Walmart now selling LSD laced meat.

What other reasons are there to shop anywhere, aside from trying to be an "ethical" consumer? We are consumers.

There' something to be said of the kind of treatment one can receive at a mom & pop type of business. It's nice. That being said, busines is very akin to nature. It doesn't care about nice. It cares about want and consumption while expending the least amount of energy (money).

I ran a small privetly owned instrument store for 2 years. It went out of business. For two reasons; the owner was terrible and didn't care about his business, and we couldn't compete, even though loyal customers gave us their business. Guy lost his business, I lost my job.

Am I going to hate and not shop at chain instrument stores? No. I should've worked for a different business, and guy should have pulled his head out of his ass and created a better more creative method for selling.

 

What you say about Walmart forcing out small business is true...........often in areas already fucked economically and many times the community is thankful for their presence.
But then again, that is the nature of the beast.
Civilizations come and go, so do business's.

The harsh reality is that the small mom & pop type business are being killed, but it isn't being done by Walmart or any other big corporate chain..........



oh wait a minute, I take that back, there is one that has really fucked small business in America and elsewhere in the world;
Amazon.com.

That is the harsh truth, internet shopping is what has brought about the demise of the small brick & mortar business.
In order to stay viable and profitable today a business MUST have a strong online presence if they want to succeed. The only exception to that is the service industry.

But buying hard goods, pfffff,
I could do ALL my shopping right now in between making my annoying posts here.

So before you start throwing bricks into store windows in protest, it might be a good idea to dig a little deeper into the why's and wherefore's.

 

Walmart employs 2.1 million people. That is not including those who are employed by companies that they do business with or purchase goods from.

Retailers in general all pay minimum wage to associates. Management is usually paid on a sliding scale.

If Walmart were to close there is on other company to absorb that work force.

I personally do shop at Walmart as well as many other places. The small mom and pop shops are great but they also do not offer one stop shopping as they tend to not be able to carry the selections of products and are often over priced when compared to all large retailers.

The hours are convenient, the prices are comparable, the staff is helpful and the stores are clean.

So while people may have an issue with the corporation it does employ people who need jobs. It is not wrong for a company to be profitable and they do not owe that profitability back to their associates. They owe them fair treatment and wages. Then it is up to the employee to stay or to find new employment.

It is a business.

 

I made no qualitative assessment of how ethical or unethical such practices are, just recognizing the simple pragmatism and logic.

 

Exactly. This, for me, is what is at the end of it all. When people cry out about the crimes and ethics of big business I can't help but feel it's a lot like, was it Chicken Little? "The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

Yes, smaller business, like civilizations, will die. The world will not stop. We will evolve, and so will business. It will always be there. Why, how and in what format seems somewhat irrelevant.

Besides, I think the state of modern business can create a healthy incentive to younger generations to maybe rethink and reshape the way we do business. In a way that may or may not be mutually beneficial.

 

Heat.... the only thing I wanna say "I beg to differ" about- is how you said "the stores are clean"..... maybe they are where you live.
But the Walmarts around here are disgusting. Especially the bathrooms. It's like every single slob in the world uses those bathrooms and the people who works there clean them once a week or something. So sick the stuff I've seen in them and I can't respect (at all) any store that cannot provide basic cleanliness.

 

I have not found that here at all but I am sure there are some stores that are better maintained than others. The ones nearest to where I live and lived before have both been built within the last 7 years, so that may be part of it.

 

Damnit--leave the Waltons alone. They only have one hundred and forty two billion dollars to tide them over. jeez--people want insurance and a living wage? What the hell is this country coming to??? I don't mind paying for their employees food stamps. That's just smart 'bidness.'

 

So just because there is always business there is no need to be ethical about your shopping choices? It's not like people that complain about corporations like Walmart have a problem with business in general... It's that it is not necessary to let it go this way. Of course the world keeps turning and so will business, that's not the problem. The problem is when people get apathetic about that and say hey, it's the same old same old, we can just as good support the most convenient way.

 

Do you remember how around thanksgiving or Christmas of this past year Walmarts were putting out collection baskets saying "please donate so our employees can get a thanksgiving- or xmas- I forget which---dinner donated to them"?

Like, seriously? Walmart can't just donate a turkey to their employees like every other company does?

 

You're asking a little too much, AT. Please don't impose on the Waltons.

 

:smoking:

 

I agree with you on that. But I do think that we have to think of ourselves first. Saving money for my family means more to me than supporting small business. That being said, we can choose which businesses big and small to support.

Recently while shopping for camera equipment (esoteric by now) I went to a smaller business to by a lightbulb. 27.99. They have to charge that because they rarely sell them. I went to Lowes...bulb was on sale for a dollar and eight seven cents. Soooo.... I saved 26 dollars. That can feed my lady and I for days. I don't really care so much if they didn't meet their daily quota at the other place.

I understand what you're saying, and I do think it's important to support good businesses that I believe in. I believe in good ethics and good prices.

Apathy is a disease for sure. But moreover I think businesses need to adapt to the times. Small ones often can't unfortunately.

 

Well, that's why you can't complain when they put your family up in the fema camp eating obama's baloney saving money for our country.

 

dont piss in walmart if lowes is next door..

 

Agree

 

Lowes here has very clean washrooms.

I had no idea Obama has his own line of baloney products. Is it called 'Phoney Baloney'?

 

So is this thread almost done.
If memory serves the "Boycott Walmart" thread wasn't due in the rotation for at least another 3 weeks.

C'mon people, if we don't keep the rotation of recurring thread topics straight it's ALLLL gonna come crashing down around our heads.

so let's get with the program people!!
What's the next overly discussed, endlessly debated, but ultimately meaningless in our daily personal lives, topic in the rotation anyway,

circumcision?
taxes?
no election for a while, so that one is on a long rotation

CRAP!!!
see, now I've lost track of which horse is deserving of yet another beating.....
:beatdeadhorse5:

*dammit, guess I have to check my notes*

 

It is your opinion that it is meaningless. Other people might only read this thread

It seems apparent people care about voicing their opinion on this matter but I understand you rather wish they didn't. Happy shopping, Gas :cheers2:

 

Thanks, while I'm out should I pick you up a sense of humor?