Why do liberals have such a hatred for WalMart?

[aways]

WalMart has been a lifesaver for many lower-middleclass folks who can't afford to shop in the trendy establishments patronized by the leftist elites. Since lefties are always purporting to champion the poor and down-trodden, it seems ironic that they want to drive WalMarts out of business. Please don't give me the excuse that WalMart doesn't pay employees enough, it goes deeper than that. After all, living in SoCal, I've never met a well-to-do liberal who had any qualms whatsoever about hiring an illegal housemaid at sub-minimum wage to tidy up their million dollar home.

[IROC]

I'm not a liberal, but I'm not a big fan of WalMart because they have moved in and essentially closed down most of the places that I used to shop. Now I have to drive miles from home to stand in line at a Super WalMart that has 42 checkout lanes and 3 cashiers working.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I hate Walmart.

Mike

[legion]

Ever see the South Park on Wal-Mart?

While it doesn't directly address this question, it does address the phenomena of Wal-Mart.

[gaijindabe]

Cause it aint the way they remember it as kids. So that means they are getting older and will one day die.

I kind of miss the creaky wooden floor in LH Martins....

[Drago]

Originally posted by IROC
I'm not a liberal, but I'm not a big fan of WalMart because they have moved in and essentially closed down most of the places that I used to shop. Now I have to drive miles from home to stand in line at a Super WalMart that has 42 checkout lanes and 3 cashiers working.

Ditto, except I refuse to set foot in a Walmart.

[bryanthompson]

One of my aunts is a rabid walmart hater. I asked her why she hated them so much and I got a flood of obscenities, incoherent statements, outright lies, and just plain idiocy. Made no sense whatsoever. Any partial point she made couldn't be explained when I asked her to clarify. She hates walmart because she thinks she's supposed to, yet she still goes there.

My former boss doesn't shop at walmart, because his wife's fabric store was forced out of business when Walmart moved to town. He goes to the grossly overpriced radioshack and other downtown businesses and grocery stores. Instead of rambling like an idiot, he has this one valid point that he uses. That's good enough.

I love walmart.

[aways]

Originally posted by Drago
Ditto, except I refuse to set foot in a Walmart.

I don't particularly like to shop in WalMart either, but that's not my question. Why do liberal elites want to prevent people from shopping there if they want/need to? Answer: In reality they don't give a ***** about lower-income people, they just want their votes on election day.

[bryanthompson]

aways, do you think that will change when/if walmart workers unionize? I remember hearing rumblings about unionization a few months ago.

[legion]

My wife and I do most of our grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Why? Because I prefer to pay $2.50 for a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch instead of $3.75 for the exact same box at Jewel. The produce at Wal-Mart always sucks, but the produce at every grocery store has sucked this summer because of the drought. We've taken to buying produce at the local farmer's market in the summer (it only goes on during the summer).

Bottom line? Wal-Mart is good brand name stuff, but I avoid them for everything else. I don't hate them because they have a successful business model. I just take advantage of them where it suits me.

[skipdup]

My father-in-law does not like their business practices. He has been a supplier of several different products to them(at one time, his magazine accounted for more revenue than all other magazines' revenue, combined). I can't remember exactly why or how... But his gripe was they have such huge buying power, it drives both the competition and suppliers out of business - unless you play ball (at their price) exactly how they dictate.

btw, he is Ultra-Conservative.

- Skip

[techweenie]

What pundit claimed it was a liberal/conservative issue?

The loss of small, neighborhood businesses that are responsive to local needs will ultimately be destructive to smaller communities (that's true of all mass discount stores, but WalMart is the most successful, and therefore the key target of protest).

WalMart has had policies of skirting minimum wage and hourly rules in order to avoid paying legally-mandated employment benefits. Many WalMart employees in the past have been able to qualify for public assistance, food stamps, etc. while still working all the hours WalMart was willing to give them. That may or may not be current policy -- I haven't kept up.

[legion]

Skip,

I've heard this about Wal-Mart. I also remember hearing it about Sears 20-30 years ago. The fact is, that over time, many suppliers will decide that the increased sales are not worth selling each unit at or near a loss (but we all know you can make up per-unit losses on volume ). Further, it puts them in a precarious position should Wal-Mart ever decide to walk away. You can't sell products without suppliers.

[Rodeo]

Originally posted by aways
I don't particularly like to shop in WalMart either, but that's not my question. Why do liberal elites want to prevent people from shopping there if they want/need to? Answer: In reality they don't give a ***** about lower-income people, they just want their votes on election day.

See that! Ask a question, then 20 minutes later, ignore the responses and answer the question yourself.

The problem with political dialogue in this country is perfectly mirrored on this board. Everyone is just talking over each other's heads. Hoping to hear the echo of their own voices bounce back to them I guess.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled preconceived notions and biases ...

I do like your car though

[legion]

Don't hate da playa, hate da game.

[RallyJon]

With respect to pricing of commodity products, such as legion's Cinnamon Toast Crunch (and many other items): shouldn't you be much angrier at the sleazy rapacious bastard of a local retailer who was overcharging you before Wal-mart came along and showed you how much you were overpaying?

And let's not forget that the main battle is between giants, and bigger giants. Wal-mart is putting much more of a squeeze on supermarket chains, low-end clothing chains, and other category killers like Home Depot than it is harming small specialty stores. A retailer who differentiates with superior service and high quality, branded product that Wal-mart can't or won't sell, will do just fine. A smalltown "general store" selling basic household products who's overcharged his customers all these years with a warm folksy smile better be afraid, though.

[skipdup]

Originally posted by legion
...The fact is, that over time, many suppliers will decide that the increased sales are not worth selling each unit at or near a loss (but we all know you can make up per-unit losses on volume ). .

That exactly what he did. He walked and won't do business with them any longer..

I believe WalMart also likes binding exclusivity. Once they get you locked in, they beat your price down...

It's apparent there are two side which dislike WalMart, for very different reasons.

My .02... If an employee needs to make more money, they are free to go to another employer who will pay them what they are worth. Somethin about free economy comes to mind.... where's Supe when you need him?

[skipdup]

Originally posted by RallyJon
With respect to pricing of commodity products, such as legion's Cinnamon Toast Crunch (and many other items): shouldn't you be much angrier at the sleazy rapacious bastard of a local retailer who was overcharging you before Wal-mart came along and showed you how much you were overpaying?
...

I wonder if the difference between procurement price between local retailer & walmart could have anything to do selling price by the same?

- Skip

[aways]

Originally posted by Rodeo
See that! Ask a question, then 20 minutes later, ignore the responses and answer the question yourself.

The problem with political dialogue in this country is perfectly mirrored on this board. Everyone is just talking over each other's heads. Hoping to hear the echo of their own voices bounce back to them I guess.

Now back to your regularly-scheduled preconceived notions and biases ...

I do like your car though

Here's another one of my preconceived notions: Liberals will take any issue an personalize it, usually through an ad hominem personal attack.
Let me guess: You're a liberal.?

Thanks for the compliment on my car though.

[legion]

I'm not going to fault a potential supplier for refusing to do business with Wal-Mart either, they have to do what is right for them. If I were running a small business, I wouldn't put myself in a position of relying on one customer even if it meant foregoing huge short-term profit.

[nostatic]

Predatory business practices among other things...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wal-mart#Criticism