Exoparadapsyphobia

I think banning Wal Mart is pretty much impossible so long as people care about saving money however pathetic Wal Mart may be. I think there is a document somewhere on Rotten.com that adresses employees about the issue of people throwing phesis on the walls of the bathrooms over and over, just to give you a picture of their lowlyness.

Anyways, as long as people care about saving an extra buck Wal Mart will stand tall, like that bully at school.

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Esperologist

Looking at what is said in the Bible about the way Jesus lived, I don't think He would shop. From what I gather, He was supplied food by people He visited. He never had any money... when the government came looking for taxes, he sent someone to geto fishing and the fish had a few coins in its mouth.

Zui Quan

They should all be burned down. The ashes from the collective Wal-Mart burnings should then be collected and placed at ground zero for a nuclear test. The resulting radioactive material would then be collected and cast into the fires of Mount Doom.


As for Jesus shopping at Wal-Mart...Jesus was Jewish. He'd shop wherever he could keep Kosher. Last I knew Wal-Mart sold pork.

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fookongmick

But they really have proof for making such acquisitions regarding Walmart? I mean, Walmart really offer low rates for products sold there though.

ZeRoGravity

Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior

I try not to shop at walmart after learning about it in my geography class a year ago. Though sometimes I end buying little things like storage boxes from them since I don't know where else to buy it.

If they are gonna boycott walmart I don't see why they had to drag Jesus in with it.

LenMiyata

Grumble Grumble Grumble

To a limited extent, Walmarts aggressive policies with their sponsered supplies, and they employee pay scale, ARE responsible for their reduced overhead and lower retail prices... Attempts have been made in the past to impose moral and ethical standards to US shopping practices, but to the lower middle class and the poor, the day to day demands on the wallet has a much greater influence then moral appeals...

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Toecutter

Are you guys kidding? I LOVE Wal-Mart! Where else can I go to get a tie for my suits for $9?

It's not so much the low prices, and especially not the crowd that shops there (I went there last night just to pick up some groceries-it's the only thing CLOSE to a grocery store within a 20 mile radius of campus-and EVERYONE within the 15% tax bracket was there doing last minute shopping).

Rather, I love the company for it's business model (yes, I'm a capitalist pig accounting/business major). The reason Wal-Mart is so successful is because stores are established in smaller towns where there is no big competition from K-Mart, WareMart, Costco, etc. Part of it is also Sears, Montgomery Wards, and Mervyn's collapsing because they can't compete with the dot-com shopping craze (mostly run through Amazon.Com).

Wal-Mart has gotten a lot of bad press, but if you talk to anyone who has at least a triple-digit IQ who's worked for them, you'll realize, other than employing illegal immigrants, all of the charges against Wal-Mart are from whiny liberal yuppie scum. These are the same people who complain they aren't getting a 401k plan when they work at Pizza Hut.

If there were no low-price, high volume retailers like Wal-Mart, especially in a world that thinks their local economy suffers when corporations offer economic growth and jobs, our nation's economy would collapse.

Local businesses hardly contribute to the growth of the economy (measured by the Gross Domestic Product). Without big businesses to spread wealth through loans, investments (banks are the intermediaries which make the increase in the volume of currency by the Federal Reserve possible, and only through customers taking out loans), and more importantly, as well retained earnings spread through dividends to common and preferred stock investors, as well as PAYCHECKS GOING TO THOSE POOR, MANIPULATED LOW-INCOME FAMILIES EVERYONE COMPLAINS ARE "ABUSED", there would be no increased spending.

It is spending, after all, which circulates liquid assets faster and produces more currency than investing. The million dollar yacht purchased by a wealthy investor, for example, employs skilled workers, which make money, spend their income, which is then diverted to the income of other employees in various other businesses.

Wal-Mart, therefore, would be considered the ultimate incarnation of the Word of God as passed on by Jesus. It is a means for those on a limited budget to both seek employment, moving up the ranks to a better future limited only by their drive, and a corporation which benefits the local economy far more than local yokel businesses.

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Arrianna

Ah huh, try again. I have in-laws working for them with business degrees and I can tell you that from what they have told me a good 70%+ of the lawsuits against them are perfectly true. Making it stick against a corporation with that much money is another matter.

From the sound of things you probably admire them for that as well though.

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l Stone Hold l Now We're Cooking! l Thanks to Kaos for the awesome sig!

Toecutter

They are a business, and they are doing their best to compete by low cost differentiation. Of course I side with them! Their hiring of illegal immigrants has me annoyed, but as for the rest, personally, OSHA should be abolished.

Because of OSHA, if you take a tumble at work and choose to pay for it yourself, because you were being an idiot and it is clearly your fault for being injured (had this happen a couple years ago with a co-worker who was horsing around in a Papa John's store, and twisted his ankle), it doesn't matter. You still have to file an insurance form, and the company ends up paying for injuries pertaining to your own stupidity.

And I have a solution for your relatives. FIND ANOTHER JOB! If they're that pissed off about Wal-Mart, why are they still working for them? Years and YEARS are spent in both the business and engineering departments of colleges nationwide on the subject of "whistle-blowing", and the decision preached most often when an employee has a moral conflict with the company is to LEAVE THE COMPANY! If there is a conflict of interest, its better to wash your hands of the situation, unless there is a serious legal violation which the employee is forced or compelled to rectify.

I've heard similar arguments before, about sweatshop labor being used by Nike, about "cruelty to animals" by KFC for the production of it's chicken, and the domestic auto manufacturers being in bed with the oil companies, as well as the U.S. government.

Yet no one mentions how longshoremen unions across the nation's ports are tied to the mafia, the union dues not even going to direct benefits to the employees, but simply are absorbed as "protection." No one mentions the ridiculous amounts of money auto manufacturers have to pay for all of their production equipment, not to mention their end products, meeting EPA regulations. No one mentions the fact the government taxes corporations' retained earnings TWICE (once for the business entity, and once to the shareholder when they receive dividends, the primary shareholders often being the board of directors who hold a majority of the firm's stock).

All the arguments I hear against "big business" are one-sided, while none of the laws which hinder these firms from competing in today's market and forcing them to resort to Wal-Mart's tactics are ever mentioned. Keep that in mind the next time you have to pay $30 for an alarm clock made in America, when even a General Electric model is made in China, and costs $12.

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Arrianna

My relatives stay because they have tenure and like the garanteed time off and benefits packages. That doesn't make them blind however. As for OSHA, OSHA is hardly responsible for idiocy and prejudice on the part of individuals hired by Wal-Mart, no matter how widespread those numbers are. And finally on the subject, just because other businesses are also corrupt does not excuse Wal-Marts behavior. Unethical behavior is still unethical no matter how many are engaging in it.

Next time you start making sweeping statements about people being "one sided" about big business know your addressee. I am a large supported of big business as just about anyone who knows me here could tell you. I love capitalism. Unethical behavior cloaked in untouchability by slandering opponents and elevating any-ism beyond reproach is not something I have ever supported however nor ever will. The ends do not justify the means no matter who you are. No-one is above reproach.

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l Stone Hold l Now We're Cooking! l Thanks to Kaos for the awesome sig!

Barronmore

@Toecutter

I too am a business major with an accounting background and frankly, i'm shocked to hear some of the things you say! If this is your real attitude, it's my honest hope that you are NEVER put in a position of responsibility over ANYONE! I live in an area where your 'business' attitude is prevalent and in the end result is a great deal of poverty for most people while only the 'upper class' business owners have any wealth. What it has caused is a huge housing boom for those who can afford it and for those who can't they struggle to make ends meet even with degrees from major universities. Attitudes like yours disgust me and is what gives capitalism the bad impression that so many people have of it.

I'm all for profit and the profit motive. Capitalism is what has made this country so great!. I fully support Wal-Mart's quest for profits in an ethical and legal manner. But, unfortunately, there are those that take advantage of those that are employed by them. Without legal entities like OSHA, there would be no protection for those who would be abused. Is OSHA perfect? NO. Do I wish they covered much less then they really do? Yes. But they are needed.

And this is the attitude I was talking about that has devistated our economy in my town. FIND ANTOHER JOB! If you don't like the way I'm screwing you over then go find somewhere else to work! You know what, that was actually one of my 'motovational' speaches given to me by one 'respected' business owner. All of us were told that if we didn't like it here he had a stack of resume's in the back and he'd fire all of us and replace us...all because we had the audacity to ask for a .10 cent raise after working there for a year.

Now, I'm all for profit and finding your nitch in the workplace. But the unfortunate reality is there are people that will take advantage of those they can. Yeah, you can become a huge success in teh business world that way but sooner or later it will catch up to you and financially hurt you. Trust me, I KNOW what i'm talking about.

I can not even begin to tell you how much i disagree with you. I'm a HUGE supporter of walmart. I shop and support them whenever I can. But i'm not foolish enough to turn a blind eye to the problems that are there...esepically when I know so many people who work there..including my parents who fully support and love working there.

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