Be prepared to hold on to your chair or laptop or table but hold on!
Just finished watching this documentary (on Netflix so cool), I must say I didn't like Wal Mart before and I like them a lot less now. Granted since acquiring a well known environmentalist as the head of their environmental affairs has brought more "green" credibility to their company but not enough. What are you willing to sacrifice to provide or receive low prices? It seems Wal-Mart is willing to sacrifice everything. I can't imagine that is what Sam Walton intended when he started his company.
With our economy in the state that it is in I can understand as a single mother myself a budget so tight wind could not pass through it, I too want the lowest prices. Not at the expense of poor wages, poor quality products, impact on the environment or cheap good off the backs of cheap labor.
I do not want another Wal Mart in my community. They want to build yet another big box store when there are 10 locations in a 15 mile radius not including Sam's Clubs 4 of those. They say they want to give you a career and help the community but in Arizona alone at one time 2700 employees of Wal-Mart were paid so little they had to receive state assistance.
Here is why I do not want another Wal-Mart:
- wages at Wal-Mart help to drive down wages in US by $3 Billion per year
- wages are so low at Wal-Mart employees can not afford health care instead the company gives them a list of agencies so they can receive state aid: state health care (medicaid), food stamps, WIC and section 8 housing
- it cost a state an average of $86 million per year in taxes to cover Wal-Mart employees in state run programs
- Federal Poverty level is about $17 thousand per year average Wal-Mart employee makes $13 thousand per year
- Factories in China make the goods for Wal-Mart most workers start at 7:30 am work until 10:30 pm for $3.00 per day and work 7 days per week
- China workers also have mandatory rent deduction taken from their wages to live in the company provided rooms whether they live in it or not they are charged extra for use of utilities by how much they use
- Bangladesh workers are paid $0.13 to $0.17 per hour and work from 8:30 am to 10:30 pm 7 days per week
- Wal-Mart will receive approximately $2million in subsidies to build a store in your/our town, why do they need that when they make billions in profits?
- the $2million in subsidies which come from the tax payers could run 1 or more schools employ more teachers, fireman, and police officers.
- Wal-Mart gave 1% to charity while Bill Gates gave 58%
- they receive millions per hour in tax cuts
- 60% to 80% of crime happens in a Wal-Mart parking lot and that is just what is reported
- every state they have stores they have multiple fines for environmental violations in the millions
- lawsuits in 31 plus states for labor issues
These are just some of the atrocities made by Wal-Mart. They do not go into a community to provide jobs and give back they count how many mom and pop stores will go out of business. One town had to lay off fireman because their tax dollars went to the subsidies just to build a Wal-Mart in their town. Don't get me wrong I am all for capitalism but not at the expense of the poorest people nor do I believe that any company and I mean any company should receive state or federal subsidies to build or run their company. If Mom and Pop went to the city and said they want subsidies to build they would get a big fat 0 and a heck NO!
Wal-Mart is just one of many offenders to the environment who are also offenders in our communities who use up our tax dollars just to build another store! We should expect better, demand better and want better for our communities, our health and our environment!
~Deanne
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