Wal Mart in CR...

CrBoy

I know most of you don't care but WalMart just bought 125 stores/supermarkets here in Costa Rica, they're taking over Central America now...

Wal Mart's last year revenue was around $285k millions according to the info on the newspaper I read.... :eek:

The madness begin....... :mad:

tentoze

There goes the place I was going to retire to.

audiobliss

Wow. Is the US of A not big enough?

CrBoy

audiobliss wrote:

Wow. Is the US of A not big enough?

Hell no... they already bought around 300 supermarkets in all the other countries in Central A...

PolkThug

yep, there are lots of wal-marts in Mexico.

brettw22

I have absolutely no problems with buying things at Wal-Mart.......enjoy them.

bobman1235

I'll buy some stuff there. I avoid their CDs / DVDs for fear that they're censored, and I avoid a lot of their electronics because a lot of companies give them the rejects because it's the only way they can afford to sell at Walmart prices.

brettw22

I think Wal-Mart DVD's have previews on them.......

Every time I watch a movie at a friend of mine's place I think he has movies from blockbusters because of the previews, but they're purchased DVD's.....always strikes me as weird because I haven't seen a preview in years.....

PolkThug

IMO Wal-Mart sucks, its expansion is driven by greedy executives who hold lots of shares of stock, and care only about raising that share price so they can be ridiculously rich when they retire. I'd talk more about it, but I have to go check my portfolio. ;-)

tonyb

GREED makes the world go round THUG.my only problem with Walmart is the way they treat there people and buying crap from 3rd world country's that have the stuff made in so called sweatshops.Human rights my ****.

CrBoy

3rd World Country = Us... LOL... thanks for buying costa rican products american fellas

Zen Dragon

You know...Wal Mart just s*cks! They gain unfair advantage by raping their own employees. They closed down a Canadian store when the employees sucessfully unionized. We all help pay Walmart employee salaries by the way. Check out this info.

In The New York Review of Books, Simon Head reviewed a bunch of books related to Wal-Mart. His article was long and full of too many points to cover here, but these two points, among others, jumped out at me:
· "The average pay of a sales clerk at Wal-Mart was $8.50 an hour, or about $14,000 a year, $1,000 below the government's definition of the poverty level for a family of three." This supports Noah's claim.
· Head cites a February 2004 report by the Democratic staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee. The report "assesses the costs to US taxpayers of employees who are so badly paid that they qualify for government assistance even under the less than generous rules of the federal welfare system. For a two-hundred-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. The report estimates that a two-hundred-employee Wal-Mart store costs federal taxpayers $420,000 a year, or about $2,103 per Wal-Mart employee. That translates into a total annual welfare bill of $2.5 billion for Wal-Mart's 1.2 million U.S. employees." He added that state governments are burdened by Wal-Marts, too, with California spending more than $20 million on health care for Wal-Mart employees.

jdhdiggs

Devil's advocate position: IF the US government has these programs to help sponser employees and people will work for the wages they pay, why not? If the US gov would stop paying the poor for being poor, and the poor would go work elsewhere, Wal-Mart would be forced to raise their wages.

Something to think about...

Zen Dragon wrote:

You know...Wal Mart just s*cks! They gain unfair advantage by raping their own employees. They closed down a Canadian store when the employees sucessfully unionized. We all help pay Walmart employee salaries by the way. Check out this info.

In The New York Review of Books, Simon Head reviewed a bunch of books related to Wal-Mart. His article was long and full of too many points to cover here, but these two points, among others, jumped out at me:
· "The average pay of a sales clerk at Wal-Mart was $8.50 an hour, or about $14,000 a year, $1,000 below the government's definition of the poverty level for a family of three." This supports Noah's claim.
· Head cites a February 2004 report by the Democratic staff of the House Education and Workforce Committee. The report "assesses the costs to US taxpayers of employees who are so badly paid that they qualify for government assistance even under the less than generous rules of the federal welfare system. For a two-hundred-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. The report estimates that a two-hundred-employee Wal-Mart store costs federal taxpayers $420,000 a year, or about $2,103 per Wal-Mart employee. That translates into a total annual welfare bill of $2.5 billion for Wal-Mart's 1.2 million U.S. employees." He added that state governments are burdened by Wal-Marts, too, with California spending more than $20 million on health care for Wal-Mart employees.

audiobliss

Wow. $14,000 a year?! I hope that's below the poverty level for a family of three...

tonyb

No Lack Of Opinion In Here,eh?

jdhdiggs

Fortunately a lot of the employees are second earners or HS students so that $14K isn't too bad. Once again, devil's advocate-My wife and I refuse to shop at wally world.

CrBoy

audiobliss wrote:

Wow. $14,000 a year?!

Even I make more money.... :eek:

tonyb

Gotta ask yourself,who would take a job for 8.50 an hour and expect to raise a family on it ? Certain jobs are not ment to raise family's on,just supply additional income.Fast food jobs are another example.Minimum wage jobs are not to raise family's on.To me,Walmart is just a notch above fast food joint's.They throw in some benefits to entice people to work there.Don't have to be a math guru to figure out in this country,$8.50 an hour ain't gonna get ya much.

Zen Dragon

The problem is the government does not subsidize any of the small businesses who are being put out of business by Walmart. By the government subsidizing the walmart wages, it helps Walmart to maintain it's lowest prices, thereby putting small and mid-size competitors out of business. The owners of those small businesses were likely making legitimate middle class wages, say 60-80K/yr. Along with this they were probably paying their employees $10-12/ hr. Walmart replaces these wages with their $8 an hour and often part time positions. The remaining money from those salaries goes to further line the pockets of the Walton family.
The Walton's do not need to push their billion dollar net worths any higher. The money is much better served in the pockets of the owners/employeezs of the businesses killed by Walmarts ruthless pricing policies. In the pockets of middle class america the money would actually circulate in the consumer market.
Walmart is the number one enemy of the middle class.

Frank Z

Ask the owner of any small retail business, that's been forced to close down as a result of a WallyWorld opening up in their town, what they think about Sam Walton and his family. There simply isn't any way for a small business to compete with them. A Mom & Pop Drugstore may buy a case of asprin at a time, but Wally world is buying them by the boxcar load....Who's gonna get the better price from the manufacturer? You can't match prices with a huge company, lose money on every sale and expect to be in business for long.

I refuse to shop there, I've seen first hand the devastation they wield. I've been in a couple of Walmarts and have not been impressed by anything they have to offer. Am I against a free market? Not at all, but I am for a level playing field where everyone gets a chance, at the very least to compete.

Yippee! WalMart is making a mint...and they just hired Mom & Pop to work as Greeters for $4.50 an hour. I'm sure they are thrilled.:rolleyes:

MacLeod

Cry me a river.

Its not Walmart putting local shops out of business, its the millions of customers that are no longer going to the local shops that are. If you hate Walmart so much dont shop there.

Obviously people prefer to pay $100 for a tv instead of $200 for the same tv at Joes TV's. My mom is the same way. She **** about how evil Walmart is and how much theyre hurting the local shops yet she NEVER shops at the local shops and is in Walmart 3 times a week!

Now if Walmart were selling their stuff at a loss just to drive the competition out of business, then thats illegal and they should be ran out on a rail!

And as for them paying their cashiers $8/hr and not offering any benefits, well the last time I was in there I dont recall seeing anyone being held at gunpoint! Yeah, Walmart pays crap so I dont work there. If your wife needs a job on the side to help ends meet then she goes and gets an $8/hr job at Walmart. If a single mom needs to raise 2 kids then she would be stupid to get the $8/hr job. Now she take a job as a department manager which pays about $12/hr and maybe work up to store manager which can pay up to $100,000 a year!

Yes Walmart is the biggest single collection of **** this side of the aclu and they treat their employees like crap BUT consumers dont have to shop there and the employees dont have to work there and regardless of the sob stories, Walmart is great for the economy. They give us stuff really cheap and create a ton of jobs. Yes local shops suffer because us consumers refuse to support them but 100 years ago there was a thriving buggy whip business going on. Times change.

Tour2ma

Random thoughts, not necessarily all original....

There is only one thing worse than being a Wal-Mart competitior, and that's being a Wal-Mart supplier.

There's little doubt that what altruism once existed within Wal-Mart, died with Sam.

Wal-Mart is now the USA's greatest, corporate ambassadors. As was Coca-Cola, as was McDonalds, as was...

Wal-Mart has made many Middle Class Americans richer, if not through their direct purchase of stock, through their ownership of funds that own the stock or as holders of pension plans that own the stock. What makes the Waltons richer, makes all these folks richer.

I spoke at length recently with a five-year employee of Wal-Mart. While the pay is not great, the benefits were outstanding.

tonyb

Know where I can get a good 'BUGGY WHIP' on the cheap ?
Maybe George Grand has one in his bag of treasure.

MacLeod

tonyb wrote:

Know where I can get a good 'BUGGY WHIP' on the cheap ?

Yup. About one year before the Model A!

Drumingman

This is really a bunch of Crap. You guys fussing because walmart is the worlds largest retailer and they do sell stuff " Made in China ".

Gee, have any of you brought Items from a Company that pays lows wages to it's employees? Sweat shops? I guarantee that every one here owns something that was made in a "sweat shop", you might not know it but you do.

Zen Dragon

The issue is not the origin of the merchandise. Hell, half the clothing in Macy's is probably made in China.
The issue for me is the wages paid to employees are so low that the government has to subsidize the cost of living so the employees can survive. The government is effectively picking up some of the legitimate costs of doing business for Walmart, while the Walton's are fat dumb and happy and driving competitors out of business who pay their employees a true living wage.

cmy330go

The only reason I ever step in a wal-mart is as an ABSOLUTE LAST RESORT. I hate them with a passion! Their stores are always filthy, messy, unorganized, and most the employees are rude and dumb as posts. Everytime I go in wal-mart I leave pissed for one reason or another. I think there should be a surgeon general warning on the door.

LONG LIVE TARGET! Neat, clean, organized and quiet (no loud annoying PA systems).

TroyD

Walmart rules.

Do I really care that some flunky is making 8.50 an hour? Let me rephrase by saying, if you are a career cashier at Walmart trying to raise a family of three on that wage, your problems started long before Walmart came along. Mom and Pop, shops? With the advent of suburbia, the shops on town square were a losing proposition YEARS ago. I'll bet that Mom and Pop weren't that great paying either......Now, lest you think I'm a heartless screw, I'm not. However, blaming the ills of society on Walmart is ridiculous.

Captialism rules.


BDT

Zen Dragon

"Walmart rules" = Stockholder

"Capitalism Rules"

Capitalism" is conventionally defined along economic terms such as the following:

An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned and development is proportionate to the accumulation and reinvestment of profits gained in a free market.
Source: Dictionary.com

This is an example of a definition by non-essentials. An essential definition of capitalism is a political definition:
Capitalism is a social system based on the principle of individual rights.
Source: Capitalism.org

In order to have an economic system in which "production and distribution are privately or corporately owned", you must have individual rights and specifically property rights. The only way to have an economic system fitting the first definition is to have a political system fitting the second definition. The first is an implication of the second. Because the second, political, definition is fundamental and the cause of the first, it is the more useful definition and is preferable.

Because people often use the term "Capitalism" loosely, "Laissez Faire Capitalism" is sometimes used to describe a true Capitalist system. But this phrase is redundant.

It is important to define "Capitalism" correctly because a proper definition is a prerequisite to a proper defense. Capitalism is the only moral political system because it is the only system dedicated to the protection of rights, which is a requirement for human survival and flourishing. This is the only proper role of a government. Capitalism should be defended vigorously on a moral basis, not an economic or utilitarian basis.

Seems to me the terms government subsidy are not used in the description of capitalism

Dennis Gardner

I see Walmart as a needed evil in our hectic mile-a-minute life that most of us lead. I like to one-stop-shop for the lowest average price. Not because I'm cheap, but because my private time is worth more than wasting the evening going from place to place to buy ****.

Hey try finding a Mom & Pop open past 5:30 anywhere. They don't exist unless its a restaurant. Everyone talks about service, but noone delivers anymore, so now that M&P got rid of the one item that WM couldn't deliver, SERVICE! Walmart then capitalized on the price and convenience point and now at least I can find most of what I need including basic grocery needs in one place so I can get home, have some dinner, some sex with the misses, and stay up all night talking to you yahoos and shop Audiogon with the $$$ I saved by using Walmart.

Remember when a TV was a 10 year investment (500-$1000 color sets 20-25 years ago) that was always in the shop cause the guy that sold you the POS couldn't get to it until next week and I'll be damned if he would give you a loner. Now they are disposable due to Walmart, I can pick one up for pennies 24/7. Convenience and price won out because service costs too much.

I guess I tend ot see the positive in any situation that I can't control, cause life is simply too short. Now that I've had dinner.......................where's my wife?????:D

HiPerf360

Remember WalMart was once a small business too.....


A great example of why America still rules!