If Wallmart didn’t provide these jobs, there would be thousands of more people lining up for Food Stamps, and it’ll be you and I who will be paying for that.

No one cares about the oppertunities that Wallmart provides for these unkilled labors, nor the saving provided (Not for every single product of course).

Everyone wants to cry about how these Wallmart workers are treated unfairly, but the fact is that if these workers don’t like the conditions provided, they can always quit and work somewhere else. These people choose to work at Wallmart, choose to work for minimal salary and no benefits, because they don’t have a lot of other options.

This is the same for people complainting about Sweat Shops in foreign countries, they don’t understand that working in the sweat shop for these kids help put food on the table for those families, help put clothes on family members. Yes, the condition is bad, but it’s not like they have oppertunities like us in America.

To make this short, Wallmart works, Wallmart provide jobs for people, provides variety of products for people. If you don’t like how they treat their employees, then don’t work there, but don’t ruine this for all the people who actually benefit from Wallmart, which is the majority of the population.

Boycotts have often put enough pressure on major American corporations to provide results. Besides, those of us who disagree with Wal-Mart for one reason or another (my reason isn’t a usual one) are simply falling outside of their target market. If they don’t mind losing us, they don’t have to change. If we start to hurt their bottom line, they’ll be forced to listen. That’s what the free market is all about.

Wal-Mart operates completely within the laws of the United States and the parameters of the marketplace.

Absolutely true.

If you think their wages are too low, you should join the movement to raise the minimum wage. If you think they’re not offered appropriate health care, you should join the movement for universal health care.

Abwaaaah!? You just made the leap from “they’re doing perfectly legal things, and that’s just the way the market works” to “manipulate the market by introducing socialist government.”

I like your blog, but I’ve gotta admit – I’m going to take everything you say with a major grain of salt from here on out. I just can’t take a guy seriously who thinks, rather than boycotting a certain company as a good free-market consumer should do, we should all band together and stump for inflation-pushing minimum wage increases (which raise the bottom line for all of us) and costly, inefficient universal healthcare.

Wrong answer. Period.

Wal-Mart’s role is to provide inexpensive products to consumers and they do this very efficiently, but within what’s allowed in the United States.

So let’s keep the market as free as the already heavy limits on it allow, and keep the minimum wage and socialized healthcare out of it.

Wal-Mart works because people keep working there and people keep shopping there. Cut out one or both, and they will be forced to change their ways.

2. I don’t shop at Wal-Mart anymore primarily because the one in my area is VERY poorly stocked.
It is also in a bad location that is very hard and dangerous to get in and out of.

3. When you add in the property tax breaks, the taxpayer subsidies for benefits, etc. Wal-Mart prices are way higher than the competition. Let’s level the playing field and see if Wal-Mart can compete.

Wal-Mart supports increasing the minimum wage–they already pay above minimum wage, and benefit when their mom & pop competition is also forced to do so.

If you’re anti-Wal-Mart and pro-local business, you should not support minimum wage increases.

See further analysis at Catallarchy.

Maybe it’s not going to change the world if I don’t shop at Wal-Mart (especially since there aren’t even any locations in New York, to my knowledge), but…so? If not shopping there doesn’t do any good, that means I should shop there? That doesn’t make sense to me.

In addition to that the goods, of the end of the aisles, that are cheaper are more often than not crap that are not worth what you pay for them and will need replacing much quicker than better quality merchandise thereby raising a regular Wal-mart shopper’s cost of living, not lower inflation.

Other than they exist with in the legal framework of your country and they provide some employment for the disabled there is nothing good to be said about Wal-Mart. They suck the economic lifeblood out of every community they establish their superstores in. They are heavily subsidized by federal, municipal and state governments and they cause any supplier who is foolish enough to deal with them to go offshore and America loses more jobs. Wal-mart has squeezed the life out of more than one corporation causing them to go under by squeezing prices below profitability for the supplier.

The only time Wal-mart supports American values is in their advertising. They are amoral corporatists who have no concern for their employees, their customers, the businesses they deal with, the countries and municipalities they deal in, or any thing else except making as much money as possible. Anyone who forgets this is simply doing their PR work for them.

They should be boycotted AND the other suggestions should be folowed. If you shop there you likely are not getting the deal you think you are getting and you are helping to support an organization that is not good for you or your country, and that is unamerican.