fatbrit

Break up mega-corporations who no longer have competition in the market. Ensure there is a tax structure that they cannot avoid. Make it illegal for corporations to donate anything to any politician. Severely limit their opportunity to lobby. Explain to the populous that the Constitution is to protect the people, and that corporations aren't people so they don't enjoy any of its rights.

snowbunny

Refuse to buy at big chain stores.

Sometimes one chooses between having a few more dollars or sticking with one's beliefs. Find someone who'll give you the box of widgets for $10, or $11, and refuse to pay f-in WalMart ANYTHING.

franc111s

Easy question. Fix the Healthcare problem. Enforce minimum wages and conditions. Give everyone a pension plan that won't go bust. Impose taxes on all imported goods. Close all dollar tree stores. Allow only 1 wallmart store per state. Make Christmas mandatory in all schools (ban happy holidays)....

Sorry, the last one is not so relevant but I didn't want to wait 335 days to bring up Christmas again !!

User Name

Germany did something like that, and its industry stopped hiring workers and the economy took a dive. The answer is not holding guns to employers heads. To the extent that there is an "answer", it lies with controlling outsourcing of American jobs. The more Americans there are in paying jobs, the less room for employers to compete by paying low wages and offering few if any benefits to its workers.

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BigDavyG

Its hard when WalMart are slowly but surely strangling the competition. I really do hope that the UK takes a look at the situation over here vis-a-vis big chains before it gets too late. There already seems to be a big problem with the likes of Tescos and various out of town box shops back there, but you just can't beat walking round a busy town centre every once in a while.

User Name

Apparently, Tesco are expanding outwards into convenience stores too!

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NC Penguin

... which is what I'm doing (not going to Walmart. Haven't been to one for at least two years). There's no need to go to Wallyworld. Some merchandise is cheap but so's the quality...


NC Penguin

Titchski

No Walmart for me either. Gave up my free Shams Club membership from work as well. I think their Human Resource policies would be enough to make Genghis Khan blush and so they get no money from me.

I like shopping at Publix, the prices aren't so bad, the fruit and veg are better, the stores are generally clean and tidy, plus my best mate is the meat manager at my local one, so I get nice cuts from him . Oh, and they stock Boddingtons and Tetley

Right now, my dad is working at Tescos (menswear department - hope hes more Mr Lucas than Mr Humphries though ) He seems to liek it, no stress but I think he's just winding down til retirement though as he can't be bothered to look elsewhere.

Hiro11

It's definitely possible to compete with Walmart. Just a few examples: Target has done quite well in a similar retail format and is eating Walmart's lunch in many locations. Walmart has had a very tough time finding success in Europe due to ruthless local competition like Aldi. Costco has simply destroyed Sam's Club. Walmart has also found it very difficult to compete in most urban areas, they've been most successful when opening giant stores in rural areas with little or no competition.

Walmart's done well because they have immense buying power, an excellent distribution infrastructure and are able to achieve economies of scale that no other company can match. They're also absolutely ruthless expense reducers (I've been to the headquarters in Bentonville, they bring a new meaning to the word austere), they push their suppliers around, wring every dollar out of employee expenses and do the bare minimum when it comes to store attractiveness etc. However, it seems to me that they're hardly unique in their aggressive nature. They're just the biggest and most visible proponents.

IMO, Walmart sucks because Target has much better quality, similar (or better) prices and more interesting stuff.

Guelder Rose

I saw a documentary recently about Tesco. There is now one area in the UK which has a Tesco superstore or convenience store every two miles and absoultely nothing else! The locals have to take a two hour drive if they want to shop at a different store!

I really hope that Tesco doesn't succeed in being the UK's version of Walmart .. that's one thing that you can't but notice here in the US, where ever you go it's the same .... drive 100 miles and all you see is the same fast food places and Walmart.

nxylas

Not true. Many conservative mega-churches preach that the poor are poor because of their own moral failings, and that obeying Jesus's command to feed them only encourages their fecklessness. People who go to such churches are the most likely to refuse to serve in soup kitchens on principle.

tony126

Add on FB's statement

Break up mega-corporations who no longer have competition in the market. Ensure there is a tax structure that they cannot avoid. Make it illegal for corporations to donate anything to any politician. Severely limit their opportunity to lobby. Explain to the populous that the Constitution is to protect the people, and that corporations aren't people so they don't enjoy any of its rights.

and we have Utopia. Wasn't yesterday about someone having a dream?

tony126

What do you mean by many conservative mega churches? Do you mean a few, or hundreds or on the other hand maybe you would care to put it into percentage terms. I am really impressed by one or some mega churches who shut down for Christmas.(?????) If these are the same churches you are talking about then I would certainly question their Christian teaching because you will be hard pressed to find that teaching in the bible. Pop down to the Oliver Mission or any other church in Columbia and find out what their programmes are for the poor and unfortunate irrespective of how they got there.
Flybydays comment is a very true statement.

deng890

Although I totally resent Walmart and its business practices, including this fine example, it seems to me that the plaintiff's lawyers didn't do their homework on this one, and settled for not even the bare medical costs. Surely, a prudent lawyer would've foreseen that Walmart could bring such an action to recoup the payments, and even would have at least got the victim more then just medical costs? If the injuries warranted such extensive healthcare costs (although in today's America, it was probably the charge for 2 aspirins), then I as the client, would've refused to settle for merely the medical bills.
Put it this way...if the victim in this suit had no medical insurance, and had all these outstanding debts, then her settlement, despite it's high amount, would have still left her with zero, or even in the red.

Nevertheless, it doesn't excuse Walmart from exercising some amount of social responsability and basic human decency, or the healthcare crisis in this country which such corporations and the current administration happily ignore.

User Name

*nods* I agree with your excellent points. Just trying to be fair to the plaintiff's attorney(s), they/he/she is/are obliged to communicate all settlement offers to their client. I don't know the true facts here, but if the client accepted the first offer even against the advice of their counsel, plaintiff's counsel are obliged to follow the client's instructions. Lawyers sometimes get the blame when in fact they offer advice that is sometimes ignored by the client, but the client makes the final decisions on whether to accept an offer, to withdraw, to fight on, etc.

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