Wally World
We've all had them, and they suck.Wal-Mart, that is.
Where I live, we're undergoing a development boom of monstrous proportions. Land that cost around $5500 an acre back when we bought our little slice of heaven, is being sold, less than a mile as the crow flies from my farm, for $100,000 an acre. While that is insane, the financial aspects of the situation do not escape me.
Momentary greed-induced delirium aside, I must make the point that money clouds judgment. Looking at all that money tends to skew your data. It's like a chocolate counter during PMS or a very short skirt when it's been too damn long; creative accounting begins at home.
Having a big pile of money for my dirt cannot replace what that dirt actually is: a safe haven of teaching, interacting and developing the minds of my children, a slice of rustic stress-be-gone for my husband and me. It's also, tied so intricately that the strings are unseen, the root-place of this little American family. This is where the tears fall, knees are skinned, children were made, and values (like tolerance, respect, and open-mindedness) are instilled.
Greed is the reason for the lies that are undoing this administration. Lies were told, and more lies to support the original lies, strictly for profit. Greed usurps the goodness in people, it overwhelms potential in the individual and replaces it with stuff. We're turning from a nation of creators into a nation of Wal-Mart shoppers.
And we're making China billions.
posted by Jet @ 5:43 PM
15 Comments:
Damn dirty Wal-Mart. They're the retail version of Karl Rove: absolute genius, but completely rotten to the core.
Wal-Mart sucks, and so does everybody who thinks land and property are just something to exploit and use for speculation. Too much farmland is being converted to malls and condos. Where do these people think food is going to come from if all the farmland gets paved over?
Hey Brad, glad you stopped by. Wal-mart is insidious. Remember how 10 years or so ago they had American flags on all their products and they were touting how thier stuff was all American made? Ain't happening. Hundreds of small American companies are now closed down, and China is Wal-mart's primary product source.
Mr. Harper's in the house! Cool beans. People think the food will come, and that's exactly what fertilizer and pesticide manufacturers want thought. Their products infuse the soil for a single crop, but leave nothing in reserve. Once a farmer relies on the product, they have to continue to apply them in order to force the depleted soil to produce. It's heroin for the earth, and we all enjoy the benifits of the trace elements of these chemicals in our systems. What's a little cancer if money is being made, eh?
It's quite telling that one of the most depressed areas of Los Angeles (Inglewood, CA) successfully fought against a Walmart going in to their area. They researched Walmart's practices, their history, knew only too well that Walmart makes empty promises to communities and ruins small businesses in those communities - they fought like hell and won. Walmart didn't think they'd do it, and were mighty surprised. We cheered.
Jet, I hope you hang on to that land of yours, pass it to your kids, and maintain an oasis of peace and loamy comfort (and cow smells) in the middle of the exburban desert for at least another generation. Watch out for eminent domain though. Yikes!
I've always wondered why the building of giant rectangular retail opperations was considered "development," rather than scourge or blight inflicted upon us...just a thought....
Frstlymil, sounds like that little community had some real backbone. Theres a small city south of me who drew the line in the sand with Wal-Hell. They moved their action one small town up that has crappy commisioners. One blight, coming up. Small town dies...film at eleven.
Man BK, give me the willies won't you? Hey kids, I planned to give you the farm, but here's a nickle instead.
OK Dem, I admire you for voting with your feet. A business as immoral and profit driven as Wal-Mart only pays attention if people stop shopping.
Windspike, I thought you were a vacationing Super-Dad! Those boxes are the beginning of the end for many small businesses.
Ask not for whom the box tolls; it tolls for thee.
Tracey, here in Florida, we have two chains, Dollar General and Family Dollar, where I purchase all my stuff. Cleaning supplies, food staples and kids clothes are comparable quality and frequently less expensive than Wally World. The Wal-Mart marketing strategy is to place the loss leader on the endcap. It is always really cheap. Where the money is made is down the aisle, where people buy similar items that perhaps have better features, etc., but the assumption that they are also the cheapest is incorrect. This strategy has proved extremely profitable for Wal-Mart.
There are other retailers with good value. They get my business.
OK Dem, I'm with you. All that corporate charity by taxpayers burns my butt.
*off the subject*
It's working again, or at least it is from where I'm at. Did you get it fixed?
Yes! I sent you an email on it. No more pre-mature post cut off! Woo hoo!
Dollar General and Family Dollar are not "everything's a dollar" type stores. They are discount retailers who offer dry-goods, cleaning supplies, clothing, garden items, paper products and a host of other stuff, including swim goggles. ;-D
Their prices are always rounded to the nearest dollar or half dollar. For example, cans of vegetable are 50 cents, 3 pack plain paper towels are $1.00. You won't find 99 cent items that creep up to $1.09, then $1.29 etc.
For my family, this solution works, and eliminates a lot of the impulse spending Wal-Mart seems to induce.
Hey Jet - No longer vacationing. Done with the visit with family. I need a vaction from the vacation.
Blog on Sister.
Jet, you are so correct. As you, and anybody else who regularly swings by my blog knows, I *despise* Wallyworld, and I has some disdain for their shoppers who are aware of their anti-American practices, yet ignore them with a shrug of their shoulders. THEY are a big part of the problem!
I *refuse* to give them a red cent, and I try my best to inform my friends and family on what they do to threaten our very existence as a nation by lining the pockets of our cold war lite enemy; China. I try to point out how they harm small cities and communities, as well as our environment. On top of that, I try to explain ways you can shop elsewhere and even save money over that which Wal-Mart would save you IF you are willing to get away from the need for "instant gratification" by shopping more on the Internet.
Wallyworld is truly a wicked, evil Monopoly and I wish them, and their co-horts nothing but bad luck. W/W represents the true evil that can come of pure capitalism allowed to run amock within a society.
Hey Windspike, I know the feeling. Nothing like non-stop parenting to wear a body out. ;-D
Tracey, I don't know where your friend is, but a little googling might give you some answers on whether those chains are represented in her area.
GTL, I completely agree, and my money doesn't go there. It's the only thing they'll listen too. I saw today that Costco stock was up and Sam's was down. I don't think we're the only ones drawing the line. Costco, while not perfect, is a far better corporate citizen than their competition.
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