Do you think Wal*mart is evil?

Question

I most certainly do and I haven't shopped there in over 2 years.

If so, what are your reasons for not shopping there???

Personally I don't shop there because:

1. They put the little man out of business everywhere they go.
2. Most of their products come from overseas sweatshops.
3. Their employees don't get health benefits and are unable to form a union.

To the symbol chick with the emo haircut, yes I would rather work at as a server making $2 per hour. In fact I already do as a 2nd job!!! When you include tips, that measly $2/hr quickly grows to $20 to $30/hr!!! Therefore, I CAN afford not to shop at Wal*mart more so even than those so-called "well-off" Wal*mart employees that you speak of!!!

Answer 1

Living in a small farming community with no other places to shop for over 50 miles I really have no choice. The only thing I really dislike about wal-mart is the fact that they choke out the little man. There used to be so many mom and pop stores out there who supported our community and CARED for our community...now they've been run out of business.

Answer 2

Wal-Mart is NOT evil. This is absolutely ridiculous. I hate when people talk about companies like they are some living, breathing person. Sure, they are run by living, breathing people, but their responsibility is to make a profit. That's why you start a business -- because you think you have a great idea that will make money. Well guess what? Sam Walton had an excellent idea. Why did he sell only American-made items when he first opened his stores? Because they were the cheapest to get back then. Since that time, unions and other social causes have driven American wages up, so that the U.S. no longer has the comparative advantage in labor.

Wal-Mart hardly operates sweatshops. Why do people all over the world flock to Wal-Mart when it opens? Because they know they can make more money at Wal-Mart than any other job in their country, and Wal-Mart provides affordable goods. It's my opinion that any job is probably better than no job. However, Americans seem to have this sense of entitlement to health benefits and high wages, so they can afford to buy an ipod, a computer, or the latest sneakers.

It's not Wal-Mart's fault that some people made bad decisions in life and do not have many marketable skills. Some people actually really enjoy working for Wal-Mart. If you need health insurance, then save your money and don't spend on frivolous items. There are also government programs that can help.

Sam Walton was an innovator. Just like Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc. We shouldn't penalize innovators just because they thought of the idea before us. "Mom and Pop" stores are going out of business because they can't sell the same goods as a Wal-Mart for a cheap price. They should be trying to figure out a way to make their own business more attractive.

As for not allowing unions, that is probably in the average employee's best interest. When a union is established, the first thing they will demand is higher wages and health benefits. Then guess what happens? Wal-Mart will suddenly become a lot more efficient, making a lot of their employees unneccessary (such as the door greeters, who are literally paid just to stand in the doorway -- they don't actually contribute very much in the way of productivity). It would be good for the people that got to keep their job and become a full-time employee, but many more people would be laid off.

I could go on, but I won't. Do a little more research and back your opinion with some economic sense.

Answer 3

Like I said before, it's not where you buy but what you buy. There are plenty of products from quality companies available at wal mart, consumers just need to be informed. They even sell products from small companies like Annie's Homegrown and Eden. Wal Mart makes healthy food and necessities accessible to the lower class and rural americans. I don't really see that their employees in this country are mistreated...every time I've been in there the employees seem to have it pretty easy. Would you rather work at a greasy fast food restaraunt, get paid 2 bucks an hour to waitress, or work at Wal Mart? It's one of the few places someone without a college or technical degree can still advance to a high position, and they also give jobs to a lot of mentally disabled people who would otherwise be sitting at home and feeling worthless.

Answer 4

Most of their products?
What an exaggeration!!
Be more realistic.
They happen to also sell products that were made here in the USA and not even in sweat shops. And products that can be purchased at any other store, such as Walgreens,CVS, Target,etc! Do you boycott those stores too?
Those people/children that work at sweat shops are grateful they even HAVE jobs! I've seen them interviewed and work is hard to come by in those places. If enough people boycott stores that carry their products, then those people are all out of work! How is that a better solution??
Unions are bad news-I think it was wise that they did not join one! Most big name establishments have received a bad rap at some time or another(including TARGET)-if we boycotted them all, what would be left? Where could we shop?

Walmart also improves our economy by offering many jobs which in turn, lowers the unemployment rates.
What products do they sell that are exclusively from Walmart that YOU believe were created in sweat shops?

Answer 5

If they indeed are truly "evil," then so is the rest of the retail sector which tends to follow their business model.

I don't shop there because I do not care to wait in the long lines at the checkout counter, spend a lot of time looking for a parking space, nor do I care to pay hundreds of dollars for useless crap. Why go through all the trouble just to save a few measley cents for the same item I can buy anywhere else? To me, time is more valuable.

Answer 6

I don't think they're evil.

There's a problem with capitalism... every once in a while something comes along that makes everything else obsolete. WalMart’s way of doing business is one of those things.

They didn’t just play the game better, the reinvented it.

I don't shop there, though.

Answer 7

LOL Only a former employee would use the star in the spelling of Wal*mart (I am a former employee :D)

Wal*mart isn't illegal or evil but they sure aren't doing us any favors. I am conservative but do not support Wal*mart because they sold out to China a long time ago and have done more overall harm to our enconomy than good.

We need to raise tariffs on goods from China so that American companies can compete.

Answer 8

It is.
Wal-Mart represents the XIXth century philosophy on business. Squeeze a profit whichever way you can, without rewarding your employees adequately, with no regards for the environment or community, etc... It is the kind of business a civilized society can do without. Unfortunately, because so many people continue to shop there, it keeps on expanding. What these consumers don't realize is that they are committing a kind of suicide by encouraging such businesses to grow as they might well eventually destroy centuries of struggle in better business, labor relations, environmental standards, etc... It's the kind of economic activity the system can do without. I don't give them a penny either.

Answer 9

I don't think it's evil. In a society that wants everything now and they want it cheap, it is a dream come true. If the American people still valued quality American made products, then companies would not have to resort to exporting the manufacturing over to China to be mass produced and sold at discount rates in stores like Wal-Mart. Mal-Mart also provides alot of jobs. You know how many people work in one Wal-Mart store? Up to hundreds, depending on the store. All the manufacturing jobs have moved to China. Without Wal-Mart, there would be even FEWER jobs!

I dislike people who hate business that prosper and make a profit. I also dislike people who hate the rich simply because they are rich.

Answer 10

WalMart is and was the beginning of the end for America.
Sam Walton started the business proudly offering "Made in America" on everything in the store.

It didn't take long for profits to take precedence over EVERYTHING.

So, everytime you save 17 cents on that purple plastic thing, just know you have just put an American out of a job, because WalMart buys overseas.