Walmart - Good or Bad? (Chicago, Benton: buyers, income, to live in)

[matth56]

Originally Posted by Chi-town Native

Not a fan of McDonald's for that same reason.

And read the link - problems with Wal Mart go way beyond just health insurance.

It's not really a service to lower prices on things we don't need (plastic crap from China) if the price (breaking Medicare) is on things we do.

I wonder what agendas those links have in regards to Wal-Mart. Health insurance being provided by work at a highly subsidized rate is not a right either. Hell, separate health insurance from jobs and you'll go a good ways to helping to fix the health care system in ways that this Obamacare boondoggle will never fix.

Items are cheaper almost across the board including plastic crap from China as well as things people need and use on a daily basis. Is the quality the best you can get? Not always, but it allows people who can't afford the top of the line item to still get usage of that type of item.

As for breaking Medicare, Wal-Mart is not breaking it. The government needs to just get the hell out of health care while we're at it too. The end result is going to be higher costs, longer waiting times, and a decrease in quality. All of that just so a few politicians can say they are doing something.

[temp2290]

You guys didn't read anything and just assumed bias even though the link I posted is aggregated from many diverse public and private research studies. You also keep harping on just the jobs aspect... without seeing the issue as a complex, multifaceted social and economic issue.

[cap1717]

Originally Posted by temp2290

You guys didn't read anything and just assumed bias even though the link I posted is aggregated from many diverse public and private research studies. You also keep harping on just the jobs aspect... without seeing the issue as a complex, multifaceted social and economic issue.

I resemble that comment!

[temp2290]

Originally Posted by NeilVA

Most of their positions are stockers followed by a few cashiers. There are less then a half a dozen positions in the store that require a college eduaction. The rest barely require a HS education. These jobs are not meant to be lifetime jobs. These jobs are not meant for anyone past the 18-22 segment. So to require these jobs to have a liveable wage is defeating the purpose of the discount retailer. Do you think the corner bodega paid a liveable wage and excellent benefits?

Have you even been to Walmart? On what planet are you on that Walmart employs only this age group? People of all ages work at Walmart. Walmart isn't "meant" to only employ 18-22 year olds and to operate on that assumption is willfull ignorance of the struggles of ordinary people.

But keep on living in your fairy tale world where people are only struggling because they are dumb and deserve it. I'm sure you'll zip right up to heaven after you die!

[Pruzhany]

On what planet are you on that Walmart employs only this age group?

Meant means just that. Most in this age group are short term employees. They prefer this age group. But due to EEOC they hire 18-70 (or higher) and on the application pool they receive.
Older people usually hired into these positions when there is no worthwhile pool of people in the younger age groups.

Have you even been to Walmart?

Walk into a Walmart after midnight. Nearly every overnight stocker is young.

operate on that assumption is willfull ignorance of the struggles of ordinary people.

You're the one not living in the real world. You've never worked in a big box environment and thus have no clue on its reality.

[matth56]

Originally Posted by temp2290

You guys didn't read anything and just assumed bias even though the link I posted is aggregated from many diverse public and private research studies. You also keep harping on just the jobs aspect... without seeing the issue as a complex, multifaceted social and economic issue.

The whole website for that link and several others exist as an attack on Wal-Mart. Sure, some small businesses that are in the area suffer when they can't match the prices that Wal-Mart can offer, but in the end the consumer will benefit.

I don't trust for one minute anything that Berkeley puts out as being unbiased. Actually, most anything that is written has a bias to some degree. It's up to the reader to discern the bias and be able to take it into account when they decide how much trust to put into the conclusions.

To the claims they have alot of employees receiving Medicaid, so what. They hire from a lower socioeconomic class than many other businesses. They are providing jobs.

As to the lawsuits listed, who cares. Anyone can sue anyone if they want. How many judgments are found against Walmart.

So, yes, I dismiss most of what is on many of these anti-Wal-Mart links...

[prairiestate]

There's nothing complex about this. Wal Mart will provide shopping opportunities and jobs in areas where little of either exist. Who cares if they pay minimum wage or don't provide health insurance? People on the south side won't be any worse off then they are now. Try actually driving through the south side, past the tiny, dingy corner grocery stores that exist, filled primarly with junk food. Park your Lexus out front, and try telling the people going in there how lucky they are to have a small, idependent grocery store in their neighborhood. If you manage to make it out of there alive, you can go back to enjoying your gourmet markets in Hinsdale or Lincoln Park.

Also, why is Target so much better then Wal Mart on wages and selling American goods? I assume they must be, since nobody raised a fuss as Target blanketed the city with stores over the past decade.

[Milwaukee City]

If you don't like the pay, you don't have to work there. If you don't like Walmart, you don't have to shop there.

[williepotatoes]

I say godspeed to Wal-mart if they want to provide water in the vast retail deserts on the west and south sides. No other chains have stepped forward to that challenge yet. As long as they pay the legal minimum wage or better, they have my blessing.

Literally thousands of moms in the welfare-to-work program will now have opportunities to learn job skills close to home. It's win-win in my book, since they will provide people with discount shopping opportunities and also become a major source of job training for many people who have no chance of employment in their own neighborhoods.

[Humboldt1]

Temp,

I am assuming you are middle class liberal, which is fine but you should spend some time on the west and south side of Chicago where you pay exorbant prices for basic food items. Many do not have cars to drive to discount grocers and riding public transit with large bags of groceries is not very practical.

You insult the intelligence of those of us on this board with economics and finance backgrounds who spent hours studying case studies on the societal and economic implications of walmarts going into communities.

People like you and I spend ridiculous amounts of money to support local growers at the Farmers Market (I see you are in Oak Park as well). Poor people cannot afford to pay 75 cents for a donut to support the local unitarian church or 10 dollars for 2 quarts of strawberries just to support local organic growers like I did this morning. They just don't have the budget for this.

Until you live around poor people it is easy for us to see 20 dollars an hour as a living wage and that anything less is beneath us. Trust me, I know lots of poor people (emmanuel, tremain, and lena) in Humboldt Park who are happy to take the 9 dollars an hour they get at Walmart stocking shelves as they have few other options or jobs available to them. Walmart isn't good for a community but having one is better than the alternative of not for poor communities such as Austin.

Next time you are in Austin, go to the walmart and see for yourself. You will find people who cannot afford jewel or own cars to get there and who would be often times forced to buy basic necessities for much higher prices elsewhere. Btw, they used to have a jewel where they have cook brother and burlington coat (kostner and grand) right next to back side of walmart. Clearlt, the economics of the neighborhood shifted down after the 80s and 90s and the area could not afford to support a jewel.

And while the walmart in austin is in a primarily black neighborhood a large percentage of shoppers are hispanic as it gives them better pricing than local hispanic stores and chains.

Why they don't hire more spanish speaking people is beyond me other than there are probably community pressures to hire blacks. I have seen this start to change as communication is tough when you speak a different language than many of your shoppers.