Let's hear it for Wal-Mart!

[FlyingSorcery]

We haven't stepped inside a walmart for years, and I have no intention of every going again. My daughter is off at college and it takes some ingenuity on her part to avoid the local superstore.
Ignoring the lack of quality, etc., what irritates me most is the sheer number of these behemoths, and the impact on the local environment. I don't know what it is like for everyone else, but in my neighborhood there are THREE of the blasted things within 12 straight miles of freeway. Two of them are brand-new at malls that are less than 5 miles apart. Go 12 miles north, and there's another one.

Despise and loathe are not strong enough adjectives to describe my feelings. Makes me long for my own RPG. Or stinger missle, whatever.

[Shapley]

Angie,

No problem. I'm aware of it probably due to my proximity to Arkansas, where, I believe, they still fly the state flag at half mast to mark his passing 13 years ago.

Or maybe they just forgot to raise them back up.

V/R
Shapley

[Angie Parkes]

Originally posted by Shapley:
I'm aware of it probably due to my proximity to Arkansas, where, I believe, they still fly the state flag at half mast to mark his passing 13 years ago.

Or maybe they just forgot to raise them back up.

LOL

[treebeau]

Originally posted by FlyingSorcery:
...Makes me long for my own RPG. Or stinger missle, whatever.

Does Wal-Mart sell these? Would that be Sporting Goods or Hardware?

Regards,
Tim B.

[piqaboo]

They used to. Sporting goods. Right next to baby clothes.

[OperaTenor]

Ooh, this is good! We get to pile onto the "I hate Wal-Mart!" bandwagon all over again!

[treebeau]

Wal Mart was doing a feasibility study to build one about 3 miles from my house. There didn't seem to be a lot of opposition. Funny thing is, they dropped the pursuit.

Regards,
Tim B.

[bacchus]

Plainfield, Indiana, three miles south of me is about to get its third incarnation of Wal-mart.Absurd

[Shapley]

Research Indicates Wal-Mart Helping With Weight Loss

[Nicole Marie]

Get out!!! Still don't believe it... Hate to be evil but I had to go to Wal Tart the other day... Yes hell froze over and I saw more folks on the hefty side in that one location then I have seen in no other place in town.

[Shapley]

You obviously don't have a K-Mart in town....

The point of the article is that, given a little extra money in their pockets as a result of Wal-Marts' lowering of prices (including the price-dropping effect they have on their competitors), people have a tendency to buy healthier foods (that's a general rule, the article notes that junk-food addicts will simply buy more junk food). The consumption of healthier foods leads to weight loss.

I did not see in the article which college or university did the Study....

I visited a Wal-Mart when I was in Connecticut last year, as I needed to buy a work jacket, having forgotten to pack mine. The Wal-Mart there (Just Outside of New Haven) was dirty and had a bargain-store look to it, which Wal-Marts around here have been moving away from the past couple of decades. Perhaps this trend has not yet reached the Northeastern part of the nation. Wal-Marts here have become 'supercenters', offering groceries, auto service, as well as the usual dry goods and outdoor supplies. There are still a few of the bargain-store Wal-Marts around, but they are becoming rarer. (Although ours is currently undergoing a 'face-lift' and, during construction, has taken on that bargain-store look: mismatched floor tiles, pegboard shelving units, open hoppers of clearance clothing in the aisles. I hope this isn't the 'new look' they're seeking....)

[Nicole Marie]

Yeah Wal Marts in CT are not looked at too highly. Most town protest when they want to build so they end up in the poorer towns and usually dont develop into the big super marts they are in some areas. Hartford let one in but it came with rules - they had to hire Hartford residence only, let them be union, proper health care etc. So when they do come into CT the towns and state nail rules onto them since they are knows for giving below average wadges and little to no health care.

[Giant Communist Robot]

Yeah Wal Marts in CT are not looked at too highly. Most town protest when they want to build so they end up in the poorer towns and usually dont develop into the big super marts they are in some areas. Hartford let one in but it came with rules - they had to hire Hartford residence only, let them be union, proper health care etc. So when they do come into CT the towns and state nail rules onto them since they are knows for giving below average wadges and little to no health care.

With a minimum number of employees, they are guaranteed the right to unionize if they so wish. That is the law. The union has the responsibility to negotiate wages and health care. Walmart cannot dictate in this situation, only negotiate.

[Schmeelkie]

I did not see in the article which college or university did the Study....

It's University of North Carolina - Greensboro

We've got a new supercenter down the street from husband's college - about a mile from the grocery store, 1/2 mile from old Wal-Mart and adjacent dying plaza. Wondered why they couldn't buy out or move the businesses left in the plaza and rebuild there...new supercenter required new traffic light...grr!

There's been a debate in my town about letting Wal-Mart in. They WOULD be buying out a basically defunct plaza and building there - better use of the space IMHO. Course it would be right next to existing grocery store (which is not too old, but doesn't look as nice as the new supergrocery store they built about 2 miles away - wonder if they figured they were going to lose out to Walmart in that location, thus OK to build new store 2 miles away from exisiting store). Just wish either Walmart or a grocery chain would build in the city. We tried giving grocery store gift cards for payment in study, but 1/2 or more can't easily get to one - that chain closed up it's last store in the city a few years ago.

[Shapley]

Just wish either Walmart or a grocery chain would build in the city. We tried giving grocery store gift cards for payment in study, but 1/2 or more can't easily get to one - that chain closed up it's last store in the city a few years ago.

Property taxes are usually higher in the cities, and many cities tack on additional taxes (city sales tax, city employee (income) tax, additional license fees, etc.). It drives business to the suburbs. Besides which, Wal-Mart prefers to locate nearer the places that people live, not where the work. I'm sure they have research that shows that as being better for sales.

Our Wal-Mart has moved twice, each time moving beyond the city limits. Each time, the city has expanded and annexed them within a couple of years.

V/R
Shapley

[jamiebk]

It strikes me that Walmart is to nearby businesses as a Crown-of-Thorns starfish is to a reef:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown-of-thorns_starfish

The starfish is a coral reef predator (a corallivore) and preys on the coral polyps by climbing onto them, extruding its stomach over them, and releasing digestive enzymes to then absorb the liquefied tissue. They feed alone at night, maintaining a constant distance between themselves and other crown-of-thorns starfish. During times of food shortage, these creatures can live on their energy reserves for over six months.

Populations of the crown-of-thorns starfish have increased since the 1970s, and this species is at least partly responsible for much loss of coral reefs, particularly on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia after being discovered in 1963. Evidence is non-conclusive however since the aqualung was introduced in 1962 so the predators could not have been found previously. They are voracious predators that can wipe out large areas of coral; an individual can consume up to 6 square meters of living reef per year

[Shapley]

Both times our Wal-Mart has moved, it was the first large business in the region, soon followed by strip malls and other tag-alongs. It inched its' way towards the Insterstate Highway, and now sits at the main interchange to the city. There was hotel and a restaurant at the time. Now there is a Sam's Club, a Lowes, three strip malls, a multi-plex movie theatre, Target, Sears, Kohl's, and a multitude of car dealers.

[jamiebk]

Both times our Wal-Mart has moved, it was the first large business in the region, soon followed by strip malls and other tag-alongs. It inched its' way towards the Insterstate Highway, and now sits at the main interchange to the city. There was hotel and a restaurant at the time. Now there is a Sam's Club, a Lowes, three strip malls, a multi-plex movie theatre, Target, Sears, Kohl's, and a multitude of car dealers.

And probably not a small local business anywhere within 5 miles. Walmart eats them like peanuts with beer.

[Shapley]

And probably not a small local business anywhere within 5 miles. Walmart eats them like peanuts with beer.

Are you saying they would otherwise have survived? Mom and Pop may not be running the local grocery store anymore but, if they were successful businesspersons, they're probably running the Blockbuster Video store or working at Lowes, where they enjoy benefits they did not have at their little shop....

[jamiebk]

Sorry Shap....not a fan of big box mentality. Cheap prices, poor service, and usually poor quality stuff. I prefer supporting our local small businesses where I know who I am dealing with.