NationStates Jolt Archive

And again, it's a boon to the public to have Walmart out there. If they had only started this program before our government wasted all that money on the senior citizen vote buying scandal, aka the prescription drug benefit.

article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060921/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_health_care_8)


TAMPA, Fla. - Wal-Mart announced today that it will start a test program in Florida, where it will sell generic prescription drugs for $4 for a 30-day supply. The test will start tomorrow in 65 Tampa Bay-area stores and is to expand to the whole state by January.

Those WalMart fiends!

I keep reading "The Empire Strikes Back".

Soon, all stores will be Walmart and all restuarants Taco Bell.

Soon, all stores will be Walmart and all restuarants Taco Bell.

Well at least that will get rid of Burger King.

Soon, all stores will be Walmart and all restuarants Taco Bell.

*Shudder*
Let us all pray that that never happens.

Seriously that's perhaps the biggest reason I don't like these large mega-corporations. The little cosy local interesting stores all go out of business and are "annexed" to the Mega Corp.

Well at least that will get rid of Burger King.

With Starbucks in each one.

With Starbucks in each one.

Hey! I like Starbucks!

You will be assimilated!

With Starbucks in each one.

Starbucks never kept me sitting on a toilet for nearly an hour at a stretch while foul-smelling fluids drained from my digestive system. Burgur King has done that.

Well at least that will get rid of Burger King.
Burger King may not be ideal, but it is, at least, better than Taco Bell. Think of the onion rings, man, the onion rings!

WalMart is good for America's poor for various reason. It's sufficiently large to act as an anti-inflationary force, it keeps prices down, it provides a large quantity of jobs (not just low level either, but also higher service type jobs in logistics and management).

But nooooooooo...so many leftists have this irrational hatred for those in a position of power, that they have a knee-jerk reaction of hatred to WalMart, even though it's doing good things for America's poor.

*Shudder*
Let us all pray that that never happens.

Seriously that's perhaps the biggest reason I don't like these large mega-corporations. The little cosy local interesting stores all go out of business and are "annexed" to the Mega Corp.

...Okay, what's this thing about local stores going out of business?

Starbucks never kept me sitting on a toilet for nearly an hour at a stretch while foul-smelling fluids drained from my digestive system. Burgur King has done that.

You just haven't had the biscotti.

WalMart is good for America's poor for various reason. It's sufficiently large to act as an anti-inflationary force, it keeps prices down, it provides a large quantity of jobs (not just low level either, but also higher service type jobs in logistics and management).

But nooooooooo...so many leftists have this irrational hatred for those in a position of power, that they have a knee-jerk reaction of hatred to WalMart, even though it's doing good things for America's poor.

I read an article in my local paper that said something like one in 20 people around here works for walmart, and then it said that 90% of them have health insurance.

It went on (after it was continued of the first page) to say that 80% of the people with insurance are getting medicaid (that's welfare insurance) and that 40% of them recieve food stamps and other government assitance because walmart isn't paying them enough to raise a family.

...Okay, what's this thing about local stores going out of business?

You know. Local stores always tend to go out of business once some corporate giant moves into town.

I just dread the day all of our products come from only a very very few Mega-corporations.

Despite what people say and their constant griping about Wal-Mart, they obviously still shop there.

Wal-Mart, due to the variety of products, is extremely convenient. Instead of having to go to 3 or 4 different stores, with the Supercenter you only have one stop.

Wal-Mart is good for the prices, always low prices. It keeps the customers from having to go to some over priced stores who before Wal-Mart made huge profits.

However, when Sam Walton was in charge before he died, his dream was to have an American store, made by America, to offer the American people lower prices. Also, I don't feel Sam wanted to monopolize and force local businesses out of business.

Since his death, his kids have destroyed his dream. Now most products in Wal-Mart, are made in either China or Tiawan. Now we have the Supercenters going up like crazy and forcing many local businesses out because they can't keep up with the low prices.

Bottom Line: I still shop at the Supercenter for one, the convenience of one-stop and secondly, the low prices.

But nooooooooo...so many leftists have this irrational hatred for those in a position of power, that they have a knee-jerk reaction of hatred to WalMart, even though it's doing good things for America's poor.
So many leftists don't have the attitude that the poor should just be grateful for whatever they get.

Walmart provides job, but think of the many more jobs in the shops that Walmart replaced.

Starbucks never kept me sitting on a toilet for nearly an hour at a stretch while foul-smelling fluids drained from my digestive system. Burgur King has done that.
....ew! We didn't need to hear that!

So many leftists don't have the attitude that the poor should just be grateful for whatever they get.

Walmart provides job, but think of the many more jobs in the shops that Walmart replaced.

Actually, I believe Wal-Mart Supercenter brings in more jobs than the overall loss in jobs, Wal-Mart is a huge store open 24hrs/day 7 days a week. Wal-Mart are also building new stores closer to each other. Also, with the land mass that Wal-mart buys, they also rent out lots for many different stores, restraunts, and gas stations. I do believe you are incorrect in your assumptions that more jobs are lost. :D

Just to let you guys know. I had the most horrible experience at WalMart.

I was on vacation in Orlando, Florida living in a villa with two families. We had came to see all the major theme parks, sample the breakfast buffets and generally American culture for two weeks.

The very first night we got into the villa, we needed to shop for supplies. The local WalMart was the closest store. In the store, it was absolutely massive compared to what I'd seen in Britain. Ginormous. That's the only way to describe it.

I digress. I looked all the way up and down isles for a while, looking for general supplies and found things you wouldn't get in a UK supermarket. Guns and bikes were the strangest things I saw. Also the Micky D's I saw was also disconcerting. As well as the pool full of Lobsters. Poor things... I love Lobsters...

I digress however. When we finally got around to getting to the checkout we waited...

THREE HOURS

Three hours to get in line, pay and leave the checkout. This was a culmination of several problems. The size of shopping people had. There were two families in front of us with two of the biggest trolleys. And you know what they did? They had only little bit of shopping to begin with, and while they waited in line, their kids went off and got more! It was ridiculous. Everyone treated it like the norm. Everyone was doing it.

The checkout assistants didn't help matters. They were ridiculously slow at running items through. Once a manager was called in to sort out some discrepancy.

There was also a hell of a lot of people. A real hell of a lot. There must have been a couple hundred trolleys, with five member families tied to each one. Thing is there probably wasn't anywhere else to shop. No other stores to take in the overflow.

We made our supplies last for almost the entire fortnight. The one time we needed to get milk and a few other things it only took 1 hour.

I read an article in my local paper that said something like one in 20 people around here works for walmart, and then it said that 90% of them have health insurance.

It went on (after it was continued of the first page) to say that 80% of the people with insurance are getting medicaid (that's welfare insurance) and that 40% of them recieve food stamps and other government assitance because walmart isn't paying them enough to raise a family.

Now the next logical step would be to do the rest of the research and find all the people that lost their job because Wal-mart came into town and see if they were getting insurance. I can almost guarantee you that the gas station/ book store/ grocery store/ hardware store/ etc. did not get insurance to over 10% of their employees. The jobs were paying the same, they were just more spread out so you didn't see them.

Now the next logical step would be to do the rest of the research and find all the people that lost their job because Wal-mart came into town and see if they were getting insurance. I can almost guarantee you that the gas station/ book store/ grocery store/ hardware store/ etc. did not get insurance to over 10% of their employees. The jobs were paying the same, they were just more spread out so you didn't see them.

yeah, I think you missed my point.

....ew! We didn't need to hear that!

No, but you needed to see it in print.

yeah, I think you missed my point.

Sorry if I did. Did you mean to say that Wal-mart was not paying them enough and wasn't providing them with insurance but the government was having to do it?

You just haven't had the biscotti.

Not only have I had a biscotto (singular), but I've had a stuck up barista dickhead try to correct my Italian by insisting I use the plural, biscotti, to refer to a single one.

Yay! More incentive to keep drugs from going generic! :D

Sorry if I did. Did you mean to say that Wal-mart was not paying them enough and wasn't providing them with insurance but the government was having to do it?

well, I just re-read my post and realized that it's missing a paragraph, I have no clue what happened, but since I can assume you are not psychic I have to apologize for jumping down your throat.

I have three semi-coherent points, most of them actually made it into the post

1 walmart hires a lot of people

2 they try to misrepresent the jobs there as "good jobs", like in the article I read where the local guy in charge says "90% of our people have health insurance"

3 walmart does hire a lot of people, they aren't good jobs, and if you work there it's really your fault, if you want a job with insurance get a job with insurance, if you can't, it's not really walmart's fault.


see? not even coherent. I blame Nyquil.

well, I just re-read my post and realized that it's missing a paragraph, I have no clue what happened, but since I can assume you are not psychic I have to apologize for jumping down your throat.

I have three semi-coherent points, most of them actually made it into the post

1 walmart hires a lot of people

2 they try to misrepresent the jobs there as "good jobs", like in the article I read where the local guy in charge says "90% of our people have health insurance"

3 walmart does hire a lot of people, they aren't good jobs, and if you work there it's really your fault, if you want a job with insurance get a job with insurance, if you can't, it's not really walmart's fault.


see? not even coherent. I blame Nyquil.

And if you don't like the way they treat their workers you don't need to shop there. I don't.

<3

You know. Local stores always tend to go out of business once some corporate giant moves into town.

I just dread the day all of our products come from only a very very few Mega-corporations.

Why?

And if you don't like the way they treat their workers you don't need to shop there. I don't.
good for you. there is nothing I hate more than a hypocrite.

well, I just re-read my post and realized that it's missing a paragraph, I have no clue what happened, but since I can assume you are not psychic I have to apologize for jumping down your throat.

I have three semi-coherent points, most of them actually made it into the post

1 walmart hires a lot of people

2 they try to misrepresent the jobs there as "good jobs", like in the article I read where the local guy in charge says "90% of our people have health insurance"

3 walmart does hire a lot of people, they aren't good jobs, and if you work there it's really your fault, if you want a job with insurance get a job with insurance, if you can't, it's not really walmart's fault.


see? not even coherent. I blame Nyquil.
My throat feels alot better without you in it. Of course, it still feels pretty crappy...are you sick too?

I agree with whoever said that if you don't like Walmart, don't shop there. People fail to realize the power of the consumer.

My throat feels alot better without you in it. Of course, it still feels pretty crappy...are you sick too?

I agree with whoever said that if you don't like Walmart, don't shop there. People fail to realize the power of the consumer.

I am pretty sick, temp is 102.4, I just got tired of laying around today.

my posts are almost always better than today, I promise.

yeah, I agree if you want to change how a business is run, just quit going. I used to own a restraunt and customers are everything.

I am favorably impressed by the failure of anyone to find anything wrong with Walmart's plan to market generic drugs. They are surely doing it at a loss, unless they are also going to Canada to buy their drugs.

Starbucks never kept me sitting on a toilet for nearly an hour at a stretch while foul-smelling fluids drained from my digestive system. Burgur King has done that.
Please don't do that... I'm eating a BK double cheeseburger right now. :p

But nooooooooo...so many leftists have this irrational hatred for those in a position of power, that they have a knee-jerk reaction of hatred to WalMart, even though it's doing good things for America's poor.
Why is Chinamart so unloved. (Sacarsm)
Maybe if they made their products in the US I'd have more respect for them.
Why?

It's called a monopoly. Then they'll charge you whatever the hell they want. If one week they decide they want to charge five bucks for a dozen eggs, there is no where to go to get a different price.

Soon, all stores will be Walmart and all restuarants Taco Bell.

taco bell is not a restaurant. and its not worldwide.

It's called a monopoly. Then they'll charge you whatever the hell they want. If one week they decide they want to charge five bucks for a dozen eggs, there is no where to go to get a different price.
However, Wal-mart wouldn't remain a monopoly unless it kept its prices low because it isn't a natural monopoly. Retail stores don't have abnormally high barriers to entry.

Why is Chinamart so unloved. (Sacarsm)
Maybe if they made their products in the US I'd have more respect for them.

I know this is a tough one to understand, but Walmart sells what it doe because, and only because, it's what the customers want to buy. If I want a towel and I want to buy the egyptian cotton one, with a thread count of a million, I'm not going to Walmart. But if I want to buy a towel that will work and doesn't cost more than a couple bucks, I'm headed to the superstore.

taco bell is not a restaurant. and its not worldwide.

*As the "Demolition Man" reference whooshes right over Swilatias' head*

And again, it's a boon to the public to have Walmart out there. If they had only started this program before our government wasted all that money on the senior citizen vote buying scandal, aka the prescription drug benefit.

article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060921/ap_on_bi_ge/wal_mart_health_care_8)

Those @#$%^&*( eating gutter roamin' Wal<art #&ses!!!!

They are only trying to drive the Canadian pharmaceutical and geriatric tourism industries to bankruptcy. Just watch, once there is no competition the prices will skyrocket again. Mark my words, but not with an El Marko purchased at Wall Mart.

It is my personal opinion that one day in the future, towns will no longer have Wal-Marts, but that Wal-Marts will have towns. I swear, having a McDonalds in the damn Wally World is just retarded.

You know. Local stores always tend to go out of business once some corporate giant moves into town.

I just dread the day all of our products come from only a very very few Mega-corporations.

You fail to take into consideration the ability of the market to adjust. Take Lawn equiptment for example. The companies that get "Walmartized" ie are under contract to supply goods to Walmart, are under increasing annual pressure to lower thier prices. To do that they use imported parts and labor and thier quality drops. Walmart now has $99 throw away lawn mowers. They expect you to use them for a season or two and toss them. There are people that want to buy a tractor that will last 35 years and are willing to pay top dollar for one. There are always people that want a quality that Walmart due to thier business model either cant or wont provide. This should be the role of "other companies" Dont fight the existence of Walmart, take advantage of its weaknesses and grow strong on them.

Wal-Mart treats its workers as well as they have to by law. If that isn't enough, maybe we need to address the legislation (ie. raise minimum wage, health care bebefits, etc). Starting wages for most employees in supermarkets where I live is $7.00/hour and they hire as many part-time employees as possible instead of full-time employees so they can save on benefits costs. That means most cashiers, baggers, and the clerks that stock the shelves cannot live on their salary from the supermarket alone. I know this because I used to work there. Also, Wal-Mart has recently agreed to hire union workers in some of their Chinese retail stores due to pressure from workers and the government. So why hasn't it happened here in the states? Probably because alot of people are happy with it just the way it is.

So quit pointing your fat fingers at Wal-Mart and screaming "FOUL!" The real problem lies in the legislation.

Honestly, I don't know how Wal-Mart can offer to sell a month's supply of even generic drugs for $4. Shipping costs, stocking costs, and production costs of drugs should far exceed $4.

Well, until now, I never heard of that $4 generic drug thing.

Anyways, if it's true, it's probably to cut some slack on the critics RE: Wal-Marts employee health benefits.

WalMart is good for America's poor for various reason. It's sufficiently large to act as an anti-inflationary force, it keeps prices down, it provides a large quantity of jobs (not just low level either, but also higher service type jobs in logistics and management).

But nooooooooo...so many leftists have this irrational hatred for those in a position of power, that they have a knee-jerk reaction of hatred to WalMart, even though it's doing good things for America's poor.

like allowing them to Unionize?

oh, wait...

Wal-Mart has been criticized for their aggressive policies against labor unions. In North America, the company has largely thwarted unionization through aggressive anti-union tactics such as managerial surveillance and pre-emptive closures of stores or departments who choose to unionize. Wal-Mart's anti-union policy at home is also used in Canada, as well as several other countries. For example, when workers at a Jonquière, Quebec Wal-Mart voted to unionize, Wal-Mart closed the store five months later, citing weak profits.