unsentimental business reason - Wal-Mart intends to grow, and to sell fish for a long time, and it needs a reliable supply.

"Supply is already getting tighter," Peter Redmond, the company's vice president for deli and seafood, told me. "We have a hard time now sourcing some fish, like whiting." Redmond has spent lots of time talking to suppliers and environmentalists about how Wal-Mart help protect the future of ocean fish, and he has come up with a plan.
Making profits sustainable

The problem, in essence, is that the market does not reward regulated fisheries, like those in Alaska, for being good stewards of the ocean. Instead, salmon is typically sold as a commodity; prices have fallen because of the competition from unregulated fisheries and especially from cheap, abundant farmed salmon, largely from Chile and Canada.

This makes Mitch a little crazy. "Farm fish look beautiful, but they don't taste like fish," he complains. "They taste like nothing."

Environmentalists have their own problems with farmed fish - they are incubators for parasites, they require lots of feed in the form of fish oil and fish meal, which depletes the oceans, and their waste and uneaten feed pollute coastal waters.

"Salmon farms, most of them, muck up the waters pretty badly," says Becky Goldburg, a senior scientist at Environmental Defense.

Here's Wal-Mart's plan: In February, the company announced that it would over the next three to five years purchase all of its wild-caught seafood from fisheries that have been certified as sustainable by an independent nonprofit called the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). (A sustainable fishery is one that takes no more fish out of the ocean than are born each year.)

The MSC was formed by the World Wildlife Federation and Unilever (Charts), the British food company, after they watched the unregulated North Atlantic cod fishery, once the world's richest, collapse in the early 1990s.

Meanwhile, Wal-Mart will address the ecological problems caused by farmed seafood by developing guidelines with environmentalists and industry experts. Both of its initiatives go well beyond salmon, affecting wild-caught cod, pollock and whiting, as well as farmed shrimp, the biggest seller at Wal-Mart, which, you won't be surprised to learn, is the biggest seller of fish in the United States.

Eventually, Wal-Mart intends to encourage shoppers to seek out new "brands" like MSC-certified, in much the same way that some look for the "organic" label. Consumers may have to pay a little more for the "good" fish.

"We're trying to reward and encourage better fishery management," explains Rupert Howes, chief executive of the MSC. "As the demand for sustainable seafood increases, if there is a limited supply base, the price will go up."

If all this sounds complicated, that's because it is. (And trust me, I've left a lot of the complexity out.) What's important is that Wal-Mart's ambition is nothing less than to change the way the world's seafood is caught, farmed, marketed, labeled and sold.

Nothing less will do, if the goal is to preserve the ocean's fish stocks. Experts say about 25 percent of the world's fisheries are already depleted, another 50 percent are being fished at capacity, and 25 percent have an ample supply of fish.

Wal-Mart's not breaking new ground here. Whole Foods Markets (Charts) already promotes the MSC label. And Unilever helped form the organization. But Wal-Mart's scale makes it a lot more likely that things will get better for people like Mitch Keplinger.

And that's no fish story.

[ndnguy]

Wal-Mart is predatory, it has a history of decimating the main streets of every smalltown it has entered. They have closed stores where employers have tried to unionize. Wal-Mart records 10 billiona year in profits, yet does not offer employies affordable health insurance, so the employees are forced to apply for healthcare that the is State subsidized(that means you and me). That means we are subsidizing Wal-Mart. That is not cheap. Wal-Mart suppliers don't set their own price, Wal-Mart tells them what they will pay for a product, if not they simply go to China. free enterprise only works when everyone competes fairly.The lawsuits, trade magizine articles, and boarded up mainstreets reflect this. It doesn't want a share of the business it wants all of the business. Wal-Mart good for America. No. Currently fighting to keep one out of a small town right now.:bugger: Wal-Mart

[bigsur51]

tell me if this is stinkin' thinkin' , but i thought everytime we buy something made in China , aren't we supporting Communism?.........

[Krink]

i thought that was Lron hubbard?

I know Stalin and Hitler knew this line and belief well...so maybe it was Niche that first penned the phrase. And now Bush has learned this line and phrase well.

Cheers,
Krink

[ViRedd]

tell me if this is stinkin' thinkin' , but i thought everytime we buy something made in China , aren't we supporting Communism?.........

Actually, eveytime we buy something from China, we are striking a blow for capitalism. A little bit of freedom, economic in this case, is like being a little bit pregnant. There is no going back from pregnacy unless there is an abortion. China cannot affort to abort their citizen's growing economic freedom ... we are it's biggest customer ... and also it's biggest debtor. :)

Vi

[spacegrass]

China cannot affort to abort their citizen's growing economic freedom ... we are it's biggest customer ... and also it's biggest debtor. :)

what does the balance-of-payments account say again? :)

corrupt chinese government officials are making out like bandits, twisting markets (like everyone else does) and extracting profits. many companies are actually state owned. the middle class is getting bigger, but economic freedoms are still quite limited.

sg

[ViRedd]

corrupt chinese government officials are making out like bandits, twisting markets (like everyone else does) and extracting profits. many companies are actually state owned. the middle class is getting bigger, but economic freedoms are still quite limited.
sg

I agree with what you say there, but as time progresses, major change will take place in China. Economic progress is an amazing thing. Totalitarians cannot hold sway after the people taste a bit of freedom. Human nature won't allow it. Just my opinon, of course. :)

Vi

[coffinman]

Wal-Mart is predatory, it has a history of decimating the main streets of every smalltown it has entered.free enterprise only works when everyone competes fairly.The lawsuits, trade magizine articles, and boarded up mainstreets reflect this. It doesn't want a share of the business it wants all of the business. Wal-Mart good for America. No. Currently fighting to keep one out of a small town right now.:bugger: Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart isn't the first to do this. Before there even was a walmart the supermarkets came in and decimated the small town businesses. Once upon a time you would walk to the local butcher to buy the meats you needed. Than off to the grocery store to buy the staples needed in order to survive. What happened to these places when supermarkets came in? They all went belly up. What happened to the local lumber yards and painting supply stores when Home depot or Lowes entered the area? The same thing.
If you have a problem with these giant superstores it is simple, just don't shop there. Don't blame Wal-Mart. Blame the people who want to get more out of their dollar.

[ViRedd]

Just blame the fact that WalMart isn't union. That's it in a nutshell. WalMart has 1.3 million employees. Say that 900,000 of those employees are rank & file who would be union members if/when WalMart goes union. At the nominal sum of two dollars a month in union dues, the take for the union would be 1.8 million per month. That's 21.6 million per year. That's a lot of jack ... and a good percentage of it would end up in the coffers of the Democrat's campaine funds. Like I said ... as soon as WalMart goes union, if they ever do, the complaints from the left will stop.

Vi

[bigsur51]

ahh , blame this one , blame that one , plenty of blame to go around...complaints too...

i think coffinman is getting warm when he said , "Don't blame Wal-Mart. Blame the people who want to get more out of their dollar.".......

more out of their dollar......more out of their dollar.......where did their dollar go?......better yet , what IS a dollar?......

this line of reasoning will get us all closer to the Truth , if we seek the Truth...the Truth about Honest Money.

well , maybe the Founding Fathers had the right idea , at least that might be a good place to start , the Constitution......

in short, here is how they defined the dollar....

#

The definition of a “dollar” has been found to be a specific weight and fineness of silver; commonly referred to as the silver dollar: 371.25 grains of silver.
#

The silver dollar was the unit of money or account that the Constitution and the Original Coinage Act of 1792 established.
#

Silver was exchangeable with gold at the rate of 15 to 1.
#

Section 9. “And be it further enacted, That there shall be from time to time struck and coined at the said mint, coins of gold, silver, and copper, of the following denominations, values and descriptions, viz

*

EAGLES —each to be of the value of ten dollars or units, and to contain two hundred and forty-seven grains and four eighths of a grain of pure, or two hundred and seventy grains of standard gold.
*

HALF EAGLES —each to be of the value of five dollars, and to contain one hundred and twenty-three grains and six eighths of a grain of pure, or one hundred and thirty-five grains of standard gold.
*

QUARTER EAGLES —each to be of the value of two dollars and a half dollar, and to contain sixty-one grains and seven eighths of a grain of pure, or sixty-seven grains and four eighths of a grain of standard gold.
*

DOLLARS OR UNITS —each to be of the value of a Spanish milled dollar as the same is now current, and to contain three hundred and seventy-one grains and four sixteenth parts of a grain of pure silver, or four hundred and sixteen grains of standard silver. (Note no mention of gold in regards to the dollar)
*

HALF DOLLARS —each to be of half the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain one hundred and eighty-five grains and ten sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or two hundred and eight grains of standard silver.
*

QUARTER DOLLAR —each to be of one fourth the value of the dollar or unit, and to contain ninety-two grains and thirteen sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or one hundred and four grains of standard silver.
*

DIMES —each to be of the value of one tenth of a dollar or unit, and to contain thirty- seven grains and two sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or forty-one grains and three fifths parts of a grain of standard silver.
*

HALF DIMES —each to be of the value of one twentieth of a dollar, and to contain eighteen grains and nine sixteenth parts of a grain of pure, or twenty grains and four fifths parts of a grain of standard silver.
*

CENTS —each to be of the value of the one-hundredth part of a dollar, and to contain eleven pennyweights of copper.
*

HALF CENTS —each to be of the value of half a cent, and to contain five pennyweights and a half a pennyweight of copper.

Section 11. And be it further enacted, That the proportional value of gold and silver in all coins which shall by law be current as money within the United States, shall be fifteen to one, according to quantity in weight, of pure gold or pure silver; that is to say, every fifteen pounds weight of pure silver shall be of equal value in all payments, with one pound weight of pure gold, and so in proportion as to any greater or less quantities of the respective metals.

Section 16. And be it further enacted, That all the gold and silver coins which shall have been struck at, and issued from the said mint, shall be a lawful tender in all payments whatsoever, those of full weight according to the respective values herein before declared, and those of less than full weight at values proportional to their respective weights.

Section 20. And be if further enacted, That the money of account of the United States shall be expressed in dollars, or units, dimes or tenths, cents or hundredths, and the milles or thousandths, a dime being the tenth part of a dollar, a cent the hundredth part of a dollar, a mille the thousandth part of a dollar, and that all accounts in the public offices and all proceedings in the courts of the United States shall be kept and had in conformity to this regulation.”

the Federal Reserve , Central Banks , and the people behind our current monatary system of fiat , blame those people as to why The People can't get more out of the fiat federal reserve note , a worthless piece of paper , best you can say about it is it's nothing more than an iou, it is NOT a dollar.....

let's put the blame and complaints on those who really deserve it.........

peace
big

[ViRedd]

Bigsur ...

Have you read Tupper Saussy's book?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miracle-on-Main-Street-by-F-Tupper-Saussy-1980_W0QQitemZ4628253559QQihZ002QQcategoryZ378QQss PageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Vi

[bigsur51]

Bigsur ...

Have you read Tupper Saussy's book?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Miracle-on-Main-Street-by-F-Tupper-Saussy-1980_W0QQitemZ4628253559QQihZ002QQcategoryZ378QQss PageNameZWD1VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Vi

after reading this tid bit , it is on my list now....sums up so eloquently, yet in simple enough terms , we all can understand what is at the bottom of all this mess in America , the root of the problems......

better than that , there is a solution , there is still Hope....

thanks for the link my friend.........so, i take it you are For Honest Weights and Measures?....

In the mid-1960s, perhaps still disoriented from JFK's assassination, they chose to permit Congress to shirk its duty to coin gold and silver. And a decade later, the people

[ViRedd]

thanks for the link my friend.........so, i take it you are For Honest Weights and Measures?.....

Absoultly I'm for honest money. The Founders knew what they were doing. We no longer have Kings who clip the gold coins, we have bankers who just counterfeit more money.

The Constitution enumerates the powers of the federal government. Among those empowerments are "To PROVIDE for the national defense, and to PROMOTE the general welfare." Our present monetary system has allowed government to also PROVIDE for the general welfare. The citizens have become a milk-toast herd of sheep, with hands constantly out, snivelling and whining for more ... more ... more from their plantation masters in Washington. It makes me sick, Bro.

Based upon your posts here in the forum, I can tell you that you are gonna LOVE Miracle on Main Street. After you've read it, remind me to tell you about my battles with the county tax assessor using Tupper's logic. Funny stuff. :laugh2:

Vi