whats so bad about Wal-Mart, they have some really good prices?

Question

they have some real good deal for name brand stuff. like colgate toothpaste, scope mouthwash, fructise shampoo. whats wrong with that. im on a really tight budget and im glad someplace sells things at an affordable price.

Answer 1

Because, unfortunately, WalMart is hitting their competition below the belt.

If it is not a name brand item, chances are it was made in a third world country in a factory where the workers get paid in pennies (grossly over-reacting, but not by much).

These shoddy products are then brought to the U.S. and shipped all over the country while WalMart gets fat and rich off the money that they rake in from us the consumer, since we have no other place to go shopping and no alternative but to send our children to them for low wage jobs with no benefits at part time employment.

Answer 2

I love wal-mart. The prices have gone up on a lot of stuff but still cheaper than most. People that work at wal-mart asked for the job. They knew how much they would make.Wal-mart never said they offered the employees a health plan. So what's the big deal? Sure they buy from China and other places but that wont stop people from shopping there. Everyone talks about being a good American and buy only American. The 99cent store sells the biggest load of foreign crap and there business is booming.

Answer 3

l worked retail and l'm sure l wasn't paid any more than Wal*Mart pays. Most of our product was not made in the USA and cost more. The people at the store I go to are all helpful. When big super markets came on the scene the same things were being said about them.

Answer 4

While no organization is perfect, Wal Mart does not deserve a lot of the criticism it gets. Most of the complaints are a result of an ongoing negative campaign being conducted by the unions. They want to bring Wal Mart down because they have consistently refused to unionize.

Answer 5

Unfortunately I buy stuff there too. Short term it is in my best interest to save money, but in the long term Wal-Mart is bad for our country. They pay low wages and abuse their workers, they are very anti-union, they unfairly use their clout to quash competition, and they promote importing from low wage countries like China.

As an example, the Federal and state governments have to spend a lot of money to cover the health care expenses for the uninsured who work at Wal-Mart and don't have coverage and can't afford to pay. So we as taxpayers are subsidizing Wal-Mart in paying for health care. When you factor in these types of things like that we indirectly pay for, their prices really aren't so cheap.

We are now seeing the effects of free trade with the pet food and toothpaste scandals. Without a system of fair tariffs, we can't compete with countries with such low standards of living, where they can cut costs by using dangerous ingredients, and have no environmental regulations. This is now happening in more professional occupations, such as computer programming. Soon, all of the professional type work will be done in India, all of the manufacturing in China, everyone will be unemployed, and we won't even be able to afford Wal-Mart.

Answer 6

Yea, I too shop at Wal-Mart. Get lost walking around inside.

But they are controversial for aggressive price initiatives. And trade with China.

Watch:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/walmart/

Interesting info in that TV documentary.

Answer 7

Basically they squash out mom and pop competition, rely on products with unfair labor practices, cypher funds out of the town instead of back into them, have no contribution to cultural variety, are sterile environments lacking any personal and creative expression, and the list can go on and on and on and on.

The number one problem with America is we value money more than anything else. Cash is king and the cheapest price wins. When we wise up and start voting with our dollars shopping at the local farmer market, co-ops, mom and pop shops, buying organic fair trade goods whose workers are paid livable wages and treated with respect then we will see a spiritual revolution that will change everything.

This process starts with the individual. You must make the decision that to do what is right is more important than catering to the lowest common demoninator.

Best of wishes on this Journey. It is not always easy but once you build the habit of doing such it will eventually become internalized and you will begin to wonder why you ever did anything else.

Answer 8

You should see the Penn & Teller show they did on Walmart and the effects they have on workers and the community. I shop there all the time, since Target seems to be overpriced and has bad hours.

Answer 9

I like Wal-Mart too...but the not so good side to it (people complain about) it is that they get their products for cheap too cause they pay cheap labor. I think that is the reason they can sell their product for less...

Answer 10

Absolutely nothing wrong with WalMart, I buy most of my grocery's and pharmacy items there and save a bundle, not only that I buy the very same brand, kind, as I can anywhere else, and another thing they buy all the local in state products that they can, so it is fresher, not that stuff shipped from Central America and Mexico..I guess some people think they are lowering there life style to shop there..that's their loss...with the outrageously high prices now, it is only common sense to be careful where you buy..