Rethinking Wally World

flutemandolin · #81 12/10/03, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Wheaton

If you were to take out walmart, something just like it will fill the void. Walmart is not the problem. It's the symptom.

Exactly. An economic/social system that allowed Wal Mart to grow and thrive certainly isn't going to turn around and change the rules.

Barb in Ky. · #82 12/10/03, 02:40 PM

I get tired of hearing everyone yelling about WM selling so much stuff from China. Did it ever occur to anyone that most everything we buy now is manufactured in China? That's not WM's fault. Most all the manufacturing jobs now have gone to China or Mexico. Who's to blame? Greed of manufacturers, employees in the US demanding more money and benifits, Strict requirements of the US government, law suits? I don't know but it is definitely a problem. Try to buy a pair of shoes made in the US. I only know of one brand now that is still US made - Red Wing - and it wouldn't surprise me if they don't start moving out of the country. You can go to one of the fancy mall stores and buy something made in China or you can go to WM and get something made in China for 1/2 the cost. Which would you prefer? With me, it boils down to money, sorry. Sears tools used to be some of the best quality tools made. Now most of them are made in China. I had a Sears salesperson try to tell me they are still manufactured under their strict standards. I don't believe it. My DH has had many Chinese made tools where the threads were terrible or something else wrong. They may look the same to the untrained eye but they don't "work" the same. I was going to buy a tool for my DH for Christmas until I found out it was made in China. The person selling it said don't let that scare you, it's the same metal. Ha, it might be the same metal but not the same quality but then I guess he thought I was just a dumb woman! I don't like buying things made in China anymore than anyone but what is one to do if that is the only place you can find something made? Most the big companies have moved out of the US. So for the most part, it's either do without or buy Chinese made. I'll do without when I can but there comes a time I have to buy something and if it is cheaper at WM than someplace else, then that is where I will buy it.

Paul Wheaton · #83 12/10/03, 02:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flutemandolin

Exactly. An economic/social system that allowed Wal Mart to grow and thrive certainly isn't going to turn around and change the rules.

I suppose the gub'mint could require imports to only come from businesses that pay their workers well and treat them nice. But I suspect that the voters are gonna vote for cheap pants: "You can have these cheap pants when you pry them from my cold, dead fingers!"

I could be wrong. I suppose that if the politicians put a spin on it and said that the result would be more jobs and better pay in the US, people might buy into it. What if we would only import stuff from mexico if the employees were paid at least, say, $3 per hour? Suddenly when you figure in the transportation costs, making it in america might be an even deal.

Speaking of transportation costs .... remember Ross Perot - the great bick sucking sound guy? I didn't vote for him, but he did say something that I thought was pretty interesting. He said that roads and stuff were being paid for with income taxes. He said that roads should be paid for with gas taxes. He said income taxes should be cut and gas taxes raised 50 cents a gallon. So if you toss that into the mix here, wouldn't that make stuff made in mexico get even more expensive to get to, say, New York or Chicago? And stuff that's made overseas would get a lot more expensive too.

I know I've brought this up to people before and then I get buried in a lot of big words and big ideas that I don't uderstand. I'm not sure if I'm wrong or if I'm expected to eat a pile of horse potatoes. But I just can't shake the idea that that might not have been such a bad idea. I also wonder if the higher price of the fuel would help us cut our petroleum usage by 20% - the same amount that the arabs sell us every year ...

If they raised gas taxes 50 cents a gallon, I suspect that a banana would get to be more expensive. I bet folks would be more willing to buy locally grown produce rather than stuff from a thousand miles away. Any of you wanna sell some produce to the locals for a bit more than you can get now?