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Index »
Entertainment »
Movies »
Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price
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Page: 1, 2, 3 ... 9, 10, 11 Next |
kurtster
Location: where fear is not a virtue Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:59pm |
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BasmntMadman wrote:But what I think saves a Capitalist economy is innovation - the creation of whole new fields of enterprise to do an end-around against the monsters. The counter force is economy of scale, promoting huge combines; eventually monopoly.
If the innovative force runs behind the economy of scale force, we're left with monopoly. And that throws the market economy based upon some semblance of competition - the whole logic of private enterprise - right out the window. You are so right about innovation. That's where Multinationals become part of the problem. GE has relocated the bulk of its R & D to India, exporting its innovative arm to foreign turf. Mutlinationals are exporting jobs and technology just as fast as they are importing cheaper foreign labor to replace higher paid Americans. Cheers to Intel for its plan and challenge to reinvest in America.
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(former member)
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:51pm |
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water wrote: my mum had bi-way (the bw boutique)...and i've got wal-mart to help me make ends meet...when i did not have a dependent and money to spend...i would shop locally and almost exclusively canadian...but it's a different world now...and zellers really blows!
I used to think I couldn't save money as well as if I shopped at WalMart but with minimal research or effort I spend just as little, if not less not shopping there. And I can look myself in the mirror at night, which is a big plus. And yes, money is very tight in this household and we have two children to support, plus me with a rather expensive crohnic medical issue. Its doable. You just have to put your mind to it. What's a bi-way? I've never heard?
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water
Location: a shoreline somewhere warm Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:46pm |
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smokinsean wrote:...heh...how many people in here who have kids and not a ton of money boycott wal-mart?...
my mum had bi-way (the bw boutique)...and i've got wal-mart to help me make ends meet...when i did not have a dependent and money to spend...i would shop locally and almost exclusively canadian...but it's a different world now...and zellers really blows!
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(former member)
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 3:14pm |
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MayBaby wrote:What Scott said and I'll add "BDB for the American Role Model !!" MayBaby is flirting with me again! I'm not complaining, just bragging. I love it when chics flirt with me.
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(former member)
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 3:07pm |
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BlueHeronDruid wrote: I have to drive at least 30 miles to a Wal*Mart. The only reason I'd go there at all is if I couldn't find an item elsewhere. Pur water filters, for instance, though now we mail-order.
I was always uncomfortable with and tried to start limiting our money spent there awhile ago. For quite a while, it was our only choice without driving over 30 miles away (WM was only 12). It is only in the last six months that I made a hard rule. I haven't missed the place except for one stupid thing... cotton pads. Nobody else's compare. But I still don't buy them. It's not worth it.
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BlueHeronDruid
Location: Заебани сме луѓе
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 2:51pm |
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BillnDollarBaby wrote: I have kids (one in the house that we support and one on the payroll, living in a different house) and not a ton of money. So there is at least one. Anyone else?
I have to drive at least 30 miles to a Wal*Mart. The only reason I'd go there at all is if I couldn't find an item elsewhere. Pur water filters, for instance, though now we mail-order.
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(former member)
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 2:41pm |
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smokinsean wrote:...heh...how many people in here who have kids and not a ton of money boycott wal-mart?...
I have kids (one in the house that we support and one on the payroll, living in a different house) and not a ton of money (I haven't worked full time in almost two years, we're getting by primarily on one paycheck between my temp gigs). So there is at least one. Anyone else? And like Maryte, I will go without rather than save a buck on the back of someone else. Just a personal choice, not preaching.
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 1:49pm |
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cc_rider wrote: All of the SAVERS stores benefit Easter Seals.
Yeah, I thought the same thing: what do seals need with clothing, they have all that blubber and soft fur and all.
But seriously Austin folks: Burnet Road is Mecca for thrift and resale stores, from 45th Street up to Anderson Lane. I didn't realize it until somebody mentioned it and I drove down Burnet one day.
c.
Haven't checked out N. Burnet in a long time; I always deplored it as always bleak (sub)urban blight, telephone poles and billboards, etc. You say they have bargains too? Won't be able to keep Maryte away from the area, then.
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cc_rider
Location: Bastrop Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 11:59am |
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dionysius wrote: Thanks for the heads up on that, C. Do they collect donations and stuff, in order to employ people who need these jobs, too? Or are they strictly for-profit? We donated to Goodwill recently, but are going to have to get rid of some more clothes in the future.
All of the SAVERS stores benefit Easter Seals. Yeah, I thought the same thing: what do seals need with clothing, they have all that blubber and soft fur and all. But seriously Austin folks: Burnet Road is Mecca for thrift and resale stores, from 45th Street up to Anderson Lane. I didn't realize it until somebody mentioned it and I drove down Burnet one day. c.
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BasmntMadman
Location: Off-White Gardens
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 11:34am |
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Southern_Boy wrote:You could sell them at Macy's for about $90.00. Have to wait for summer, though...they'd be easier to sell. Those suckers are cold in the winter.
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Southern_Boy
Location: On my way to the beach Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 11:15am |
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BasmntMadman wrote:smokinsean wrote...heh...how many people in here who have kids and not a ton of money boycott wal-mart?... They have a point. Me, I like the idea of $10.00 jeans to replace the ones with holes in 'em. I'd spend significantly more on them if I got significantly more quality - i.e., they last twice as long if they're $20, three times if they're $30. Unfortunately, it just doesn't happen that way. I don't give a shit about fashion, either. You could sell them at Macy's for about $90.00.
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BasmntMadman
Location: Off-White Gardens
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 11:06am |
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arsenault wrote: i understand the hostility to the wm.. however, i save a ton of cash when i shop there... as i do when i go to the 99c only store... its low end..but effectively raises your wage by decreasing your cost of living.. as does shopping in ethnic supermarkets in southern california...
33c per lb roma tomatoes vs $1.98 in regular supermarkets.... what would you shop?
if you are at the top it doesn't matter if you are on a budge...it makes a diff...
smokinsean wrote...heh...how many people in here who have kids and not a ton of money boycott wal-mart?... They have a point. Me, I like the idea of $10.00 jeans to replace the ones with holes in 'em. I'd spend significantly more on them if I got significantly more quality - i.e., they last twice as long if they're $20, three times if they're $30. Unfortunately, it just doesn't happen that way. I don't give a shit about fashion, either. Wal Mart is just squeezing the last ounce out of its employees, its suppliers, its operating procedures, etc., to offer stuff at really low price. And probably pushing the envelope a little, aka sharp business practices. In turn, people squeezed by an increasingly lopsided wealth distribution appreciate Wal Mart.
What it amounts to is Wal Mart shutting down the mom'n'pop Retail Kulaks.
That's why Communism in Russia was so misbegotten - Communism should have taken root in a more advanced Capitalist economy where the Capitalists did the dirty work of herding all enterprise into a single, massive unit. Then the Communist Revolution would be little more than informing he head of the huge megacorporation that it was under new management. If he didn't like it, tough; the sherriffs would be out to seize his business, just as they'd done with the Retail Kulaks. And if any Kulaks had ideas of setting up their own enterprises again, they'd have about as much luck as they did against Wal Mart. But what I think saves a Capitalist economy is innovation - the creation of whole new fields of enterprise to do an end-around against the monsters. The counter force is economy of scale, promoting huge combines; eventually monopoly.
If the innovative force runs behind the economy of scale force, we're left with monopoly. And that throws the market economy based upon some semblance of competition - the whole logic of private enterprise - right out the window.
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 10:06am |
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cc_rider wrote:
I went into the big SAVERS on Burnet Road the other day. Amazing. MUCH better organized than most Goodwills. I don't think I'm ever going to buy a 'new' pair of jeans again!
Burnet Road north of 45th is 'Thrft Store Central'. Ther's at least twenty of them along a one-mile stretch, from baby clothing to furniture.
Thanks for the heads up on that, C. Do they collect donations and stuff, in order to employ people who need these jobs, too? Or are they strictly for-profit? We donated to Goodwill recently, but are going to have to get rid of some more clothes in the future.
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cc_rider
Location: Bastrop Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 10:01am |
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maryte wrote:
We happen to have some pretty good Goodwill stores, which will maked that $20 bucks go a lot further *and* helps the community.
I went into the big SAVERS on Burnet Road the other day. Amazing. MUCH better organized than most Goodwills. I don't think I'm ever going to buy a 'new' pair of jeans again! Burnet Road north of 45th is 'Thrft Store Central'. Ther's at least twenty of them along a one-mile stretch, from baby clothing to furniture.
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Danimal174
Location: Upstate South Carolina Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:57am |
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I choose to not shop at Wal-Mart for a few different reasons -
1) My wife used to work there part-time in the pharmacy as a second job, and so I go to hear some of the horror stories concerning wages, schedules, etc.
2) The Wal-Mart closest to my house is actually on the same road my neighborhood is on (though about five miles away), and is between my neighborhood and the interstate I have to hit to go to and from work everyday. So, everyday, I have to deal with the traffic caused by their mega-store.
3) Contrary to what they'd have you believe, Wal-Mart's motto is not "the customer is always right". In reality, it's more like "cash is king". Back when I used to shop there, finding knowledgeable, friendly employees to help you with something was like finding a needle in a haystack. My most recent experience there centered around trying to take back a gift I received for Christmas a year ago; because I didn't have a receipt (hello...a gift?), the Exchanges department wasn't going to let me refund or exchange it, at first. After complaining to the manager, I was finally allowed to exchange the gift for store credit (which does me a lot of good, since I don't shop there!)
4) (And most importantly) While my career pertains to computers, I've actually worked in a couple of different industries (retail, financial, and manufacturing), including two different manufacturing companies that were suppliers to Wal-Mart. Anyone who has ever seen how Wal-Mart treats their suppliers knows that they only cut prices by cutting what they pay to the suppliers. Wal-Mart still marks up their goods by close to 50% from what they pay the manufacturers; they just pay the manufacturers less. With both companies for which I worked, there were items that the company would have to sell to Wal-Mart at a loss (in other words, for less than it cost the company to manufacture the items) to keep Wal-Mart's business. Also, in both cases, Wal-Mart stopped buying products from those companies once they found suppliers overseas who could produce the products for them cheaper. In one case, this caused the company to close down, due to a lack of demand, once Wal-Mart stopped ordering anything.
Now, I'm not an avid "Buy American" person...I'm fine with buying products manufactured overseas, if they're quality products; however, I find Wal-Mart to be very hypocritical, pledging that they help support American workers and putting up "Made in the USA" signs, while continuing to purchase more & more of their products overseas, causing American companies to lay off workers and/or close their doors all-together. From a manufacturer's standpoint, getting into business with Wal-Mart is like getting in bed with the mob...it's a slippery slope that, in many cases, doesn't have a happy ending.
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:51am |
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maryte wrote:
We happen to have some pretty good Goodwill stores, which will maked that $20 bucks go a lot further *and* helps the community.
$20 at Goodwill repairs a lot of the damage $20 at Wal-Mart will cause.
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Sean-E-Sean
Location: Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:51am |
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maryte wrote:
We happen to have some pretty good Goodwill stores, which will maked that $20 bucks go a lot further *and* helps the community.
...alrighty!...
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dionysius
Location: The People's Republic of Austin Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:50am |
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smokinsean wrote:
...sometimes morality and ethics go out the window when you only got twenty bucks to by shoes socks AND underwear for yourself or a child...just sayin'...
Why is it that cheap there, though? Partly because they don't pay their employees shit. Perpetuating poverty. Leading to a customer base that can only afford to pay Wal-Mart prices. The price tag is low, the social cost is too high.
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hippiechick
Location: topsy turvy land Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:50am |
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smokinsean wrote:
...sometimes morality and ethics go out the window when you only got twenty bucks to by shoes socks AND underwear for yourself or a child...just sayin'...
That is true, however, that's how corrupt govs take over, by breaking down our morals until we accept anything. If you told your kids, we are going to buy shoes at the Goodwill instead of WalMart because that's all you can afford, but you don't want to buy shoes that are made by children or almost slave labor, they would be learning two lessons at one time.
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Alafia
Location: the dojo Gender:
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Posted:
Feb 10, 2009 - 9:50am |
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maryte wrote:
We happen to have some pretty good Goodwill stores, which will maked that $20 bucks go a lot further *and* helps the community.
I love shopping at Goodwill and the S.A.
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