Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Walmart Society
Day by day more and more Walmarts are appearing all over the country. This causes a major problem for all those "mom and pop" stores along the country, they make their money in their one area of expertise, where Walmart covers all of the aspects of any family's needs. The ability to buy anything from clothes to televisions makes Walmart a one stop shopping experience and leaves it unnecessary to go to these shops anymore basically putting them out of business. Americans will put this down and condemn it all they want but in the end they will still end up utilize the convenience of a Walmart, it is a very hypocritical stance and I for one am not immune to this. A community thrives among a bunch of people doing their own crafts and using that as their way to make an income but this becomes impossible as day by day more small, independent businesses see all their hard work go by the wayside just to watch more and more people make their way into a Walmart. There was an episode of the TV show "South Park" in where a Walmart comes in drains the community dry to where they can no longer shop anywhere but Walmart, but due to the low prices they were almost magnetically attracted due to the low prices. As a society its our job to realize that shopping at Walmart is acceptable but at the same time it is good to get quality from small shops every once and awhile.
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I completely agree. Walmart is basically taking over our country. But like you said, it's hard to not be tempted by the low prices and the ability to get all of your needs in one area. I know that when Walmart moved into the secluded area of towns around me, a bunch of small businesses had to shut down. People can't keep up with their competition. Besides the downfall of entrepreneurship and achieving the "American Dream" of establishing yourself as a business owner, we are giving up the quality of what we buy. We really need to ask ourselves if it's really worth it to buy a cheap, for example, shirt. How can you beat $5? But how long is that shirt going to last before it rips or wears out? A slightly more expensive shirt from an actual clothing store will not only look better but last longer.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that bothers me about Walmart is that they take all of their manufacturing jobs out of this country then pay their '3rd world country' workers 1/3rd of what they should be payed. And the conditions are horrible.
(http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/oct2008/db2008109_219930.htm)<--- This is an article I found telling of a Walmart supplier forcing employees to work 19 hour shifts for about $20 a month. I know other companies commit this same horrible act by buying these supplies but it just makes you think. Are the savings really worth the pain of others?
Walmart certainly is a wolf in sheep's clothing. Yet, despite my best efforts to jump on the "Boycott Walmart Bandwagon," I find, like many other honest folk, that low prices in economically depressed times = doing what's best for you and yours vs. the society at large. I hate that I must admit this. I think these folks are doing something radical--something worth thinking about:
ReplyDeletehttp://vimeo.com/925729?utm_campaign=embed&utm_source=925729
P.S.
ReplyDeleteAs I was typing this, my husband texted me to ask if I would stop at Walmart on the way home to pick up a few items for dinner.... *sigh*
I also agree that Walmart is taking over the country. It is so convenient and cheap other stores cannot possibly compete. I know when in some towns when they hear that a Walmart is going to be built they protest. In York Pa a few months ago I saw a sign on the side of a barn that said “Walmart not in my neighborhood.”
ReplyDeletehttp://www.google.com/imgres?q=walmart+cartoon&um=1&hl=en&biw=1366&bih=653&tbm=isch&tbnid=_B1gQOK3LSNSyM:&imgrefurl=http://www.witiger.com/ecommerce/cannibalization.htm&docid=NQK8nnQ2xTs5kM&w=465&h=647&ei=letsTouqC4Ll0QHIu6zcBA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=547&vpy=108&dur=589&hovh=164&hovw=118&tx=110&ty=134&page=1&tbnh=151&tbnw=109&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0
I think this cartoon is funny because it’s kind of true. Maybe one day we will all be employees at Walmart ha ha.
I agree with everything that was discussed so far 100%! I would like to say that I don't really shop at wal-mart too often; however, that would be a blatant lie. In fact, I just went their last night to pick up a couple items. I think the biggest reason Wal-Mart is so popular is because its convenient. I know of 3 different Wal-Mart's in about a 25 mile radius where I live back home. Americans today rely on quick service with everything like food (Mcdonalds), and shopping (Wal-Mart). As a society no one wants to spend all day shopping when they could get all of their shopping done at one place in record breaking time. I believe at some point individual businesses will be hard to come by.
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