Maybe slower in lower socio-economic classes, but they have their own versions of soccer practice.

Totally agree! Have set foot in a Wal-Mart once in the last year and that was to buy vacuum cleaner bags that no one else in the area had.

Could care less how much cheaper they sell things, they are running local business out of the area. Will not ever shop there unless I have no other choice.

JoeA

thanks Skip. what do you think when video games enter into this equation? these things cross every socio-economic line.

Here's the thing. You may say, "oh, this is just an issue around Shaun's liberal elite friends in the NE..." and indeed some friends are pretty well off, but most are in the high combined 5 figures and low 6, and then there's my sister, who I would consider a great mom, she stays at home, volunteers at school, very involved in the PTA, husband (GREAT guy... totally blue collar drives a truck in a small logging/construction outfit) is very middle class and while I LOVE my nephews who live in the Country (way out in Northwestern MA), they exhibit some of the same things. then there are my sort of crunchy natural friends in AZ, working class in IN, legal in MN, etc.... all over the country in quite different classes.

thing is, all their kids are dependent on their parents for things to do and sulk when they aren't having attention paid to them. Heck, when we were little kids, we'd show off for 10 minutes and then we were out of there getting into trouble. Kids today wait, and wait, sort of like the like guy on a date who's somehow got his uninterested date back to his apartment and he figures if he can just keep her there long enough, she'll break...

I think it's the way kids are being taught in schools these days coupled with video games coupled with scheduled everything with childcare/nannies, two-parent working homes. All of these things conspire to a brain dead future for our kids.

I want a mom or dad at home until 5-7, I want tax breaks for them, I want someone taking a look at how are kids are taught, I want kids out in the country more...

What?!?! And risk them catching red-state-itis??

Seriously, though, this is a good thread. Agree with most of what you've said here.

Yes, boarded up shops and business's that went bankrupt.

Ask people in smaller town what happened when wallyworld moved in...

JoeA

Subway Sandwich shops.
More of those freakin' Curves Spas.
Nail Salons.
Mortgage brokers.

There are plenty of washing machines in the front yards of MA! :)

and cash advance places - stacked one on top of the other

:D :D :D

Are you kidding? The more cushion the better the pushin'.

When Walmart doesn't provide benefits for their employees, guess who pays for their health care? That's right. Taxpayers - you and me. BTW, the top ten billionaires (according to Forbes) in the country are Waltons. Collectively, twice as wealthy as B. Gates who is numero uno.

Walmart is a business model observed by many large corporations looking to increase profits. Is this the type of business model we want to support and strive for?

http://walmartwatch.com/blog

Do you think your job is immune from this business model?

Sherwood

Two sides to every story: who would be paying their healthcare if they weren't working at all? Wal-mart provides employment to some very marginal workers.

Like their illegal alien cleaning crews that the managers lock up in the store overnight?

Right. You can't have it both ways. Wal-mart's providing jobs to people who would otherwise be on public assistance or have other low skill, low wage jobs with no health insurance. It's a lousy, low pay job at a friggin discount retailer--and people complain that they don't get Blue Cross???

My comment wasn't a justification--it was a twice-damning example of Wal-Mart's criminal business practices.

This is a false front for the real issue, and that real issue is union jobs...that is the only reason this story gets any traction...If unions or Democrats cared anything about wages and health care they would be full tilt trying to stop the flow of illegal aliens...If Democrats or unions cared for the little guy they would stop their frivolous lawsuit buddies rape and pillage of the medical industry and pharmaceuticals (lowering medical costs)...If Democrats or unions cared for the little guy they would appreciate the little guy being able to buy products for a cheap price.

Right, these lefties want to keep people down by paying them beyond what the job is worth and make career jobs out of jobs that are typically entry level employment.

So, Mul and RallyJon, you're okay with a business that is wildly successful, essentially by paying its workers so low that their lives still need to be taxpayer-subsidized? The conservative position is: Wal-Mart is an inspirational business model by using federal food stamp and medicare dollars to pay its workers.

Y'know, I coulda swore that you had a little problem with entitlement programs in general, so I'm a bit surprised to find that you support a business model that takes advantage of your tax dollars and drives small businesses bankrupt. I guess I still don't understand the conservative position. Perhaps you could outline it again for us in using this Wal-Mart model as an illustration. Please.

It's not just Wal-mart. It's most available entry level jobs for non-skilled workers. I think the conservative position, if you want to call it that, is that any time you can get someone showing up on time, punching a clock, and seeing a correlation between making an effort and getting some reward, that's a good thing for society. Full stop.

Would it be better if the local manufacturing plant was hiring and training high-school dropouts and paying them a good wage and full benefits? Sure. But back to reality...

You mean the cleaning crews that the liberal border county politicians want to have free unfettered access to America, driver's licenses, free school and medical care?...The illegal cleaning crews that eventually work their way up to having their own businesses?...You are in some intellectually dishonest way trying to say they are slave labor?

More liberal problem creating and solution offering at work...schizophrenic in its logic.