This depressing animated map shows Walmart taking over America

[Póg mo 1,749]

It is Capitalism.

There are plenty of choices for affordable TVs. I purchased mine through Amazon at a much better price/quality than Walmart or any other retailer in my area had to offer.

Walmart pays the prevailing wage. People choose to work there.

What the hell is a 'livable' wage? What's livable for one may not be livable for another ... or do you want to dictate what others can and should earn? Your idea of Capitalism?

A living wage is a wage which allows people to earn enough income to afford basic food and shelter and a means to basic transportation. I honestly don't what is so complicated about this. Some people really need to turn off the television and quit being told what to think by their corporate masters. I for one am sick and tired of the same old corportist anti worker message, and the army of morons who happily repeat it, over and over again.

[luckytxn 2,264]

You always have a choice to work anywhere. Don't want to work for a pay an employer pays then don't. The Feds are not a babysitter.

A livable wage is one that does not require someone to apply for food stamps because they are not being paid enough. A livable wage is determined by several factors such as cost of living, inflation and other tenants of capitalism.

In some communities where Walmart has driven out all other competition people don't have a choice but to work there.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I miss those shows too. I think they were a positive in helping to break down race barriers. They allowed people to joke and laugh about things rather than take them so seriously all the time. Too much pc in all directions these days.

I think PC is good when used in moderation. If you removed it from this site and let folks say what they REALLY think, it would be a mess.

I used to love AITF and TJ when I was a kid. But then again, back then you had writers that tried to make things funny. Now, it's reality tv shows because they've figured out they can make millions by paying regular folks to act a fool for a little bit of cash.

[Teddy B 17,252]

I think PC is good when used in moderation. If you removed it from this site and let folks say what they REALLY think, it would be a mess.

I used to love AITF and TJ when I was a kid. But then again, back then you had writers that tried to make things funny. Now, it's reality tv shows because they've figured out they can make millions by paying regular folks to act a fool for a little bit of cash.

True, everything has it's limits.

Norman Lear was one of the greatest comedy minds in history.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Bottom line is that Walmart is a business. They answer to their customers and shareholders (and probably the government in some cases) I hate to break it you Steven, but the days of unions, mom and pop shops, horse drawn ice delivery etc. are over. They aint coming back. This need to want to go back to the way things are with people making $35 an hour for screwing on the same bolt over and over all day seem like a refusal to live in the present. It's global economy now. Either adapt to it, or get left behind.

I personally can't stand shopping there because I don't like being around lowlifes. I'm stuck up like that.

True competition is what makes it work. What Walmart did is essentially what Microsoft did - bullying their suppliers because they were the only act in town. Story after story has been told by manufacturers and suppliers who were black-balled by Walmart, forcing them to move their operations overseas to where labor is cheaper. That's not a model for economic prosperity. That's a model that has contributed to widening gap between the rich and the poor. Unions are about the only way to try an level the playing field, otherwise the we'll continue to compensate Walmart and other retail stores who don't pay their employees enough to live on. It's a race to the bottom. That's not how true competition works.

[Teddy B 17,252]

How will unions help American workers in a global market?

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What's amazing is how someone can post 4 sentences and not say anything at all.

What's amazing is how selective your criticism is on that point. I suggest that rather than writing forum posts like the above that you write them down on a piece of paper and roll them up very tightly. That way it will be much easier to return them from whence they came.

Edited March 12, 2014 by Papa Lazarou

[one...two...tree 2,762]

How will unions help American workers in a global market?

The service sector, which happens to be virtually the only sector of the job market that has exploded in growth over the past decades. Retail king Walmart can pretend all they want that they go for base bottom prices to help out the consumer, but their high profit margins tell a different story. Unions can counter the damage done by helping lift the pay and benefits of service sector jobs.

Eventually, Chinese workers will demand better work conditions, pay, etc. (they're already starting to) and Walmart will have to continue searching the globe for countries that will allow them to exploit cheap labor.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Unions have a place so long as they aren't used to hold companies hostage.

Walmart increasing its employee health insurance provision is a case in point. If not a union, you need some sort of group ensuring that employees aren't being exploited.

Ideally it should be some sort of independent commission.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

True, everything has it's limits.

Norman Lear was one of the greatest comedy minds in history.

#Truth.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Unions have a place so long as they aren't used to hold companies hostage.

Walmart increasing its employee health insurance provision is a case in point. If not a union, you need some sort of group ensuring that employees aren't being exploited.

Ideally it should be some sort of independent commission.

Yep...or employee owned companies.

[deleted-05292014 331]

I never heard of uppity being used as a racist term. I relate it to being snobby, pretentious, conceited, pompous, etc.

What's the saying, ignorance is bliss?

[Teddy B 17,252]

The service sector, which happens to be virtually the only sector of the job market that has exploded in growth over the past decades. Retail king Walmart can pretend all they want that they go for base bottom prices to help out the consumer, but their high profit margins tell a different story. Unions can counter the damage done by helping lift the pay and benefits of service sector jobs.

Eventually, Chinese workers will demand better work conditions, pay, etc. (they're already starting to) and Walmart will have to continue searching the globe for countries that will allow them to exploit cheap labor.

At the present there are plenty of other countries in which Walmart can outsource it's labor. Until there is nowhere else for Walmart to turn, unions will only hurt those who seek their guidance. That's not happening anytime soon. There are far too many 3rd world countries looking to upgrade. That's why I say in a global marketplace the US will need to take a few steps back before it can move forward again.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

There ought to be more of an emphasis on companies acting in an ethical manner. Too many people here seem to believe that ethics are disposable and that capitalism means business doing whatever it wants. Not quite the point.

[Teddy B 17,252]

There ought to be more of an emphasis on companies acting in an ethical manner. Too many people here seem to believe that ethics are disposable and that capitalism means business doing whatever it wants. Not quite the point.

Unfortunately that tends to be the American way. Make as much as possible while paying out as little as possible. Ethics rarely come into play when it comes to business decisions. As long as the laws are being followed, then usually no one balks.