What do you think of Wal-mart's hypocrisy? Will you shop there?

Question

Some background:

Sam Walton, founder of Wal-mart, was a fine man. He was humble, treated all employees with respect, stocked primarily Made in America products, and provided value to his customers by saving costs through innovative management of the store's supply chain.

Since his passing, Wal-mart has come under fire for mistreating employes, hiring ilegals, stocking cheap Made in China products, ruining small businesses, and now... well, read the followin stories:

Restoring "Christmas". After snubbing Christmas in years past, Wal-mart is now [begrudgingly] reintroducing the term.
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=52898

Until publicity drew attention to it, they were promoting a corrupting book to young teenage girls:
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53011

There are more articles on that website. The question is, will you give Wal-mart your business?

Answer 1

I commend you for getting out this information, giving the websites for education and a big DEFINITELY NOT ever shopping there again. KUDOS to you for you diligence in this area. God Bless you.

Answer 2

Wal-Mart is a large corporation. Any company as large as they are will come under fire because they are the big one. All decisions that they make are not always the right one, but are all the decisions each of us make the correct one? No. Its just that they are so huge that when they make a mistake every one jumps on them.
You don't have to like them but it seems a lot of folks do and all the class action law suits against them don't seem to have had an affect. Any time of the day or night you will find their stores full of folks buying that cheap China product. They are no different than anyone else they have gone to the low cost provider and in turn are offering products that people want at a price point that people want.
My answer is yes I will give Wal-Mart my business. I am on my way now.

Answer 3

I have nothing really against Wal-Mart. I don't even think the criticism is accurate or fair.

However, I run a small business in a local community. I'll pay a little more for paper from a locally owned supply store. The owners know me by name. They might recommend my business to someone. That isn't going to happen at Wal-Mart.

Answer 4

Actually, labor in China is an interesting subject. I wrote a term paper on it a couple of months ago for my course in Global Entrepreneurship. What I found from my research is that U.S. businesses have helped the Chinese people. While their wages are not comparable to ours, they are higher than they were because of U.S. business there. Working conditions need much improvement, but some improvement has taken place. As the standard of living has slowly risen, people are protesting against the government more and more to fight for rights and freedom.

Prior to my research on conditions in China, I thought we should not be doing business there because of human rights issues. What I found led me to do a complete turn around and my thesis was that U.S. businesses should do more and more business with China and usher in a new age of freedom for the people!

I would rather have a child working in a sweatshop than prostituting themselves on the street. And they will tell you that they do better working now than before U.S. business was there.

While there is still a long way to go..... I will shop at Walmart and keep those children employed! In the meantime, U.S. businesses are getting smarter about how to run things so the Chinese have to conform to standards the business sets.... so they can keep better working conditions, etc.

Sue

Answer 5

For many of us who live in the shadow of the economic devastation of the jobless recovery and Wal-Mart's push to drive out competition, there seems no option but to shop at Wal-Mart. With Wal-Mart's competition buried under the cinderblock Super-Centers, the $500 per month saved by shopping at Wal-Mart allows many to pay the monthly bills.

See link for other details:

Answer 6

It is not just Wal-mart. All the other biggies are selling cheaper Made in China products. Target, Kmart, Sears, Home Depot and Lowes all sell the cheap stuff. The latter two sell lumber from Canada. Why? Because the environmentalist restrict the raw timber companies from harvesting in the United States. Just like they forced Wal-Mart and the others to buy from China. Our industrial base is just about extinct because of the pressures they(environmentalist) put on American companies. Look at the condition of China's environment now, it looks like ours looked in the sixties and seventies. If we could tolerate three eyed fish in our rivers and streams, we could be be producing all the garbage the Target and Wal-Mart are selling. What about Target banning the red-cross Bell-ringers from the front of their stores? They say that their clientele doesn't want them outside. It's pretty bad when lower middle-class Americans can't tolerate volunteers collecting monies for a charity that does so much for people like those who lost everything in hurricane Katrina. And you want to demonize Wal-Mart for having a questionable book on their shelf? What about all the glamor magazines that insult women? What about all the video games that promote violence? Why does Wal-Mart have to set the mark for Morality in the United States? They are a retailer, not a religion. If Wal-Mart didn't exist, then the Mom and Pop stores would be pushing that crap. If there is money in it, any American retailer would put it on the shelf, regardless.
Think about all the jobs that a large corporation like Wal-Mart provides. Besides the clerks and cashiers that you see on the sales floor, there are thousands of vendors and merchandisers, shipping people, truck drivers, accountants, inspectors, maintenance, construction, distribution center workers, security and a plethora of other people who all contribute to wal mart being open everyday, and providing a convenient place to shop.
I just don't understand the hatred for Wal-Mart. There is no other retailer that provides anything more than Wal-Mart does. If you want a personal shopper, then Wal-Mart isn't the place to go. But then, the service sucks in Lowe's, Home Depot, Best Buy, Target,Kmart, Big Lots, Family Dollar Krogers, Publix and any other retail establishment in the country. They all suck, and they all sell the same Made in China junk. If you hate one, you have to hate them all.
And yes, I will spend my money in these stores this year. especially wal-mart. When their bottom line shrinks, they let people go, and I just don't think that would be fair to my friends and neighbors.

Answer 7

I don't care about Wal-Mart selling how to be a lesbian books. What enrages me is the fact the Wal-Mart pays a poverty wage to its employees then tells its employees you don't need health insurance. Since we pay you so little here is a form for you to apply for medical assistance and have the american tax dollars pay your healthcare.

You may think your getting a deal on that toilet paper but you lose any discount you recieve when you pay your taxes. Walmart failure to provide a living wage and benefits to its employees is a determent to any town and every tax payer.

So I don't shop there becasue I don't support oppression.

Answer 8

Of course I'm going to shop at WalMart and I plan on working there when they build a new store here next year. I live in a town of 5000 and there isn't that much here and they do pay better than any place here pays.
I think it's great that they are going back to the Merry Christmas this season. You can't always believe what you read. Most of it is only half truths. The media only tells you what they want not the whole story.

WALMART ROCKS!!!

Answer 9

Don't know what country you kids live in but if you ever move to the USA you will find the hypocracy for the most runs the gamut, insurance co's, auto makers & dealers, your local contractor. Ever read about the US militarys hypocracy over the years, heard of FEMA, I worked for the IRS and you can tell the IRS commissioner I am here saying IRS is guilty of constructive fraud, waste, and abuse of those who do pay their taxes, did I mention Congress, President. Rely some on the 4th Estate.

Answer 10

I do know that now, if you want to sell ANYTHING in walmart, you must agree to open a factory in China or India, no brag, just fact. They will not allow you to sell your item unless you do ship at least part of your jobs overseas. and besides directly sending jobs overseas, getting huge tax cuts for doing it, Walmarts has put out of business SO MANY small businesses

Answer 11

i don't shop at wal-marts. i go to a different grocery store, and k-mart for clothing and what ever else i need from k-mart. i don't think wal-mart is any good. like you said, small business has closed down because of there chain.