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Paid Critics & Wal Mart
Posted by Raven on August 29th, 2006
Go educate yourself about PaidCritics. Those who are being paid (with union-backed cash) to dish companies like Wal Mart.
I’ve read Heather’s posts about Wal Mart, and dumb Dina’s comments. Dina, like so many others has fallen for bulloney the anti Wal Mart groups have spewed out- (who are funded entirely by- guess- UNIONS!!)….it all comes down to this: The unions are hurting and they want a piece of the pie those millions of mostly content Wal Mart workers earn (EARN=working by choice).
The bullshit being put out about how evil Wal Mart is, about how it creates a class of welfare needy, about how it kills local competition- is all a bunch a crap.
…there is enormous economic evidence that Wal-Mart’s has helped poor and middle class consumers — in fact, more than anybody else. Our own data analysis shows Wal-Mart is concentrated primarily in smaller, rural counties with a per capita income far lower than other retailers, like Costco. And, unlike the picture painted by labor activists, when the Wal-Mart moves in, good things happen. Looking at 25 small towns where Wal-Mart opened stores in 2002, we found employment growth was much stronger in “Wal-Mart communities” than in other areas.
[...]
Jason Furman, former director of economic policy for John Kerry’s presidential campaign, claims Wal-Mart’s discounting on food alone boosts the welfare of American shoppers by at least $50 billion a year. These savings help poor and middle-class consumers disproportionately since they spend a greater percentage of their disposable income on food products. Wal-Mart’s ability to help poor and middle-class consumers led Mr. Furman to dub the retailer a “progressive success story.”
[...]
The Pew Research Center last year found households making under $50,000 rated Wal-Mart most positively and shopped there more frequently. Of those who make $20,000 or less, an astonishing 90 percent had a favorable opinion of Wal-Mart. Minorities were also big Wal-Mart fans, with blacks and Hispanics rating the company more positively than Caucasians. Presumably these demographic groups love Wal-Mart because the retailer has helped them stretch their dollars.
[...]
Mr. Biden and others comments could be seen trying to defend the allegedly “abused” Wal-Mart work force. There is no indication, however, that Wal-Mart employees are treated poorly. They make competitive wages by retail standards, in some states twice the federal minimum wage. They also have access to affordable health care plans for as low as $11 a month and can take part in an attractive employee stock ownership plan, fringe benefits that few retailers — even the much beloved “Mom and Pop” stores — offer their employees.
OH MY! You mean to tell ME that Wal Mart actually pays it’s employees MORE money and offers benefits- that it’s competition cannot afford to do? Those little shops that go under when a Wal Mart comes to town???? Let’s see…in my area there is a super Wal Mart…less than 5 miles up the road. NOT one local business has gone out because of this. NOT ONE. Not the tee shirt guy who prints personalized shirts; not the antique dealerships; not the Aubochon hardware store; not the HallMark stores; not the local craftsmans shop where hand made goods are sold; not even the local fresh produce markets have gone under. We still have a small bookstore, a linen shop, a lamp shop, a couple computer stores, several camera shops…AND lo and beHOLD, the Shaws supermarket is still around, as is the D’Moulas, and they just opened a Stop and Save supermarket in my town. (I won’t shop at those places because they are TOO expensive, but many do go there, as many go to Wal Mart!!- it’s all about CHOICE=freedom)
What does Wal Mart do for my town? A lot that the Shaws and Shop and Save do not! At our schools, they debated asking the kids parents to PAY for all the athetic activities vs. offering them as part of the regular curricumlum. Caused a big uproar because many kids would not be able to afford to participate…Wal Mart jumps in and COVERS the entire bill for four (thats 4) school years! Uniforms, equipment, bus trips- the works.
Wal Mart does fundraisers for the local community as well. They hold food drives. Recently my area’s food banks were really low on stock (due to the floodings)…Wal Mart donated a TON of groceries to these places AND asked customers to purchase a few items for some shared responisbility: The project filled the food banks within a week. Over filled. Go to Wal Mart’s site and look up how much a local store gives back to the communities surrounding it! Most people are shocked to learn of the BILLIONS given back.
Read some of Massachusetts Institute of Technology economist Jerry Hausman’s writings about Wal Mart. And wake up to the good this business has done for America and, YES, the world. (all pdf)
Consumer Benefits from Wal Mart
Does the BLS Know Wal Mart Exists?
As for Wal Mart importing goods from China and those places, the trade deficit- SO WHAT??? Since when is trade a BAD THING??
Oh yeah…China’s government is going to use the profits it makes from Wal Mart producing goods to fund it’s war machine. What a crock. Stupid people falling for stupid twisted reasoning (Dina the dinosaur). You cannot tell me that products made in America do not contain even smaller products that are made in…hmm…China or Mexico… John Deere imports many of it’s engine parts from…CHINA!!
It’s all a part of what capitalism is…and it’s all everything socialism is NOT. I think in the end, unions and socialism backs these attacks on American success stories like Wal Mart. Socialists cannot STAND to see capitialism at it’s best. And the Unions- well, like I said- they just want a piece of that great American pie.
August 29th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
You do know that the Washington Times is owned by the Moonies? You know that THEIR “religion” thinks a Korean is the real Jesus? The ones that married a 1,000 couples at a time? I am a simple Methodist..we raised our children in this religion. I find moonies offensive and in a direct conflict to our belief in Jesus as our savior.
You know I am speaking the truth. A simple google on who owns the Times reflects the truth.
If you believe someone, alive from Korea is the messiah..then move to Korea….
OR CONTINUE to post the Washington Times as a source you believe in…
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Washington_Times
August 29th, 2006 at 5:51 pm
Excellent post!
Maybe we should all be waiting until after November to do this, so the Dems continue to try to tighten the belts of their prime voter base right into the voting booth, LOL!
Even with all the negative feedback they’re getting on their War On Wal-Mart, as usual the Democrats will probably stick to their guns, even though it will only help them lose votes, because they’ve dug themselves in too deep to climb out without admitting they are wrong.
They should send a bill to the GOP for doing such great campaigning for Republicans.
August 29th, 2006 at 7:49 pm
nogo- GO TO HELL you freak.
Seth- I suspect the Wal Mart bashing will backfire as well on the Dems and the UNIONS. because so many people save money and because Wal Mart does do a lot for the communities they are located in. It’s not about liking Wal Mart or not…this is an attack on an American sucess story. I’ve said it before– the Democraps and liberals and leftists cannot stand success. It goes against everything they believe in.
August 29th, 2006 at 8:34 pm
Significant research has been done in this area by Prof. Kenneth Stone of Iowa State University on town in Iowa affected by Wal Mart openings.
Using sales tax records, Professor Stone compared the change in sales volume at stores located in towns where Wal-Mart opened one of its stores (a “Wal-Mart Town”), and in the neighboring towns where Wal-mart did not open a store (“Neighboring Non Wal-Mart Town”). Once Wal-Mart opens a store, what happens to all the other stores in the neighboring communities, in Iowa communities of 5,000 or fewer people?
One year after Wal-Mart opened a store in a town, in the Neighboring Non Wal-Mart Towns, at home furnishing stores the sales volume collapsed by 14%. People from the Non Wal-Mart Towns travelled to the towns where a Wal-Mart had opened, to purchase a share of their home furnishings at the Wal-Mart store. However, by the tenth year after the Wal-Mart store had opened, in the Neighboring Non Wal-Mart Towns, at home furnishing stores the sales volume had fallen a stunning 31% below the level it had been ten years earlier. A large number of home furnishing stores were forced to close.
In the Wal-Mart Towns, by the tenth year after the Wal-Mart store had opened, the sales volume at home furnishing stores had declined by only 1%. Clearly, the home furnishing stores located at Neighboring Non Wal-Mart Towns, had suffered the brunt of the damage.
In the Wal-Mart Towns, by the tenth year after the Wal-Mart store had opened, the sales volume at specialty stores (sporting goods stores, druggists, jewelry stores, card and gift shops, florists, etc.)had plunged by 17%. In the Neighboring Non Wal-Mart Towns, by the tenth year after the Wal-Mart store had opened, the sales volume at specialty stores had tumbled by 28%.
The change in sales volume for Iowa apparel stores showed a 28% decline by the tenth year in both Wal-Mart Towns and Non Wal-Mart Towns. The Wal-Mart Towns had not escaped the Wal-Mart effect.
Thus, Wal-Mart’s assertion that the sales by a range of stores in Neighboring Non Wal-Mart Towns would fall by a small amount, and that the sales volume by a range of stores in Wal-Mart Towns would rise significantly, is completely false.
By 1996, 13 years after a Wal-Mart had opened in a town, the volume of sales at department stores, which includes Wal-Mart and other large discount chains, rose by 42%. However, since 1983, sales at grocery stores fell by 11%; sales at drug stores fell by 32%; and sales at men’s and boys’ stores dropped headlong by 59%. Iowa’s retail and grocery stores, which form the underpinning of communities, had been ravaged.
The second phase of the Wal-Mart effect: the closing of stores whose revenues had collapsed. All told, a staggering 7,326 stores closed in Iowa communities of 5,000 or less people (the table covers a ten-year period through 1993; were it to cover the longer period through 1996, the number of store closings would be even greater). The health and vitality of these communities, including employment at rising wages and benefits, the generation of taxes, etc., will not be restored.
No one said TRADE is a bad thing, but I guess you have no problem with a 700 billion dollar trade DEFICIT?
For someone who thinks liberals are superior and condescending, you certainly tend to call others stupid quite a bit. How “conservatives” tend to wave the flag like crazy, but that doesn’t mean they will support the American worker or the American small town communities, nor voice any action about the trade deficit.
August 29th, 2006 at 9:16 pm
Give me a break. Iowa?? The economy of this state caused much of this, not Wal Mart! Nothing is mentioned here about the reasons these business closed shop– much had nothing to do with Wal Mart and a lot more to do with unions moving into the area and THAT forced many places to close up. A business MUST be competitive unless it is a one of kind deal. The shops that closed up could not stay competitive.
In my area the Wal Mart has been around for 10 yrs now and local business is booming. Same all over my state (NH) Same in MA. Same in Maine. Same in RI.
Same in CT. Same in NY….on and on we could go.
The Wal Mart effect? No such thing. It’s the local economy– when you have no jobs, you have people who cannot afford to shop at the expensive cafes and elite snob joints. Wal Mart fits a need there. It didn’t create the problem. This region has been repressed for years because no one who leads is able to be competitve…and everyone cowards to the unions.