Walmart

[NanaRenan 0]

While I hate the demise of smaller stores -- Wal-Mart isn't solely to blame for that. Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc....all the MEGA-stores can share in that blame.

Wal-Marts weren't 24-hour and didn't have groceries in them back when I started shopping there in the 70s. Raising 4 kids on one income would've been a WHOLE lot more difficult if they hadn't moved into the 'burbs and put in groceries, too.

There are three in the town I live in now -- one on either end and a new one in the middle (where I live! Yippee!) Unless I'm making some new recipe and need an unusual item, I never have to go to any other grocery store to get what I need 99.9% of the time. (Boar's Head deli meats is the only exception to that rule -- gotta go to Kroger to get that!)

A lot of the 'ambience' (cleanliness, friendliness of staff, etc.) is the fault of the managers and frankly, corporate needs to be informed. They can't "fix" what they don't know about.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Well let me put my "I love Walmart" hat on. Why you ask? I'm a single mom that doesn't get child support and I'm barely making it. Walmart saves me a huge amount of money. For many of us..it's just about survival. I'm sorry but you don't have to work at Walmart if you don't want to. So don't. Then maybe Walmart will get the hint and then they will have to attract people with better benefits.

Also from my experiences, walmarts vary greatly. There are ones I refuse to go into because of how unorganized and unclean they are. Luckily there are so many I can choose which ones I want to go to.

Maybe Walmart saves you money, maybe they don't. They set their salary range based on what welfare requires. They set wages dollars below the mark where people qualify for welfare so what you are not paying in merchandise you are certainly paying in taxes.

This is one of the big issues with Walmart. People believe they are saving so much money but in reality they just pay the difference (maybe even more) in taxes. Walmart is a HUGE drain on taxpayers.

[Dibaby 0]

Maybe Walmart saves you money, maybe they don't. They set their salary range based on what welfare requires. They set wages dollars below the mark where people qualify for welfare so what you are not paying in merchandise you are certainly paying in taxes.

This is one of the big issues with Walmart. People believe they are saving so much money but in reality they just pay the difference (maybe even more) in taxes. Walmart is a HUGE drain on taxpayers.

I'm not sure what your talking about with being a huge drain on taxpayers. I don't own a home right now but I remember when I did that I paid for schools and services like the library, fire and what not. I don't remember ever paying for a Walmart or any other store. The tax I'm charged in the store is the same city tax I pay all over. Please fill me in. Thanks

[Wheetsin 714]

Wasa isn't referring to your personal property taxes.

Maybe this will help:

As states across the country struggle to balance budgets and keep their Medicaid programs in check, data from Florida and 12 other states show Wal-Mart to be a top corporate beneficiary of state-run, taxpayer-funded programs like Medicaid.

That is, the retail behemoth deliberately cuts corners on employee health care, forcing a disproportionate number of its employees into state programs in order to receive health care for themselves and their families.

Of Wal-Mart's 1.2 million employees, only about 500,000 of them receive Wal-Mart health care. That's because the employee share of premiums is so high - in some cases, up to $250 per month, about 25 percent of the average monthly salary of a Wal-Mart hourly employee - that many full-time workers simply can't afford it.

In Florida, Wal-Mart has 91,000 employees. Every time an uninsured Wal-Mart worker goes to the ER and can't afford to pay for treatments, all Floridians are picking up the bill. Meanwhile, our Medicaid system is in crisis.

As health-care costs explode and job-based coverage declines across the board, more and more hardworking Americans are being forced into an already cash-strapped system. Medicaid costs in Florida, never cheap, have more than doubled over the past 10 years, from approximately $6 billion in 1995 to more than $14 billion today. To the extent that Medicaid is in crisis, Wal-Mart is a significant part of the problem.

It might be tempting to dismiss this issue as a larger one of corporate welfare, or to argue that we're singling out Wal-Mart unfairly. But facts are facts: Wal-Mart does not just shift health-care costs onto taxpayers, it does so at a level well beyond that of any other employer.

Five employers in Florida account for 29,000 Medicaid-eligible individuals (employees or dependents). Wal-Mart's share represents 42 percent of that group. In Georgia, children of Wal-Mart employees made up over 10,000 of those on Georgia's health-care program for uninsured kids, the PeachCare for Kids program. The next largest employer, Publix, had only 700.

Wal-Mart sees no problem with this. For evidence, you can go straight to the top. In a two-day "open house" with the press at Bentonville, Ark., headquarters earlier this month, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott was asked why so many Wal-Mart employees are getting their health care from public assistance programs instead of their employer. Scott said, "In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums."

Government programs are a safety net for low-income Americans, not a competitor to the largest, most profitable company in the world. But more importantly, Scott is admitting that Wal-Mart takes advantage of public health programs for its own competitive ends: It passes costs onto taxpayers as a business strategy - not as an unfortunate consequence of some heretofore unrealized deficiency in its health-care program.

[Dibaby 0]

Thanks for the quote.

Yes healthcare in this country is a bit crazy. I mean I work for a large company in the health care industry and my insurance for myself and my child run about 200 a month. So yeah...it's a huge chunk out of my wallet too. I mean Walmart doesn't even have to offer health care at all I believe. It's a benefit. Benefits are there to attract employees. People act like its a right or something. I don't know. I mean everyone deserves to be taken care of. But I don't know if it's the responsibility of the company per say. But something needs to be done thats for sure. This issue isn't just one issue thats for sure. It's a multitude of issues.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Thanks for the quote.

Yes healthcare in this country is a bit crazy. I mean I work for a large company in the health care industry and my insurance for myself and my child run about 200 a month. So yeah...it's a huge chunk out of my wallet too. I mean Walmart doesn't even have to offer health care at all I believe. It's a benefit. Benefits are there to attract employees. People act like its a right or something. I don't know. I mean everyone deserves to be taken care of. But I don't know if it's the responsibility of the company per say. But something needs to be done thats for sure. This issue isn't just one issue thats for sure. It's a multitude of issues.

Nonono... the point is that Walmart intentionally sets wages according to each states welfare program so that their employees won't want to pay premiums. That saves Walmart money and costs YOU as a taxpayer.

You are correct, insurance is not a right. But when a huge company like this takes advantage of the welfare system, it is costing YOU money. What you save on a blanket at Walmart probably costs you double in your taxes. You have a job, you pay taxes out of your paycheck. You are paying for what Walmart does not want to pay.

Many consider that pretty scummy, including me. I refuse to shop at Walmart. That's just ONE of the gazillion crappy things they do. They have the money to pay for insurance premiums, but they'd rather YOU pay for their employee health care.

Bottom line, it may seem like you are saving money by shopping there, in reality it is likely costing you more.

[missy4gordon 0]

Let's blame Wal-Mart for Global Warming too, shall we? Hmmm, what else can we pin on them....I'm sure there's many more woe's of the world that they are responsible for, damn them.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

Let's blame Wal-Mart for Global Warming too, shall we? Hmmm, what else can we pin on them....I'm sure there's many more woe's of the world that they are responsible for, damn them.

??? Where did that come from?

Someone dares to say something negative about WallyWorld and this is the reaction?

If you are pro-Walmart, by all means I would suggest you shop there. We don't all agree, that's all.

[miztrniceguy 1]

wm may actually reduce the carbon footprint in a community because you can find more of the things you need in one place, therefore have to drive less from store to store getting all the stuff you need. one trip...less gas, less emissions.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

wm may actually reduce the carbon footprint in a community because you can find more of the things you need in one place, therefore have to drive less from store to store getting all the stuff you need. one trip...less gas, less emissions.

Probably not in my case. I live in Phoenix. Phoenix is HUGE. Mega huge. I can find just about everything I want within a mile of me. But I get your point. I'm not sure the bad outweighs the good when you look at the whole picture....

[miztrniceguy 1]

there are always pluses and minuses to everything. i consider the things that effect me personally.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

there are always pluses and minuses to everything. i consider the things that effect me personally.

Such as ... taxes?

BTW, just saw your sig. I used to live in Mission, KS many many many moons ago. Loved it!

[Kat817 19]

I understand what you are saying about the tax increase due to their manipulations. The thing is, until "everyone" chooses to boycott, until they change practices---it is not going to change, and yes we will pay more in taxes.

BUT, for someone on a tight budget, they are still going to be stuck paying the extra on taxes, even if they do go to Target, or a small local business. And we all will pay the extra until something changes. I do realize for change to take place, something has to change, and the logical thing is for us as consumers to not shop with them. But, when they can save, say $10 bucks on an electric blanket for instance (one thing I price compared recently--and the cost difference), the $10 bucks matters.

It is one of those cases of some people might want to make a stand if they could afford to make a stand.

I mean we don't get a tax break for NOT shopping there. We are going to pay the higher taxes, and also pay more for the item we are shopping for, if we go elsewhere. So when every dime counts....

Kat

[musicalmomma 1]

I understand what you are saying about the tax increase due to their manipulations. The thing is, until "everyone" chooses to boycott, until they change practices---it is not going to change, and yes we will pay more in taxes.

BUT, for someone on a tight budget, they are still going to be stuck paying the extra on taxes, even if they do go to Target, or a small local business. And we all will pay the extra until something changes. I do realize for change to take place, something has to change, and the logical thing is for us as consumers to not shop with them. But, when they can save, say $10 bucks on an electric blanket for instance (one thing I price compared recently--and the cost difference), the $10 bucks matters.

It is one of those cases of some people might want to make a stand if they could afford to make a stand.

I mean we don't get a tax break for NOT shopping there. We are going to pay the higher taxes, and also pay more for the item we are shopping for, if we go elsewhere. So when every dime counts....

Kat

:clap2: This is exactly what I was thinking, but didn't know how to word it. Great explanation!