Full story here. I’m kind of in the middle on this one. I will admit that I shop there, as it’s cheaper, open later (which came in handy last night as my daughter had a really nasty coughing fit, and we had no medicine). Do I hate what they pay their employees? Yes, but there are lots of companies out there that do the same (and Wal-Mart hires many folks who couldn’t get a job elsewhere). Do I hate that they put smaller companies out of business? Yes, but the smaller companies have started to adapt.
But I do agree that before they build that monster of a store on Bend’s north end that Wal-Mart should have to foot the bill for some of the improvements up there. I just wonder if anybody would be throwing such a fit and requiring as much of the company if this were anybody but Wal-Mart.
Anyway, I’m not really going to debate people on this (don’t have time), but I leave it open to discuss here.
Update: Great discusion here, folks (just remember to keep it civil). And here’s some more reaction locally from Simone and Chris.
Comments
I only care that the people who freak out about Walmart are not buying $30 t-shirts at the local boutiques. If I could afford $30 t-shirts, I wouldn’t shop at Walmart either… so until you’ve walked a mile in poverty’s shoes, I wouldn’t spend too much time trying to ‘save the world’. Simply hire the poor souls who you think are stuck at working at Walmart. Maybe there’s a reason they’re there, and not your tax accountants.
You said exactly what I was going to say That one girl.
I in the middle too. I rarely shop at Walmart, but that’s because it’s not exactly convenient for me, and when I do go there, I get frustrated with the narrow aisles being taken over by cart demons.
I don’t shop at Walmart, never will. I’m certainly not rich (is a freelancer ever?), but I refuse to support an empire who treats their employees like crap in exchange for saving 20 cents on a bottle of shampoo.
You might be saving a buck by shopping at Walmart, but you’re also helping proliferate poverty by supporting a retailer who is so greedy, it doesn’t see fit to pay a living wage to the very people on who’s back it has built its empire. The only way to truly stop them (and their continued abuse of their employees) is to STOP SHOPPING THERE.
In theory, I would stop shopping there, but I can’t afford the shop downtown or the Old Mill, and quite honestly, two of my close friends and a family member work at Walmart (not in Central Or, btw). Two of them couldn’t get/keep a job elsewhere becauseof their, um… shall we say spotty work history. Walmart is giving them the chance to build a job history when most people wouldn’t hire them.
Besides, if I followed that line of reasoning, I wouldn’t be using Microsoft. I bet BUCKS that you has a Microsoft Operating System, and heaven knows that they are getting rid of the ‘little guy’ with their strong arm tactics. Let’s boycott THEM!
oh. can’t. I have Microsoft XP. :/
If we stopped shopping there, 200 people would be out of work – exactly what this town needs! 🙂
Both of you have valid points — yea, my family struggled, my mom was on food stamps when my dad left us — so I understand what the folks are going through. I’m not saying what the corporate folks at Wal-Mart are doing is right either. I wish the folks at WM would take some lessons from Costco because they’re a fine example of paying their folks a decent wage and having low prices (well, if you like having 100 rolls of TP around).
I would rather see a Super Target go in. They have the BEST produce.
Anyways, I’m in the middle and for months I’ve been that way, so sue me 🙂
I really have no problems with WalMart. I’ve shopped there on occasion, though I also hate the narrow aisles. They definitely serve a purpose here in town. I do agree that they should have to help with the improvements in the area, but they shouldn’t have to cover all of them. Many other businesses will come to that area, as a result of WalMart being built there, and WalMart shouldn’t be expected to cover all these other business’ shares as well.
WalMart is not some evil corporation. They are maximizing their profits for their shareholders. If they were to pass up on opportunities to increase their revenues, they would be doing their shareholders a disservice, and would open themselves up to lawsuits from said shareholders. How would THAT benefit the company?
I save a lot more than 20 cents on a bottle of shampoo, or a buck or two here/there on other things.
I also buy items to sell in my “high-town gift shop” at 1/3 the price that I can buy them wholesale. 1/3 the price. Then I turn around and sell them for 4x of what I paid for it at Walmart! LOL!
Now why should I be penalized for making an honest living thanks to good ol’ Wally’s? 😉
I’ve done the same thing (buy at a fraction of “wholesale” and sell it for 2-4x the cost @ Wally’s) with Christmas ornaments, any number of holiday decorations, candles, etc. etc. I can’t do this with a LOT of items, but it does make up for 10-12% of our gross income depending on the season. Hint — that’s more than 20 cents or a buck. 😉
Walmart’s web is very complex. I am in the middle as well, but I do recognize that they will employ people whom I never would. (I’ve tried. Some people are simply unemployable in an indepedent shop, no matter how hard you try to help them.) I firmly believe that “some work is better than no work.” As for importing — that gets under my skin terribly, but by the same token I am not made of money to buy everything American-made. I simply don’t have enough $’s to go around (especially in this p-poor economy). My sales are down 80+% from 2000. I haven’t taken a paycheck from my shop in 5 years, every penny goes back into the shop. So please don’t be mad at me for pinching the few pennies I get from my own outside part-time job —
It’s not as cut-and-dry as some people probably like to think. 🙂
Sparky Bend says:
Buying crap at Wal-Mart and then marking it up 400% is why your sales are down 80%.
Sparky Bend says:
Wal-Mart is the only place Wal-Mart employees can afford to shop.
Love the name “Sparky Bend.” Now, if it would have been “Sparkling Bend” I would have thought you were Bob Shaw. 🙂
Mrs. H: If Mr. “Have A Sparkling Day” ever commented on this site, I’d be honored 😉
But I agree with most of the comments here (other than Simone’s — sorry, Simone, I love ya, but I save more than a penny or two there). I’m the sole provider for my wife and two kids and anybody who knows me knows I don’t make a ton of money. I still buy the brand name stuff (minus medication, as nobody should EVER pay full price for the brand names on that), but I just buy it at Wal-Mart because it’s (many times) about 30-50% less than the other stores. I do buy Wal-Mart-brand white cloud diapers as they’re just better diapers than huggies and pampers, and they’re far cheaper.
And as I said before, I would love to be able to put more money into the local small businesses, but I just can’t sleep at night paying 3x more at some little shop, knowing good and well that they both get their products from the same suppliers (quite often, anyway), and knowing that they are marking the things up a ton more. Obviously, they don’t make the amount of sales Wal-Mart does, but they also don’t have to feed as many employees.
And Sandy’s right: manufacturers and factories and distributors are just as much to blame for Wal-Mart. They’re the one’s that are probably hiring the sweat-shop laborers that have no other choice in their employement, while Wal-Mart hires many folks who have sketchy job histories that they’re trying to rebuild (I personally wouldn’t hire many of the nit-wits that work at the Bend Wal-Mart, but I have to be pickier as I’m not employing a hundred folks).
Maybe you people should take some time to actually understand why Walmart is so disliked. Walmart is in a control position and uses its market dominance to put a strangle hold on manufacturers, Walmart employees, and the communities that host Walmart stores. Walmart influence squeezes every penny from every step of the supply chain and that translates directly into the continued erosion of the middle class in this country. And why? So we can buy even more crap we don’t need and feed ourselves the illusion that we are living the better life? If I shop for anything but food even once a month, I consider myself splurging. What is it that everyone needs so desperately that they heap praise on Walmart for bringing them cheap crap?
And no, not every coporation is an evil entity sucking the life out of this country in the name of shareholder profits. Costco and Safeway have great wages and benefits, and are profitable at the same time.
Companies like Walmart are giant machines with a single purpose: suck all the money out of the economy and concentrate it at the top. This kind of system widens the already alarming rich-poor divide in this country. You think you are putting more money in the bank because you saved 30 cents on a bottle of shampoo? That 30 cents isn’t going to mean anything in 5 years when your job is downsized and you take a 25 percent pay cut because the economy is in a downward spiral.
Balance is key. Do some research. Contribute to a solution.
Well said, Aaron. Thank you for not letting me be the lone voice of reason here. 🙂
And Jake – babe, I love you too. 😉 But you’re just simply wrong on this issue. Sorry. Consider Aaron’s words.
I have, Simone, and I’m sorry, but I will still go there. As my primary shopping destination? No, but I will still shop there. But I’ve been poor as hell, and stores like Wal-Mart have kept me feeding my family.
Even if the thing opens up on the north end (which is far closer to where I live), I’ll still probably do my grocery shopping at Food 4 Less — as their prices are very cheap, and the people are nice (which, sadly, isn’t all that common or I would deal more with smaller businesses).
And at least their employees have health coverage — it may be s**ty, but there are a TON of companies, small and large, that don’t offer it to their employees (the one I work for being one of them, and because of my back surgery nobody will cover me unless it’s a group plan that’s exempt from that kind of pre-existing condition.
But let’s be realistic here — I’ve got a family to feed (and I know you don’t have kids, Simone, and I know you and your husband are both working so I’m sure you’re doing fine). While it is nice to be able to say that you can avoid Wal-Mart just entirely on principle, sit in somebody else’s shoes whose sole responsibility was to put food on the table for their family and keep diapers on the butt of their kids, and then tell me how tempting it looks to shop there.
And yes, Costco is a great company, and I shop there as well. I just don’t always need a 40-pound jug of (insert common food product here). Safeway I totally avoid — they’re profitable because their stuff is so damned expensive.
But we’ll just have to respectfully agree to disagree here 🙂
Walk a mile in the shoes of a working family trying to make ends met and then say they’re simply wrong in their opinions.
Jake, hon – despite the fact that I don’t have kids and a spouse to feed and support, I’m far from as flush as you might think (after all, I do live in La Pine, and not Bend …).
Try being self-employed (at least you have a steady paycheck) and not getting any calls for work for 2 full months … (the holiday season is a bitch). Hubby is self-employed too, and neither of us can afford health-insurance, and we never *truly* know if we’re going to make our mortgage 3 or 4 months from now. Especially should something big, like an accident or other health problems, come along.
I don’t consider myself poor now, frugal maybe, but I’ve been there – many years ago. (So Mrs. H – I have indeed walked in those shoes.)
And that’s exactly the reason why I feel so strongly about not supporting a company that promotes poverty. Besides, there are many other choices for the frugal shopper: Grocery Outlet, Bi-Mart, Goodwill, Food 4 Less – to name a few. And I’d rather go there, than give my money to Walmart.
I think it comes down to a social rather than a monetary choice – do you care enough about your fellow citizens to make buying decisions based on what’s best in the long run for the overall population, or do you just look out for yourself and the two bucks you can save by shopping at Walmart?
There are plenty of low income families that get by just fine without Walmart. To say that the lower class NEEDS Walmart (which is in turn responsible for growth of the lower class), is quite a conundrum.
You’ve walked in Jake’s shoes meaning you have two young mouths to feed? You need to get up in the middle of the night needing medicine for your sick kids? How is that walking in his shoes? That is what I meant.
I love both of you guys and you have valid points here. I’m just pointing out the difference in lifestyles here.
Brave New Wal-Mart
This is just a rumor. . .
I heard that Wal-Mart reduces the amount of oxygen in their stores producing the Deltas and Epsilons.
This explains a few things for me.
actually sparky, walmart isn’t reducing the amount of oxygen. they are providing a service for the customers by pumping in the fresh air of mt. everest. the thin air of everest causes people to have difficulty thinking, which causes them to buy buy buy.
:p
anyways, I am glad I am in japan where i can ignore the likes of 7-11
err, 7-11? i mean wal-mart.
heh. you don’t like WM, don’t shop there. No biggie. My husband works at one. There’s no company loyalty on my part and i get just as fed up as anyone else with some of the mouth-breathing dolts that work there, but hey those dolts work all over the place. I’m self-employed, so his benefits are pretty handy. We don’t have any kids, but we like to spend our leftover money on crap like AMPLIFIERS! And MOTORCYCLE PARTS! so i like the extra leftovers from shoppin at WM. Smarthalfs worked in union stores and likes EM more. He went through the manager training program and is a manager. But, i will tell you this, neither of us shops there because we feel we owe the company anything. When the stock prices go up, we are very happy though…
Most of the negative comments about Wal-Mart seem to be negative comments about capitalism in general. Nearly all companies want to be as profitable as possible, and all companies want to squeeze every penny out of the supply chain to increase efficiency and profits. That’s how companies work, and the bigger they get, the better they usually get at doing it. What companies pay their employees is driven by market factors — again, capitalism. Love it or hate it. I’m glad that every worker in America isn’t making the exact same wage, because that would be closer to Socialism. If you treat your employees too badly, you will end up with bad employees. That’s what has happened to Wal-Mart. No one goes there for the service, because many of their employees either don’t show up for work, or don’t have great people-skills.
The “evil Wal-Mart” parts about squeezing out competitors and such does go back to the manufacturers and wholesalers, as (I think) Sandy mentioned in an earlier comment. This is definitely a problem, but I’m not sure if Wal-Mart is the one solely to blame. If I could get you to sell me something cheaper than you’d normally sell it to others, I’d probably take it. If Wal-Mart is engaging in illegal activities, I hope the government steps in. If they aren’t, then they are probably just running a more efficient and profitable business than everyone else.
Shopping at Wal-Mart is one of my absolute least-favorite activities, but I do it, because that’s where we buy our groceries. They have the biggest selection by far, and it is much less expensive. Often for just a few items, I’ll go elsewhere, just to save myself the frustration.
Working at Wal-Mart is a one way ticket to welfare.
Scott: you are obviously Ignorant of both economic systems and history. Socialism is not the only alternative to unbridled capitalism. Regulated capitalism is what we practice here in America. If we practiced unbridled captitalism, there would be no Walmart to begin with. Giant monopolies like Standard Oil would have controlled every aspect of commerce and there would be no room for new enterprises. Competion would be dead and we would look more like the Soviet Union now than the America we know.
You are the kind of person the power elite in this country dream of. You praise and support them while they steal from you and your neighbors. The quality of life we enjoy now was made possible by the actions of our forefathers. They recognized the detrimental effects of monopolistic business and they took action. Sadly, I think our generation has become to complacent to take action on anything anymore. After all, why should we when we can afford a discount TV and an Xbox from Walmart? Those things are all life is about, right?
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