If you haven’t read this article… I would highly suggest you stop on over. I think we all KNOW this information deep down… but are we willing to forge over a few more dollars to keep American jobs in America?
Here’s a snip of the article:
“People ask, ‘How can it be bad for things to come into the U.S. cheaply? How can it be bad to have a bargain at Wal-Mart?’ Sure, it’s held inflation down, and it’s great to have bargains,” says Dobbins. “But you can’t buy anything if you’re not employed. We are shopping ourselves out of jobs.”
– Steve Dobbins (CEO of Carolina Mills, a 75-year-old North Carolina company that supplies thread, yarn, and textile finishing to apparel makers–half of which supply Wal-Mart)
Technorati Tags: Wal-Mart, Sales, Business, Wages, China, Imports, Grocery, Finance, Money, Jobs, Purchasing, Opinion, Products, Household, Living, Life, Goods, Shopping, Economy
I have been on the anti-WalMart wagon for awhile now. I decided that I really don’t want to wake up one day and have no shopping choice except WalMart. Yes, it costs me more in the short-term, but it’s worth it to me. I just have to find other ways to make our family dollars stretch. I’ve read that 10 local businesses close for every WalMart that opens. How sad!
On rare occasions, I will go to WalMart, but there has to be a solid reason for me to do so. This has been my personal view for a few years now and I’m sure that all by myself, I don’t really affect their bottom line. I do share my opinion as the opportunity presents itself, but I also try not to shove it down anyone’s throat. Hopefully others will realize what the long-term consequences will be if they continue patronizing WalMart.
You can check out jibjab.com and watch the clip on Big Box Mart – it’s really funny, yet sad, because it’s so true.
There are a lot of people who hate Wal-mart for all sorts of different reasons.
Generally, I find that they are a big, single successful business that is easy to avoid. People who say they hate them for some specific reason generally I find to be inconsistent. People in a union will hate them for not being unionized, but shop at other non-union stores anyway. Others hate them for being cheap, but go looking for the best buy they can get elsewhere.
If stores can not compete internationally the problem is not necessarily Wal-mart. It could just end up being our laws that we, the people, are responsible for that make doing business in America much more expensive than elsewhere — even more expensive after you count in the costs of shipping products across the world and having to throw away the defectives.
As for putting small companies out of business — I have not seen it. We had no Wal-marts when I ived in Houston. But the stores we went to for the same type of items were not small family run stores. They were K-mart, mall stores, grocery stores like Safeway and Krogers. The only family run store we went to was “Andy’s Hardware” (And even it was a Ace Hardware branded store) and despite the Wal-mart that has come in since, it’s still there and running nicely in 2005 when we were last there. In College Station, before there was Wal-mart there was K-mart. I again can’t think of a competing family business we use before the Wal-mart came in (And then the other one did too) And despite two Wal-marts, the town still manages to support a Target as well. And seemingly a grocery store on every corner — Apple Tree, Krogers, Winn Dixie, Albertson’s, HEB I hear has come in. Sam’s Club. One of the wal-marts is a Super Wal-mart. etc. And I know one family run store here that was not competing with Wal-mart that went under anyway. But they were always running closer to the line than I would be comfortable with (Not even paying themselves minimum wage. You can do that when you own the business after all) It’s fairly common with the smaller niche stores as I understand it, before or after Wal-mart.
I don’t think we need to shut Wal-Mart down completely… but maybe if we all used a little restraint and looked elsewhere for most things… that might tie a leash on the corporate giant? I certainly go there at least once a month… and in our state of financial distress over the past few years, we’ve shopped there more and more. Yet we complain when my husband’s company uses people in India for customer service! The outsourcing of American jobs has already touched home in our family.
I love jibjab! I enjoyed the Big Box Mart clip. Thanks for the link! Even better… here’s how I feel today: A Thing Falling Down a Hill
my boaz’s ruth:
Well, maybe in Houston, and other bigger cities where bulk shopping is the norm… (we lived in Houston a number of years) you don’t have as much trouble… but I know that in one small town where a friend of ours lived, a Wal-Mart came in and put all the other little businesses out of work. Then, the Wal-Mart MOVED to be closer to the main highway and shut down. The people had to then drive 30 miles to get to a Wal-Mart since the businesses were GONE! When they went to one of the business owners and asked him to re-open, he said NO WAY! Wal-Mart had destroyed him financially and there was no way he could open up shop again. Another problem I have with Wal-Mart is when they decide to jump ship in an area and their UGLY, EMPTY building takes up a whole city block looking GROSS while they build a BRAND NEW store across the street. Such WASTE and IRRESPONSIBILITY. They did that on FM 1960 in NW Houston. They wiped out an entire forest, killed numerous deer and other wildlife… all to have a new store because they didn’t like the older one they were in just across the street!
Thanks for the post! I also will NOT ever buy anything at Wal-Mart. Two years ago they threw away my son’s 6th birthday photos from Disney. They admitted it and wouldn’t do anything about it. The year before I had spent $2,000 in just photo processing at Wal-Mart! Plus groceries and other things. But they do not get my business anymore at all. I refuse to shop there. Of course it may cost me more but that does not matter to me. We can afford it and it doesn’t bother me to pay more.
Even my son knows why we don’t shop there anymore and he tells people about it. I also share my opinion. In college I had a class on small business management and a lot of the info shared agreed with the story link you shared. That is another reason I don’t go there. And i don’t like it that they do all the outsourcing overseas. I don’t have to be “consistent” with not shopping at other stores that outsource. That is just crazy. It is my choice. I don’t like Wal-Mart and their polices and I could care a whit if other stores are doing the same thing. Wal-Mart won’t get my business at all, ever.
sue in FL