Monday, August 10, 2009

Wal-Mart

In response to a Twitter question today of "Why do people think Wal Mart is evil?"

1. Wal-Mart doesn't pay its workers health insurance below management level.
2. Wal-Mart doesn't allow its workers to unionize
3. Wal-Mart buys dirt-cheap products from China, some of which might be made in sweatshops.
4. Wal-Mart squeeze out Mom n' Pop stores, thus crushing the dreams and the lifework of the elderly and kittens and stuff.
5. Wal-Mart is shopped at by icky poor people, and that's icky

I'll take on the items one at a time.

1. So what? Did you really think you'd make your fortune working at Wal-Mart? If you don't like this arrangement, work for a store that will provide health insurance. No one is forcing you to work at Wal-Mart.
2. This is a very good thing. I wouldn't either. Unions are the devil incarnate. Just ask Ken Gladney.
3. Meh. They'll buy the least expensive thing, wherever that is. They can't control the conditions at the place that makes them. And if you're a worker in such a place and you don't like the working conditions, quit and work somewhere else. Again, no one's forcing you to work there.
4. If there was a demand for Mom n' Pop stores, they would still exist. Do you really want to buy all the things you can buy at Wal Mart by having to stop at 12 different stores all over town?
5. Wal-Mart has done more for the poor in this country than any government program ever has.

7 comments:

Chrissy Lucia said...

Yeah, Walmart is a wonderful place. I mean the one by me is the local hang out for gang members and other interesting looking juveniles . . . it is a wonderful thing to feel unsafe at a local hotspot in midday, right?

Jessica said...

Careful, Chrissy, you will be taken seriously!

Hillary said...

The Walmart by Andra's house is super classy and peaceful. We go there at least three times on a Saturday to buy anything and everything.

Chrissy Lucia said...

Yeah, there is a super nice Walmart in Centerville, I actually quite like it . . . I wish all Walmarts could be like that *sigh*.

Chrissy Lucia said...

Jessica, my goal is to be taken seriously always!

Jessica said...

Well, nobody will ever be able to convince me that Walmart has any redeeming qualities. My anti-Walmart stance is quite strong.

Hillary said...

If Target were closer, I'd shop there, and I do when I drive the 25 miles to make the trek. But I save about $30 each time by grocery shopping at Walmart and that makes a world of difference. I love it! A little white trash never scared me. Besides, I have a gun.