Walmart is fascinating. As a manufacturer of jewelry myself who has
taken a significant part of his production 500 yards south of the US
Mexico border I find the conundrum fascinating. On the one hand, I
could not stay in business with out the cheaper labor and on the
other hand I have met each of the Mexican craftsman who work for me
and their standard of living is much better for the work. The 2
people I have had to let go from my studio in Tucson BECAUSE I can’t
compete with the Mexican labor have both found employment, one is a
teacher and the other a bench jeweler at a large national chain. Just
a thought about the destruction of Vlasic and Levis via Walmart,
these companies looked to Walmart to fund their own greed and have
no one to blame but themselves. If Vlasic had stuck to it’s
marketing strategy of being the premium pickle then why did they get
in volved with Walmart to begin with? If Levis wanted to be the US
jeans manufacturor then again, why get involved with Walmart.
Walmart is a convenient target but with all the jobs leaving the US
to fuel Walmart , all we will be able to afford IS Walmart with our
McDonalds salaries. But, then who am I to talk? Sam Patania, Tucson
Jim, If you can’t afford $40 for a pair of jeans then you aren’t
charging enough for your jewelry work. Any jeweler who has some
experience should be able to pay a reasonable price for his/her
clothes. And if they can’t they aren’t charging enough. (My
apologies if you have other considerations–like children–that suck
up all your available money.)
Daniel R. Spirer, GG
Spirer Somes Jewelers
1794 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02140
617-491-6000
@spirersomes
www.spirersomes.com
I’d rather buy used than go to Walmart. I hate that “we’re taking
over the world,” homogenous, cheap quality, monolithic feel to the
place. I’d prefer to live in a world where quality was stressed over
quantity. The gallon jar of pickles says it all for me. It just
makes me feel very sad and discouraged, depressed almost. I feel like
I spend a lot of my time, energy, and attention resisting the
ever-spiralling trend towards consumption and acquisition.
I take advantage of the fact that a lot of people wear things once
(or never!) before giving them to charity and shop at Salvation Army
(it’s what’s in my area). I’m an inveterate scavenger, a born
treasure hunter, so I would probably do this even if I suddenly was
"rich." But we’re talking jeans here, not dress slacks (and not
Diesel brand), so I’m very happy to buy my jeans used. In my area, on
Thursday and Friday at “Sally’s”, items with certain color tickets
are 50% and 75% off. Whoa! I think I’ll go shopping this afternoon!
Oh, and here’s an idea: it occured to me the other day that a great
apron can be made from one half (front or back, your choice) of a
used jean jumper!
Christine in Littleton, Massachusetts
National Public Radio here in the United States did an hour show on
Wall Mart and these issues. It was actually pretty good.
Unfortunately NPR may not be the venue to the masses that other media
are.
Debby Hoffmaster
What is it about this society that wants to punish any person or
business that is successful. Every individual is a small business
unto themselves. And like a business, we have both income and
expenses. If our income does not meet our expenses, we have a
choice of either increasing our income or reducing our expenses.
It�s that simple, yet neither is easy to do. Most people today are
in financial trouble because of our ever-increasing personal debt.
We must learn to live within our means whether we like it or not.
Whether our jeans cost $40 or $20 or are $13 Rustler�s from Wal-mart
(which I buy), it is a personal decision based upon our means, our
budget, our willingness to save for the future, my retirement.
When people keep talking about the so-called great prices at
Wal-Mart, etc, they’re kidding themselves if they think what they
pay is their actual cost. All of us, Wal-Mart shoppers as well as
those of us who don’t shop there, subsidize Wal-Mart’s price cutting
tactics when we pay more in taxes for the employees who don’t make a
living wage and need government assistance, as well as when we pay
more in insurance when those employees need medical attention
because they don’t have sufficient health insurance. That’s a start
- there are others much better informed than I am about the cost
incurred when we only look at the “bottom line”.
What really frosts me about Wal-Mart is how it hurts people: when
they come into a town and put certain viable, ethical companies out
of business because these smaller companies just can’t compete with
the prices, when those prices are driven by what seems to be more
and more of a monopoly forcing those making the goods to accept
smaller and smaller profits… I’ll never forget seeing on Bill
Moyer’s show several months ago (Friday nights on PBS, called “NOW”
- a little plug here - I really believe everyone who can should do
themselves a favor and watch it at least once!) they showed women in
some third world country sewing soles on shoes for pennies a day,
just barely enough for them to live on, and the large corporation
(Nike, through Wal-Mart I think) cutting even that paultry sum down,
so they can save a couple pennies more for us customers. Whether we
feel it or not, we’re all connected on this planet, and what hurts
destitute families one one side of the planet, hurts those on the
other side too.
So actually I’m thinking it all boils down to us. Wal-Mart and the
others can do what they want and have every “right” to do it as long
as it’s legal, but it’s up to each one of us to make our own
choices. If we say yes to these companies, they’ll thrive. If we say
no, they’ll die. I guess I’m sounding judgmental and I don’t want to
do that. Everyone makes their own choices, it just seems to be
harder these days to be accurately informed. (And that’s a whole
’nuther story!)
Sorry I ranted so long.
Cindy Crounse
Refined Designs Original Fine Jewelry
“Do we as consumers appreciate what we’re doing?” Larrimore asks. “I
don’t think so. But even if we do, I think we say, Here’s a Master
Lock for $9, here’s another lock for $6–let the other guy pay $9.”
Just my opinion but as American consumers we are giving them the
goldmine and we get the shaft, For those non vegetarians in this
group, If you buy your meat at Wal-Mart notice that in small print
that most meat has a (variable percentage usually 20%) solution
added, No where on that package have I been able to find WHAT IS IN
THAT SOLUTION. let’s see Black Angus roast sells for $ x per pound,
Water sells for much less, so if x= 4.79 per pound then you are also
paying 4.79 per pound for this solution , (turns out that this
solution is primarily water) guess why they can undersell the local
meat market by 10% or more, so a 5 pound roast will have 1 pound of
this mysterious solution added to it a 5.00 pound of water, OK now
don’t we feel stupid.
In my opinion no terrorist needs to over throw the American
Government, just let the Government negotiate with Wal-Mart.
As for me, I think I want to move to Jamaica, eat Jerk Chicken drink
lots of rum, consume mass quantities of other things , sit on the
beach with a steel block do a bit of silver stamp work and fleece
tourists,
On a serious side this lets call it the Wal-Mart syndrome is
spreading , My wife manages several sandwich shops that got famous
because some 1/4 ton idiot decided to get off his keester walk to the
restraint and only eat one sandwich at a time, Well the franchise
holders own 30 stores in western Tennessee. Now these eastern
gentlemen recently tried to hold Coke a cola’s feet to the fire by
telling them what members of their business association would pay.
This is a group of around 150 merchants from Arkansas, Tennessee and
Mississippi. they also tried the same with two tobacco companies,
After the laughing subsided, they were informed that Only Wal-Mart
can tell us what they will pay and just because they owned 400
convenience stores and fast food shops, it was thought that they had
acquired some rather large glands to even think about doing business
like that with them.Bottom line is they are now having distribution
problems, I guess if you are going to act like a corporate giant,
you’d better have a BIG foot to back it up.
Been reading with interest this line of discussion because Walmart
is scheduled to be coming to our area in 2005. Really can’t
understand how WallyWorld expects to stay in business with a
superstore thats open 24/7 in an depressed area with no other
shopping in the area. Also I wonder if WallyWorld dictates the prices
that they will pay for the drugs that they sell in their Pharmacies?
And don’t get me started about the drug companies and their
corporate greed!!! Marlene
Hi Marlene… Walmart opened a super store in Rome NY a while ago. It
is thriving in a city that had lost it’s largest employer, Griffiss
Air Force Base. People come from miles around to shop there… Just
thought I’d let you know that it is the saving a buck idea that
draws people in… Rebecca
What is it about this society that wants to punish any person or
business that is successful. Every individual is a small business
unto themselves. And like a business, we have both income and
expenses. If our income does not meet our expenses, we have a
choice of either increasing our income or reducing our expenses.
It�s that simple, yet neither is easy to do. Most people today are
in financial trouble because of our ever-increasing personal debt.
We must learn to live within our means whether we like it or not.
Whether our jeans cost $40 or $20 or are $13 Rustler�s from Wal-Mart
(which I buy), it is a personal decision based upon our means, our
budget, our willingness to save for the future, my retirement.