Wal Mart is EVIL

[Goldfrapp er]

is Wal Mart really evil?

I heard a discussion on NPR yesterday with some interesting thoughts on Wal Mart and Corporatization. Stats that follow are approximate seeing as I was driving in the car and my memory at time lapses. These are relatively close to accurate I do believe though.

Wal Mart is the world's biggest corporation.

It does 220 billion dollars in sales a year.
It's annual PROFIT is 7 BILLION dollars.

REASONS IT IS EVIL FOLLOW:

Knock out local retailers
Knock down wages
Brow beats it's 65,000 suppliers. Looks into their books to find ways they can make their product cheaper. Among suggestions send production to China and other countries where they can make it at a significantly reduced price.

50% of Wal Mart employees are turned over annually. (to keep wages lower)
38% of Wal Mart employees have health insurance. (and you have to be there for 2 years to qualify for health insurance)

Is Wal Mart just the epidomy of a capitalist corporation, or is Wal Mart EVIL??? Your thoughts?

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

But they have happy Grandpa types in their commercials who work in the store and help kids find ice cream and go on about how you're always going to get a smile when you walk in. Is that evil?

Yeah. I think it is.

 

[KillerMuffin]

Both.

I don't remember exactly, but at least 5 Walton heirs were in the list of top 25 richest Americans.

And they start you out at 6 bucks an hour.

You ever notice how hard it is to find really nice, smart people working at wal-mart?

 

[Goldfrapp er]

But they have happy Grandpa types in their commercials who work in the store and help kids find ice cream and go on about how you're always going to get a smile when you walk in. Is that evil?

Yeah. I think it is.

HAHA

Yeah and whenever I go into Wal Mart i'm always greeted with a smile and hello from a nice elderly gentleman or woman. Hmmm. They've got us all snowed.

 

[Sillyman]

Wal-Mart is evil. I used to work for them. A favorite little game to play with the employees is to schedule them to work on specific days they have requested off, to see what's more important, loyalty to the company or the other thing (date, church, college, wedding, whatever)

Wal-Mart provides two jobs for every three it displaces.

 

[Goldfrapp er]

and the SMILEY FACE rolling back prices on T.V.! who doesn't like a smiley face!

 

[Rambling Rose]

I go for the cheap soda. Where else can you get a rootbeer for only 25 cents?

 

[Goldfrapp er]

Both.

I don't remember exactly, but at least 5 Walton heirs were in the list of top 25 richest Americans.

And they start you out at 6 bucks an hour.

You ever notice how hard it is to find really nice, smart people working at wal-mart?

Doesn't seem right does it. Sad how that money doesn't trickle down to the people doing the real work.

 

[Sillyman]

HAHA

Yeah and whenever I go into Wal Mart i'm always greeted with a smile and hello from a nice elderly gentleman or woman. Hmmm. They've got us all snowed.

That old man used to own his own tire store before he slipped and hurt his back. When he couldn't work his business went under. Now he and his wife get to work minimum wage at Wal-Mart when they should be getting ready to retire.

 

[Sillyman]

I go for the cheap soda. Where else can you get a rootbeer for only 25 cents?

Great. The American economy pissed away with cheap root beer.

 

[Sillyman]

Both.

I don't remember exactly, but at least 5 Walton heirs were in the list of top 25 richest Americans.

And they start you out at 6 bucks an hour.

You ever notice how hard it is to find really nice, smart people working at wal-mart?

S. Robson Walton actually supasses Bill Gates in personal wealth. He is the richest man on the planet.

 

[Phoenyx]

Some rumors say that Walmart takes out secret life insurance policies on their employees with Walmart as the benificiary.


Employees have no idea about this and if they die while working at walmart, walmart wins.

 

[lovetoread]

I go for the cheap soda. Where else can you get a rootbeer for only 25 cents?

And a 2 liter drink for the kiddies for 59 cents?

 

[KillerMuffin]

I know an old guy whose been at wallyhell for 25 years. We call him Disco Doug. He's the greeter permanently mired in the 70s.

He's making 13 bucks an hour. Yay.

Lessee if I remember my brief dip in hell. It's been a while so some facts and figures are wrong.

*Starting wage 6.00/hr
*Raise at 90 days to 6.24/hr
*Raise yearly after that based on merit no greater than 12%
*Employee Stock Purchasing program, they purchase an additional 10% of whatever you kick in.
*Bonus program, you get a bonus every February that you've been there a full year for based on individual store perfomance.
*Full-time associates get health/dental insurance after 90 days.
*Peak-time (most of them) get health/dental insurance after 1 year (down from 2 years)
*Cost of health/dental insurance is 75 dollars for a family of three per paycheck.
*One week paid vacation after a year of service, three weeks after 10 years.
*10% pre-tax discount on stuff, not including groceries.
*Advancement in the company does not require a degree (or so they tell you)
*After 7 years continuous service full time with the company you're considered "fully vested" and you get profit sharing. Peak time it's however many years it takes to build up 7,000 hours. You quit at seven years and get about a 4,000 dollar severance check.

Downside:

*All scheduling is done by a computer in Bentonville AR with absolutely no concern for human sleeping requirements.
*There are never enough employees to run cash registers so you get overtime
*All of the "bennies" spread over a year make a 6.24/hr paycheck equal to 6.32/hr paycheck.
*Most employees can't afford the health insurance.
*You have no routine and therefore can't get quality daycare without serious longevity
*Customers hate you

 

[TWB]

Exploitive Capitalist Bastards.

Suggested read: Read the book Small is Beautiful, Economics as if people mattered.

Thanks for your insight, KM.

 

[Goldfrapp er]

Thanks for your insight, KM.

Ditto.

 

[Rubyfruit]

As I've mentioned before, I hate Wal-Mart. However, I did shop there when my twins were on formula because it was the cheapest place to buy it and when you're feeding two at a time, you tend to take that into consideration.

Once my girls stopped needing formula, I vowed never to set foot in another Wal-Mart as long as I lived.

I did notice that Wal-Mart does seem to hire more disabled and marginalized people than other retailers, and I give them credit for that.

 

[Aphrodisiac]

I don't really mind Wal Mart ...
I simply go to get my pictures developed there.

 

[StrawberryPez]

So far i agree with everything that Sillyman has said. I worked at Wal-Mart and HATED IT...i worked there for a year. They never had enough people schedualed for the night shift...which i worked. I'd end up covering 5 departmens and 3 of them were service departmens. Then when i couldn't "zone" properly because i was but one person they'd get mad at me. Once i got yelled at for them only having 3 people in my section and going on break after 9. Another time it was about 20 below outside...snowing like hell...and VERY VERY VERY cold...i had to go out there with no coat and short sleves to get antifreeze. The manager said "Don't be a wuss you don't need a coat" when i came back in i was so bright red everyone said i looked horribly sun burnt. Wal-Mart can kiss my ass....

 

[RhumbRunner13]

Capitalist success.

How many general stores were put out of business by the amazing success and growth of Sears Roebuck? How many auto builders failed in the decade following the introduction of the Ford? Seems I saw a stat once where something like 90% of the vehicles owned were Fords, not sure. What happened to the buggy wip makers and tack shops who sold saddels and bridals?

It is the duty of the free enterprise system to find better and cheaper ways to provide society with the goods and services they desire. It would only be evil to impede that process.

Rhumb

 

[Samuari]

That old man used to own his own tire store before he slipped and hurt his back. When he couldn't work his business went under. Now he and his wife get to work minimum wage at Wal-Mart when they should be getting ready to retire.

Is that Wal-Mart's fault?

 

[scylis]

Is that Wal-Mart's fault?

no, samuari-san, but it DOES sound good!

 

[Sillyman]

Is that Wal-Mart's fault?

Maybe if he didn't have to compete so hard with a chain mega-store...

 

[Samuari]

Maybe if he didn't have to compete so hard with a chain mega-store...

Sillyman, you picked your nickname well.

 

[Sillyman]

Re: Capitalist success.

How many general stores were put out of business by the amazing success and growth of Sears Roebuck? How many auto builders failed in the decade following the introduction of the Ford? Seems I saw a stat once where something like 90% of the vehicles owned were Fords, not sure. What happened to the buggy wip makers and tack shops who sold saddels and bridals?

It is the duty of the free enterprise system to find better and cheaper ways to provide society with the goods and services they desire. It would only be evil to impede that process.

Rhumb

How many auto parts, grocery stores, barber shops, electronics stores, clothing stores, department stores, office supply stores and manufacturies of all kinds are going to suffer from competition with Wal-Mart?

Ford paid his employees a living wage at least.

And is it so goddamn evil to impede all consumer goods from coming from Chinese sweatshops where teenage girls work 16 hour shifts for 13 cents a fucking hour?