posted
No! I've been wondering about anti-trust laws and why they haven't applied to Wal-Mart and other monopolies including Microsoft.
Wal-Marts are running out the competition in the small towns like the one we live in. They are going to tear down our Wal-Mart and build a Wal-Mart supercenter in its place. There is already speculation on which of the remaining grocery stores are going out of business because of this.
-------------------- Bill Diaz Diaz Sign Art Pontiac IL www.diazsignart.com Posts: 2107 | From: Pontiac, IL | Registered: Dec 2001
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I heard on the news Wal-Mart's sales were down because people wanted products they weren't offering to consumers such as household furntiture and such that is a little more upscale like Target offers. I'm sure they aren't choking though!!
-------------------- Amy Brown Life Skills 101 Private Address Posts: 3502 | From: Lake Helen, FL, USA | Registered: Feb 2001
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I saw it Mike, Everyone else here should see it too. it's a real wake up call.
Like I said I do NOT shop there, I would drive to the next town if I had to.
I love when the TV Manufacturer went and filed against the Chinese for dumping underpriced TV"s in our country and broke trade laws, Walmart sided with the Chinese.
How can anyone compete against a country that pays it's workers 20, 30 the most 50 cents an hour to work?
[ June 15, 2005, 01:07 PM: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]
-------------------- Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA 508-865-7330
"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you." Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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Personally I don't like "super" stores where they combine full fledged grocery/food shopping with department store stuff. That's just too much shopping for me to handle at once. I still like shopping for food at my favourite grocery stores and produce stands.
Walmart is upscaling to compete w/ Target. (I'm a Target shopper) The other day I had a dentist appt, and stopped into a nearby Walmart on the way home. The merchandise was definately up a notch, and I ended up getting some really neat stuff, and good buys.
I'm not keen on the SuperStores tho. Nettie
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
Wal-Mart is my last resort to buy anything. I don't like the idea of a company like Wally World putting mom and pop businesses out of business. The last time I was in there I noticed the checkout thingy was done in english and spanish. I asked the clerk, why don't you have chineese also, everything in here is made in china.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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...How can Wall Mart really be any good (in the long run) when everything they sell is made in China? ...Their stuff may be cheaply priced, but it's the lowest quality crap ever.
posted
I have been in our walmart exactly twice this year. Both instances, they were my last option locally. I wasn't happy about being there either time.
Not only are they responsible for a lot of jobs being lost in this country, they have so many people snowed it's ridiculous.
If I want cheap junk, I'll shop at yard sales.
-------------------- Chris Welker Wildfire Signs Indiana, Pa Posts: 4254 | From: Indiana, PA | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
Just curious ... is it just WalMart that's bad, or is it Target, K-mart, TJ Maxx, Ross, Kohls, Beall's, Costco, Sams ... etc too? If so, than I'm really going to h-e-l-l!
-------------------- "When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"
posted
It is ourselves that have allowed the Chinese to control our economy. I imagine every one of us is guilty of this, to some degree.
I, for one, miss being able to buy hardware by the pound or by the piece. Mom & Pops stores are a part of the American way I hate to see go. Next, the Chinese will take away our homemade apple pie.
posted
i think walmart owns sams club??? so yep you're going to h e l l...see ya there...we can eat melted godiva chocolate together. i'm a tremedous anthole cause i go there AND home depot. i haven't reviewed both sides of the debate yet and don't know if i care to...but i'm sure we'd all be embarassed to be americans if we knew 10000th of what REALLY goes on with our government and foreign trade. personally i try not to think about it too hard...i beat myself up about enuff shyt. but be damn sure that your american vehicle among other things....has many components made in ......shsssssssh.
just another thought....for example...we have hardware stores that are locally owned...guess what???? they carry the same shyt made in china and charge twice as much as wallyworld...pay their help crap and don't offer insurance.
gotta get back to work!
[ June 15, 2005, 04:37 PM: Message edited by: KARYN BUSH ]
-------------------- Karyn Bush Simply Not Ordinary, LLC Bartlett, NH 603-383-9955 www.snosigns.com info@snosigns.com Posts: 3516 | From: Bartlett, NH USA | Registered: Jan 2001
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Walmart is a nice lapdog for the blame,but Walmart(ya i think they suck too) doesnt put mom and pop businesses out nor do they ruin the towns,the towns and citizens in the community put themselves out by taking pride in being cheap and heading to Walmart to think theyre getting a deal. Noone is forced at gunpoint or by contract to shop at walmart,kmart,target,home depot,lowes or any of those crapholes yet let one open up anywhere close and the town talks outta both side of their face,complains joes hardware and grocery is closing yet they flock to walmart like whores to a navy ship on leave.Face facts.....you shop in one of those places you have no bitch and complain about how "they" ruined america or towns or anything else b/c you directly contributed to the problem,ya only to a small degree but it makes a difference. Everyone here is a local merchant and expects the community to support them,its a mutual thing.Not many of these chain giants were around 30-40yrs ago b/c we hadnt yet started cultivationg the feelingof entitlement that leads everyone to believe they're special,entitled to some special privilege and price without doing anything to earn it. You want local merchants to do well and stick around,patronize them,it's just that simple.....and its easy too.I've seen this topic come up here before and people have said "well they're open after 5,if the locals wanted my biz they would be too" well thats crap,spend 15minutes less here a day in letterville and take a ride to the local hardware if you need something,anything you want is worth sacrificing a little bit for and nowdays people do anything but that,they expect the world to completely cater to them....no customers=no business,Kmart learned that. Just $.07 from someone whose been in biz since 1963.
-------------------- Gavin Chachere Plotter in the garage,New Orleans La.
"Sgts Shugart and Gordon again request permission to rope down to crash site two" Posts: 1223 | From: new orleans.la. | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
One of the interesting points of the show last night was one of WM's former managers giving a little insight to how they use psychology.
They'll have a sale on a product, one of those items out in the isle with a rock bottom opening price. That's the bait.
Then if they can get you to walk through the isle, you took the bait.
See, the item in the isle is so rediculously priced it's not even funny, and in the back of your head you know it's junk.
BUT, if you walk into the isle and you see a higher end version of the same thing there, they used a microwave as example, your head tells you that's the one you really want and because the price on the junk one is rock bottom you assume the price on the "good" one is too.. but that's not the case at all - plenty other stores could have the same thing cheaper than WM.
The public thinks Wal Mart is lookng out for them by controlling pricing, but the reality is, if a US company supplies WM with a product that brings a 15-30% profit margin, but a Chinese company can provide the "same" thing with a 30-60% margin and a slightly lower price to the consumer, that's TWICE the profits for WAL MART.
I guess if a vendor wants to do business with wal mart, they have to run a pretty tight ship. They showed how WM knows the costs, business practices, sources, etc. of all their vendors, which to me sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
-------------------- "If I share all my wisdom I won't have any left for myself."
Mike Pipes stickerpimp.com Lake Havasu, AZ mike@stickerpimp.com Posts: 8746 | From: Lake Havasu, AZ USA | Registered: Jun 2000
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posted
Mike, I wish I saw it but I didn't. It's very interesting to see how one huge business entity like WM can have an impact on many areas of our life in ever-widening ripples of cause & effect. The stuff I've heard about Wally world brings my limited understanding of the inter-relatedness of global economics & politics into a real-life situation that sheds light on some of that elusive realm of todays society.
quote:Originally posted by Bill Diaz: Wal-Marts are running out the competition in the small towns like the one we live in. They are going to tear down our Wal-Mart and build a Wal-Mart supercenter in its place. There is already speculation on which of the remaining grocery stores are going out of business because of this.
Bill, in a lesser-of-evils sort of way, I would be glad they are building another one in it's place. Thanks to a post a year ago (by Kimberly I think)I learned about how they have repeatedly run the competition out of town... had local city infrastructure modified to accomodate them (sometimes in exchange for future promised tax revenues) & then pulled outta town completely to take over another nearby town... leaving a huge un-rentable warehouse with perfect traffic infrastructure going to the biggest black hole in the remaining economy of a town no one shops in anymore.
Here was a very informative story that James Donahue's wife Stephanie posted last year:
posted
as usual I think Gavin has hit the nail on the head quite well. For those that don't read the long story linked above... here is a somewhat enlightening quote I had previously pasted from it when I read it:
quote:Wal-Mart has also lulled shoppers into ignoring the difference between the price of something and the cost... Ever-cheaper prices have consequences...
"We want clean air, clear water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world--yet we aren't willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions."
posted
One more thing you might not know about Wal-Mart. Ever wonder where the Gov gets the index for the world currency? i.e. the U.S dollar vs. the yen, swiss franc, the euro, the looney, etc. Look no further than Wally World. Yep, that's where they get it; the price of certain products here, there and everywhere based on what it sells for at Wally World. I totally agree with our coonass friend, Gavin; if you shop there then don't gripe.
-------------------- Ricky Jackson Signs Now 614 Russell Parkway Warner Robins, GA (478) 923-7722 signpimp50@hotmail.com
"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants." Sir Issac Newton Posts: 3528 | From: Warner Robins, GA | Registered: Oct 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Joey Madden: I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supplies there
I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supllies there
I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supplies there
I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supllies there
I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supllies there
I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supplies there
I love Wal-Mart and buy all my sign supllies there
You only like it because they have killerkart copies there and plenty of solvent to cut paints with
-------------------- Gavin Chachere Plotter in the garage,New Orleans La.
"Sgts Shugart and Gordon again request permission to rope down to crash site two" Posts: 1223 | From: new orleans.la. | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
We have 2 (yep TWO) Supercenters in our town of 50,000- IF (and that's a big IF) they have run out all the other competition, why have Lowe's, Home Depot, Target, Belk's, Kohl's, PetSmart, 2 Krogers, 2 Dollar Generals, 2 Fred's, ... as well as countless Mom & Pop stores of all kinds, chosen to come into our town and build and run succesfull businesses?
One of my coaching staff used to be a store manager at several Wal-Marts- then later at a Lowe's. He said that Wal-Mart knows how much items cost to produce, how much profit is being made, How to buy in bulk, what sells and what doesn't- everything down to the penny! They may choose to produce their own products- sometimes overseas, sometimes right in our back yard- but they know what the bottom line is. He said Lowe's was clueless about how to buy or how much items cost to produce- which is why they tended to have higher prices on some things.
-------------------- Michael Clanton Clanton Graphics/ Blackberry 19 Studio 1933 Blackberry Conway AR 72034 501-505-6794 clantongraphics@yahoo.com Posts: 1736 | From: Conway Arkansas | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
iam old, 1st off. i come from pennsylvaina people who came from russian/italian imigrants in the early 1900's who came to pa to find their dream of freedom and prosparity! yea right....a few did and a lot more surcummed to being no more then white slaves to a money oriented society. as far back as you want to look, there has always been a "ruling class"(those with money)and a working class(those who want money). there in is where it gets bad. the rich, who can afford an "industry" to make them richer...find people who will work for little money so they can hope to become the ruling class. now granted most of the jobs the ruling class have for the working class are back breaking, lung destroying, life taking jobs...that most people wouldnt do. as long as they ruling class can hold on to "cheap labor" then they make more money...hence the rise of the COMPANY STORE. where all the things that the labors needed was provided by the ruling class to keep the cheap labor in a state of "indebtedness." meaning anything the labore needed from the company store it would be deducted from their already small paycheck. and this way the rulling class has a captive work force so the dont have to raise wages. now add cheap housing to this fomula for the workers...and the rent would also be deducted from the paycheck....now you got slaves livin on your plantation for $1 a week in real money!!! now move this to 2005 since the INDUSTIAL DECLINE has moved the work force from manual labor jobs like steel mills, coal mines, ship building, etc. most of the people need a job....so along come walmart who is gona do the same thing the COMPANY STORE did...with their employees....low wages, fair benifits, long hours, and A SENCE OF JOB SECURITY.....all the while they offer a small discount to all employees when they buy from the COMPANY STORE....and its been almost 80 years sice this was done and most today know nothing of how the COMPANY store run the world back then. so the old addage what old is new again is in play here. if WALMART keeps growing ...i see the chance of them building aptment complexs....and low rent for their employees....
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3722 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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quote:Originally posted by old paint: iam old, 1st off. i come from pennsylvaina people who came from russian/italian imigrants in the early 1900's who came to pa to find their dream of freedom and prosparity! yea right....a few did and a lot more surcummed to being no more then white slaves to a money oriented society. as far back as you want to look, there has always been a "ruling class"(those with money)and a working class(those who want money). there in is where it gets bad. the rich, who can afford an "industry" to make them richer...find people who will work for little money so they can hope to become the ruling class. now granted most of the jobs the ruling class have for the working class are back breaking, lung destroying, life taking jobs...that most people wouldnt do. as long as they ruling class can hold on to "cheap labor" then they make more money...hence the rise of the COMPANY STORE. where all the things that the labors needed was provided by the ruling class to keep the cheap labor in a state of "indebtedness." meaning anything the labore needed from the company store it would be deducted from their already small paycheck. and this way the rulling class has a captive work force so the dont have to raise wages. now add cheap housing to this fomula for the workers...and the rent would also be deducted from the paycheck....now you got slaves livin on your plantation for $1 a week in real money!!! now move this to 2005 since the INDUSTIAL DECLINE has moved the work force from manual labor jobs like steel mills, coal mines, ship building, etc. most of the people need a job....so along come walmart who is gona do the same thing the COMPANY STORE did...with their employees....low wages, fair benifits, long hours, and A SENCE OF JOB SECURITY.....all the while they offer a small discount to all employees when they buy from the COMPANY STORE....and its been almost 80 years sice this was done and most today know nothing of how the COMPANY store run the world back then. so the old addage what old is new again is in play here. if WALMART keeps growing ...i see the chance of them building aptment complexs....and low rent for their employees....
You go to walmart all the time be quiet
-------------------- Gavin Chachere Plotter in the garage,New Orleans La.
"Sgts Shugart and Gordon again request permission to rope down to crash site two" Posts: 1223 | From: new orleans.la. | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Interesting question but how come this topic comes up all the time and no one asks if the government is good for America. They impact us negatively a thousand times more than any corporation with whom I may or may not deal with.
Joe Sobran wrote similarly about Bill Gates and the charges of anti trust against him, but it applies as well to Walmart.
Quote:"Personally, I don’t feel threatened by Bill Gates. Bill Gates can’t take a penny of my earnings if I don’t want him to have it. I don’t have to work for him for the first four months of the year. He can’t put me in prison for refusing to pay him or for disobeying his orders. He can’t break into my house and search for drugs. He can’t send my sons to war. He hasn’t incinerated any religious sects, and none of his agents has shot a mother in the head while she was holding her baby. He doesn’t even seem interested in doing any of these things."
Sorry if that's takes the topic off on a tangent, but I can't understand outrages over ATM fees, increases in gas prices, and whether Walmart is gaining too much power, in light of the far more pervasive incursions into our lives.
-------------------- Wright Signs Wyandotte, Michigan Posts: 2785 | From: Wyandotte, MI USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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I buy Krylon spray paint, masking tape, 3-m tape, mineral spirits and laquer thinner there.
I buy Emilys school uniforms there ONLY IF they have any cute kahki skorts or cute red tops, which they actually had this year.
I stopped at a few super Wal-Marts from here to Dallas Texas and was pretty stunned how much bigger and how much of the same, but also more different stuff they had than other 'super' Wal-Marts. She's set for school in September.
They are the only place in town that carries John Freida hair stuff.
It's the only place in our town that carries ANY sewing materials.
That's about it.
I virtually never buy groceries there and I hate walking across a football feild to get two items located in opposite and unlikely places. Like Nettie I prefer my regular grocery store, or produce stands.
Our SuperWal-Mart did put one of our many grocery stores, Food World out of business, but it took several years.
The nearest target is 105 miles away, and the nearest Whole Foods is over 90 miles away, so I can only go there a few times a year.
My BIGGEST gripe with Wal-Mart? Depending on the time of day I try to sneak in there, I wind up seein' too many people I know who wanna stop & chat or talk to me about signs...
The best time to do Wally world?
Between 1am & 5am. If you see someone you know then, you can just nod, smile and move on. We know we're there at that unlikely time for the same reason.
I almost never, ever do malls and I hate Freds, Dollar General, Family Dollar, the Dollar Tree etc, etc, even worse than Wal-Mart.
Gimmee'a good thrift store or flea market and I'm good to go.
I order in sign supplies from various places and use local lumber yards for other materials, paints and hardware.
quote:Originally posted by David Wright: Interesting question but how come this topic comes up all the time and no one asks if the government is good for America. They impact us negatively a thousand times more than any corporation with whom I may or may not deal with.
Joe Sobran wrote similarly about Bill Gates and the charges of anti trust against him, but it applies as well to Walmart.
Quote:"Personally, I don’t feel threatened by Bill Gates. Bill Gates can’t take a penny of my earnings if I don’t want him to have it. I don’t have to work for him for the first four months of the year. He can’t put me in prison for refusing to pay him or for disobeying his orders. He can’t break into my house and search for drugs. He can’t send my sons to war. He hasn’t incinerated any religious sects, and none of his agents has shot a mother in the head while she was holding her baby. He doesn’t even seem interested in doing any of these things."
Sorry if that's takes the topic off on a tangent, but I can't understand outrages over ATM fees, increases in gas prices, and whether Walmart is gaining too much power, in light of the far more pervasive incursions into our lives.
when they force you to move into the company apts youre gonna change this tune in a hurry mister
-------------------- Gavin Chachere Plotter in the garage,New Orleans La.
"Sgts Shugart and Gordon again request permission to rope down to crash site two" Posts: 1223 | From: new orleans.la. | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Sheila, www.drugstore.com carries a full line of John Freida (just checked) and they often have free shipping specials. Even if they didn't, the $4.95 you'd pay for shipping (on average) is worth the money not to have to go to Wal-Mart, put up with the crowds and have the UPS guy show up and hand it to you.
-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3722 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
Micheal, you wrote... "One of my coaching staff used to be a store manager at several Wal-Marts- then later at a Lowe's. He said that Wal-Mart knows how much items cost to produce, how much profit is being made, How to buy in bulk, what sells and what doesn't- everything down to the penny! They may choose to produce their own products- sometimes overseas, sometimes right in our back yard- but they know what the bottom line is."
no offense, but your views seem to reley too heavily on what your friend says & not enough on gathering some deeper understanding of the discussion topic you want to contribute to. If you take the time to look further into this question, you will see a lot more going on then the business savvy of knowing what production costs are... loss leaders in a given aisle to get you in that aisle are not a new thing... but Walmart has learned to force companies who have over-extended themselves in order to become WM vendors.. to suddenly be the fall guy for the "loss leader"
...and to David... "how come this topic comes up all the time and no one asks if the government is good for America." ...simply because, at least around here, we are not allowed to talk about that
posted
Kimberly, I thought it was another thread. I don't feel like re-reading it, but wasn't it in a town near you that the city was counting on future years of their share of tax revenues when they agreed to build new roads etc. to help traffic into Walmart... then Wally only stayed put for a year or two... took the money, & ran to the next town? Maybe it's in that thread?
Also Jon had posted this LINK to transcripts of a PBS discussion on some other interesting related facts.
posted
Yes, Doug, you're right...that happend here in Cathedral City. They're closing the Sam's Club & Walmart here and have built a bunch of them in neighboring towns.
-------------------- Kimberly Zanetti Purcell www.amethystProductivity.com Folsom, CA email: Kimberly@AmethystProductivity.com
“Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.” AA Milne Posts: 3722 | From: Folsom, CA | Registered: Dec 2001
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posted
One part of the program showed chinese companies who refuse to be bulied by Walmart even. Op's not too far off with his analogy about the appartments. In Ohio Walmart was responsible for shutting down a TV manufacturing plant, putting 30 year workers out of a job, then after all the jobs moved to china and the town was destitute, Walmart moves in with a supercenter, right NEXT to the empty TV factory and offering jobs to the town for 1/2 the pay they once had. How nice of them.
[ June 15, 2005, 04:09 PM: Message edited by: Bob Rochon ]
-------------------- Bob Rochon Creative Signworks Millbury, MA 508-865-7330
"Life is Like an Echo, what you put out, comes back to you." Posts: 5149 | From: Millbury, Mass. U.S. | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
But where else are ya gonna get to buy a case of beer, 14 gallons of butter flavored Crisco, 50' of rope and 7 pulleys at 3:00 in the morning? Wal-Mart serves a purpose, people!
In our quaint little town here Wal-Mart just bought an entire friggin' neighborhood that they have now bulldozed to build a new store. How many other companies can buy out 30 families and send them packing cause they want their land?
-------------------- Pat Whatley Montgomery, AL (334) 262-7446 office (334) 324-8465 cell Posts: 1306 | From: Wetumpka, AL USA | Registered: Mar 2001
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posted
Yes, and WalMart owns its own refinery and sells its own gasoline. Yes, Murphy oil right here in New Orleans.
-------------------- Leaper of Tall buildings.. If you find my posts divisive or otherwise snarky please ignore them. If you do not know how then PM me about it and I will demonstrate. Posts: 5274 | From: Im a nowhere man | Registered: Jul 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Kimberly Zanetti: Here's the portion of the transcript that indicates what happened in our small town...
SYLVIA CHASE: Yet, communities still receive Wal-Mart with open arms. In the Southern California desert, Cathedral City welcomed Wal-Mart a decade ago, with visions of sales tax revenues dancing in their heads.
SYLVIA CHASE: How much did the city of Cathedral City invest to get Wal-Mart?
GREG PETTIS, MAYOR, PRO TEM, CATHEDRAL CITY: The initial investment was $1.8 million.
SYLVIA CHASE: How much did you get back?
GREG PETTIS: To date, nothing.
SYLVIA CHASE: A payday was expected, once Cathedral City had reimbursed Wal-Mart's building and other expenses at the new mall. Here's how the deal works.
GREG PETTIS: Every quarter when the sales tax checks come in to us from the state from Wal-Mart, we turn around, and write that check right back to Wal-Mart, anticipating that at the end of this time, we're gonna see all of that money coming back into our coffers.
SYLVIA CHASE: But just as Cathedral City made good on its end of the $1.8-million deal with Wal-Mart came a rude surprise: Wal-Mart is closing in Cathedral City and opening three new stores down the road.
GREG PETTIS: Our first notification was when we saw it in the newspaper that the neighboring City Council was gonna be having a discussion about it.
SYLVIA CHASE: You're kidding? You read about this in the newspaper?
GREG PETTIS: Right. And we were the ones who made the first phone call to Wal-Mart, saying, "What's going on? Can we do something--
SYLVIA CHASE: And what did they say?
GREG PETTIS: Oh, there's nothing that can be done. We'll sit and talk with you. But there's nothing to-- nothing to discuss.
SYLVIA CHASE: And nothing to fill up the million dollar annual contribution Cathedral City had expected from sales taxes at the Wal-Mart.
GREG PETTIS: Right. A million dollars every year. And this is money, general fund money, which is exactly what we pay for the police, the fire, paramedics-- parks, street maintenance. I mean, that's the real bread and butter for a city's economy is what they get in their sales tax. And that's going to go away.
SYLVIA CHASE: Pettis says they will be lucky if they get $500-hundred thousand in sales tax out of the deal. When Wal-Mart abandons this store, the other tenants in the mall are expected to suffer.
The Wal-Mart owned Sam's Club is also going, so this smaller mall has turned over new leases at reduced rates and the lube and oil shop folded up all together. For Cathedral City, it's a symbol of what's wrong about Wal-Mart and that is one reason why Contra Costa County wants nothing to do with the company consumers can't seem to do without.
BTW Mike, thanks for the link, I am going to check that out. (I also thought OP's reply was right on scary )
posted
This town is might be the prime example of how bad it can get....
A few years ago, the struggling Ames department stores went chapter 11 and, along with a local chain of grocery stores in this area named "Butson's". their builings were being put on the auction block. Couple that with several factory and mill closings and this towns been going dead for a decade.
Ocean State Job Lots bought the old Ames location last year and before they could hang the banners up announcing they were opening, rumours began to fly that Wal-Mart Supercenter was coming into town.
All of a sudden a sleepy little town became the hot ticket for property sales. Anyone with money started buying up property adjacent to where Wally World was going, not to start a business, but to sell it to Wal-Mart at a substential profit. Dunkin Donuts blew into town, breaking ground on a new building this spring on their coat tails.
Sounds like a boom to the town at a quick glance, huh? Nope.
All the speculation, property values rising and such are based on traffic. They've been bean counting the cars with those road strips for a year. With a population of less than 5000 in a 50+ square mile area and one of the lowest average household incomes in the state, we're certainly not gonna carry the place with retail business. Taxes maybe.
What these corporate hedgehogs should have done was stick their heads out of their accounting cubicles long enought to figure out...
1: Almost all the traffic through here are heading through town to go shopping at the Wal-Mart 20 miles away....DUHHHHH!!!!!! You had no competition here and Ocean State wasn't gonna hurt you. They're stuff is somewhere between yours and the Dollar Store...just another "mouthbreathing mecca". 2: Out of the almost 30,000 cars/day that hit those counters, it's a pretty good bet that it's not an accurate count. Hell, almost everyone commutes out of town to work somewhere else and with all the retired folks here bopping around visiting each other, it might be 10,000 at best. 3: This town's lost over 400 manufacturing jobs that had benefits in the last 10 years. Any chance you wanna replace those jobs, or can we expect a building full of incompetent part-time "associates", who aren't working enough hours to qualify for benefits, selling stuff made overseas? We have 3 empty factory buildings already here in town. I double-dare you! 4: Word is that the water and light company can't provide enough water pressure to accomodate the Wal-Mart AND Job Lots at the same time. Probably gonna be a year until that work is completed. I've seen the place...
Bottom line is, all your gonna do is snarl traffic in another small town, pushing out cheap crap. The bottom feeders will continue to swarm toward your smiley-faced price tags, bumping each other with shopping carts stuffed with "low quality...ALWAYS!", with their cow-eyed expressions.
A long time ago, it was honorable to work hard, earn money, and support your community and do good things. We're still waiting, Wal-Mart... Rapid
-------------------- Ray Rheaume Rapidfire Design 543 Brushwood Road North Haverhill, NH 03774 rapidfiredesign@hotmail.com 603-787-6803
I like my paint shaken, not stirred. Posts: 5648 | From: North Haverhill, New Hampshire | Registered: Apr 2003
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You sure a got a bunch of incompetents in Cathedral City to be taken like that. City governments shouldn't even be considering such deals anyways.
And as far as company owned houses and apts, that sounds like a good perk. If you don't like it, get your own, if you don't like the job get another. We're agreed that they are crap jobs anyways, what's to lose?
My recent ancestors lived in company coal mining towns in Pennsylvania. Came a time it wasn't to their liking so off to the auto plants in Michigan.
Choices, enjoy the ones you are still allowed to make.
-------------------- Wright Signs Wyandotte, Michigan Posts: 2785 | From: Wyandotte, MI USA | Registered: Jan 1999
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Wal-Mart did put our Winn-Dixie out of business but the sleazy outfit deserved it. My dad worked for WD for about 30 years as a market manager but when he got old they started giving him a hard time, working him odd and irregular hours etc. After he got cancer and passed away, they tried to cheat my mom out of a huge chunk of his retirement. She sued and won. Not long after that, China-Mart moved in across the street and WD had to close. That was 6 years ago and they are still having to pay the lease on the empty building They have also had to close a bunch more stores in their chain since.
-------------------- Wayne Webb Webb Signworks Chipley, FL 850.638.9329 wayne@webbsignworks.com Posts: 7403 | From: Chipley,Florida,United States | Registered: Oct 1999
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I still like shopping for food at my favourite grocery stores and produce stands. 
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