Re: [QUAD-L] Wal-Mart

[tahouston]

Once again, if Americans were loyal to American-made products and shop at the Marshall Field/Sears Roebuck/Carson/etc./stores there would be no market for Wal-Mart.  However we cannot have our cake and eat it too.  We can't keep factories making good quality products here in America and selling them for top dollar in order to support the wages and benefits, cash our paychecks and then complain about the price of the products we made.   I worked 20 years for Sears and they were accused also a low-wage hiring practices but they offered a very good profit-sharing plan.  I watched janitors retire with hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock options.  Wal-Mart is very similar.  They offer their employees a chance to invest into company profit-sharing but have little in the way of overall benefits.  I have been at both ends of the scale and now that I collect disability I understand what it is like to be poor.  A good education doesn't guarantee that you will win the economical race but it will assure you a spot at the starting gate.   ----- Original Message ----- From: Dan To: quad-list@eskimo.com Cc: quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 5:23 PM Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Wal-Mart At 03:44 PM 7/15/2006 -0500, tahouston said something that elicited my response:   If Wal-Mart moves into your community, the community can vote it out by continuing to shop at the mom-and-pop stores.  If you took the average wage of the so-called illegal immigrants sweeping the floors at night, they still would not be paying taxes.  Sometimes Americans forget that poor people do not pay taxes.  Most people in the lower tax brackets get between 90 to 100% refund. I'm one of those working poor and it's true we get back most all of the federal income tax BUT we don't get back the Medicare tax!   There can be a Wal-Mart in the neighborhood and you can still continue to shop where ever you would like. Trouble is, Wally Mart drives out all the other shops. I used to shop at one of our local Wally Marts until they got so big it was more of a chore to shop there (huge lines at check out, takes 20 minutes to get from one end of the store to the next - and they keep moving things around so you are forced to hunt for what you need. Of course they do this so you will impulse buy while your searching for what you really need) than to go to several other stores to get what you need. Most Americans live hurried lives.  They enjoy the cheap prices and a one-stop shop.  As I was driving by the Ford Motor Company assembly plant in Illinois, I notice most of the employee cars in the parking lot were foreign-made.  We all say we would like to invest into American products but deep down inside we refuse to pay the higher prices. As for cars, it wasn't the price but rather the quality that made Americans switch to foreign cars. Dan V T. Houston C5 C6 ----- Original Message ----- From: Greg To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: quad-list@eskimo.com Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 1:47 PM Subject: RE: [QUAD-L] Wal-Mart No one should be forced to hire someone or sell something. But not all Malmart employees pay taxes. They have been busted a number of times paying illegals to clean up at night off the books. The rues you mentioned to get on Malmart’s shelves should not include firing American workers and moving to China. I for one don’t mind paying a bit more, if it helps the economy and local mom and pop stores. I love “walking” around little areas of stores fronts. I know a hat might be cheaper at Walmart, but the day of fun was worth it.  When Walmat moves in, they close down. Our city is now trying to redevelop their tiny downtown area.  Building many townhouses, small shops, restaurants. Trying to make it a small urban area. Where you can live, and walk to all the stores you need. It’s a very cute and fun area. If Malmart moves in, it would close many of the store and soon have empty buildings again. It’s all a quality of life issue. You like quick one stop shopping I like looking around, going to corner farmers markets and looking through stores in a shopping village. It’s fine to have both, but Malmart wants to be “The Only” J. Leave at least a few corners for the little guys Greg   From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Friday, July 14, 2006 12:45 PM To: quad-list@eskimo.com Subject: Re: [QUAD-L] Wal-Mart Americans are jobless because they won't work for the same wages. I think all US-WALMART employees pay US taxes.   If you mean the Chinese workers,  NO Chinese worker pays US taxes.   American companies can get on WALMART's shelves, they just have to follow Walmart's rules.   The internet is also as great place to hawk one's wares.  Bossing Walmart around is a poor substitute for smarting up and beating them at their own game.  Are you suggesting that Walmart should dismiss all foreign labor and hire only American workers at whatever the Americans will consent to work for because that's the loyal thing to do?  You think they should voluntarily or be forced to hire expensive labor and live with the losses?  Are you ready to pay more for everything on the shelves at Walmart? After forcing Walmart to do the loyal thing, will you go after the oil industry to roll back prices to the 1950 level?  They are both in the fantasy realm you know. Dave