Wal-Mart: Our shoppers are running out of money

[BridgeTroll]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

[Traveller]

When gas hits $6 a gallon, are people more likely to:

(a) Drive to multiple M&P shops to buy one item at each, or

(b) Drive to Wal-Mart where they can do all their weekly shopping in one location?

[danem]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

The South Park "Wal-mart" episode was clever in this regard. At the end, after they burn down the "Wal-mart", over time the mom and pop store gets really popular, becomes its own big box store, and they burn that down too. 

[ChriswUfGator]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

Actually it epitomizes what's wrong with American business today. WalMart is a parasitic entity that buys largely from China and has wrecked the local economies in many communities where it operates. Add to that the fact that WalMart wouldn't exist if it hadn't figured out how to undercompensate its workforce to such an extent that the taxpayers are actually subsidizing this company's operations via medicaid/medicare and state welfare and charitable assistance programs, since they provide little or no health coverage, and don't pay their employees a livable wage.

[KenFSU]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

WalMart has wrecked the local economies in many communities where it operates.

Where's the data to back this up? Yes, Walmart has put many "mom and pops" out of business (or more appropriately, the mom and pops have gone out of business for not being innovative enough to compete), and yes, they've killed some small downtowns in the process, but in the aggregate, most studies that I've read suggest that Walmart has had long-term positive economic impacts on communities it operates in. If it's fair to say that Walmart has wrecked local economies in many communities, then it is also fair to point out the fact that it has also greatly improved many local economies as well, and improved the quality of life of millions upon millions of shoppers, both low income and higher. Mom and Pops certainly aren't offering $4 perscriptions.

[BridgeTroll]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

Actually it epitomizes what's wrong with American business today. WalMart is a parasitic entity that buys largely from China and has wrecked the local economies in many communities where it operates. Add to that the fact that WalMart wouldn't exist if it hadn't figured out how to undercompensate its workforce to such an extent that the taxpayers are actually subsidizing this company's operations via medicaid/medicare and state welfare and charitable assistance programs, since they provide little or no health coverage, and don't pay their employees a livable wage.

LOL... you will never fit all that on a bumper sticker...

[BridgeTroll]

AND... They pay their taxes!

http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/news/1004/gallery.top_5_tax_bills/index.html

Tax bills for 5 corporate giants
The 2009 income tax bills for America's biggest companies ranged from $0 to $15 billion. Here's why.

Wal-Mart Stores: $7.1 billionU.S. federal: $5.3 billion
U.S. state and local: $677 million
International: $1.1 billion

Before taxes, the world's largest retailer banked $22.1 billion in profit. After deductions and factoring in its international operations, the company still paid just under a third of that back in taxes to various governments.

The federal tax rate for corporations is 35%. Wal-Mart's effective income tax rate came in just under that, at 32.4%

It works the same way for individuals. Just as a person can lower his or her tax rate through deductions and credits, so too can major corporations, said Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation.

But remember, income taxes aren't the only payments major companies make to the IRS. "Wal-Mart probably collects and pays more sales taxes than any other company on earth," Hodge said.

By Annalyn Censky, staff reporter

[dougskiles]

I don't care either way whether Wal-mart succeeds or fails.  I have nothing personal against the management, employees or customers.  IF higher fuel costs make their business model no longer feasible, I would be extremely upset if the government decides to bail them out somehow.  Just like I was extremely disappointed with the feds for bailing out the automakers.

I prefer mom and pop stores - probably because I am a small business owner myself.  Nobody knows for sure how those businesses would fare in a higher priced fuel ecomony.  Any reasonably intelligent person could make a compelling argument for either their success or failure when compared to someone like Wal-mart.

That said, I have raised my standards - I am now wishing for $7/gallon gas!  Take that you Wal-mart lovers! (how is that for name calling?)

[Timkin]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

Actually it epitomizes what's wrong with American business today. WalMart is a parasitic entity that buys largely from China and has wrecked the local economies in many communities where it operates. Add to that the fact that WalMart wouldn't exist if it hadn't figured out how to undercompensate its workforce to such an extent that the taxpayers are actually subsidizing this company's operations via medicaid/medicare and state welfare and charitable assistance programs, since they provide little or no health coverage, and don't pay their employees a livable wage.

Agree Chris... as I stated in a previous posting , Sam Walton probably never ever envisioned a corporation that would put so many Mom and Pops , Grocers , etc out of business.  I really do not believe he would have wanted it this way.

[danno]

I blame FBC.

[peestandingup]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

They may have started "homegrown", but they're pretty far away from that now. In trying to get goods for as cheap as possible, they basically have to import everything from China & its usually crap quality. That's not helping things & is one of the major reasons why we're in such big trouble as a country right now (we don't produce anything, hardly anything's truly local anymore & we outsource to other countries too much, all for some giant corp to increase their bottom line).

Plus, how exactly does any of what they do help the communities they're in? Yeah, they employ people from around the area, but that's basically it. There's really no other investment in the local community at all. It's safe to say a mom & pop would do more than that just because of how they usually operate.

Speaking of employment, as much as they rake in a year, Wal-Mart really should be a great place to work with livable wages & full benefits, but its not. Just ask my sister. She worked for them back home for almost 15 years & ended up getting laid off. Now all she's got to show for it is a twisted up back from all the heavy lifting they made her do.

[Timkin]

I blame FBC.

Can I get an amen !

[KenFSU]

Sam Walton probably never ever envisioned a corporation that would put so many Mom and Pops , Grocers , etc out of business.  I really do not believe he would have wanted it this way.

Or, he would look at the fact that his business was able to dramatically increase the quality of life for tens of millions of people by allowing their dollar to stretch much further, free up income for extra luxuries people otherwise couldn't have afforded, provide $4 prescription drugs to families who otherwise couldn't afford medication, and offer stable employment for over one million workers (economics 101: stable employers can find workers for a lower salary than unstable employers due to the benefit of job security). Considering this, Sam Walton might just be proud of what his company has become, rather than boo-hooing because he didn't stop the free market from doing its job and offer more charity to the Mom and Pops. Sucks for the small local grocers, but the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. If a big corporation can offer an entire community groceries for 25% cheaper, you don't sacrifice that for the romantic notion that a local grocer should be the one peddling more expensive goods instead. Let the local grocer find a way to differentiate and market his own product. If he succeeds, fantastic. If he fails, that's how the market works. It's not like Walmart won't one day suffer the same fate when someone comes along with an idea about how to do things even better.

[finehoe]

If he succeeds, fantastic. If he fails, that's how the market works.

Unless you're a Wall Street bankster.  In that case, if you succeed, fantastic; if you fail, you get the taxpayer to bail you out.

[ChriswUfGator]

It really blows me away... the animosity towards walmart.  This is a genuine homegrown American business success story.  Employs thousands of people, sells the folks what they want at a price they can afford.  Walmart is a lesson in innovation, marketing, buying and selling... and apparently has become sooooo freeking good at it... it is now the target of hate that some folks appear to actually want it to FAIL!  You guys are amazing!

Next thing ya know you will be hoping for Apple to fail... how about Microsoft?  Any other American successes you object to?

  Fire away...

WalMart has wrecked the local economies in many communities where it operates.

Where's the data to back this up? Yes, Walmart has put many "mom and pops" out of business (or more appropriately, the mom and pops have gone out of business for not being innovative enough to compete), and yes, they've killed some small downtowns in the process, but in the aggregate, most studies that I've read suggest that Walmart has had long-term positive economic impacts on communities it operates in. If it's fair to say that Walmart has wrecked local economies in many communities, then it is also fair to point out the fact that it has also greatly improved many local economies as well, and improved the quality of life of millions upon millions of shoppers, both low income and higher. Mom and Pops certainly aren't offering $4 perscriptions.

Have you read anything, and I mean anything at all, on this topic before spouting off silly anecdotes?

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=484903

http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/0034653053327568?journalCode=rest

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1530-9134.2009.00235.x/full

http://www.ag-econ.ncsu.edu/VIRTUAL_LIBRARY/ECONOMIST/novdec05.pdf

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1465-7295.2009.00195.x/full

That's just a basic introduction to this topic, but I highly suggest you read the above.

And FWIW, I prefer prescriptions at Publix, a Florida homegrown business, many of which are actually *free*...