Biggest welfare queen on the planet?
 

No, it's not some unwed mother in Biloxi, Mississippi...
Or even some third world nation.

It's the retail giant Wal-Mart...
http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?p...5-23416977b75e

Their low wage jobs are costing every taxpayer mucho deniro. To the tune of $1.7 million a year per super center.

I wonder if their hiring process includes a welfare application in the packet with the job application.:nope::stare:

They have done something positive though. Like hiring folks on their last legs.
Then they take out dead peasant life insurance policies on them that names Wal-Mart the sole beneficiary.
http://www.wvbusinesslitigationblog....-class-action/

I bet poor Sam is wallowing in his grave while his kids are trying to push Uncle Sam in there with him.

Not to mention the corporate welfare breaks Walmart gets. Houston practically bent over backwards to get Walmart to place on of their stores near downtown.

Depress the job market, then you can cut benefits and wages to those of 3rd world nations.

Yep, those life insurance policies are big money makers.

I don't shop Walmart.

And I call BS (Biased Study). Upon reading the whole article it seems that the 'Democratic staff of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce' is guessing.
Okay, so Wal*Mart doesn't start basic service employees at ten bucks an hour. Can you show me anyone who does? It looks to me like they're being singled out for no other reason than that they are the biggest target in sight. Political grandstanding, and you're falling for it.

I agree, if their employees are full time workers at above minimum wage, and they still need welfare, its probably because the minimum wage is too low

I didn't believe you so I had to read the entire article:http://www.wvbusinesslitigationblog....-class-action/

Yes, this is wrong, but they stopped it in the year 2000 and by the way Sam Walton died April 5th 1992 at the age of 74.

Well Steve, I can share your sentiments but, Wal-Mart doesn't staff their stores with 100% full time employees. I doubt that it's even 75%. Which leaves the part timers in need of social assistance.
Full time staff = benefit expenses for the corporation.
I think things were much better when Sam was at the helm. He would only purchase and sell 100% American made goods at a bulk price.
Now, they don't give a rat's patootie where it comes from.
It's ok if you like bulk goods from China. Cheap and disposable.

Do you really believe they stopped that COLI crap because it's in an article on the internet?

Do you believe they can't put untrue facts on the internet?

Wanna buy a bridge?:03:

And how high do you think it should be? $10? $20? How much to think their prices should go up to cover that cost? Should a Big Mac be $10? Have you even thought about this, or are you just buying into what people tell you?

So? Should there be a law against having part-time employees? Would you use the government to force and control everything? I thought you didn't like the nanny-state.

Really? So he would never stock Phillips television? He would never stock a PlayStation of any kind?


You'd better start reading the labels on everything you buy. Oh, and I go to Wal*Mart mostly for food. Same brands as everywhere else. Half the price of most.

So you don't believe everything in the article you posted? You sure seem to.

You bought this one without a second thought.

Ditto. I also buy American when I can. I have never liked walmart for far too many reasons. Personally, as a consumer, i would rather spend my money on domestically made goods. At least then I know my dollar is going to a local community and honest hardworking people. I can't say that buying chinese made crap at walmart.

Yep, the Nalley's chili I buy was certainly made in China. The trash can I bought yesterday may be.

As I said, do you read the label on everything you buy? What brand of phone do you use? Every single product you buy? Do you or anyone in your family have a PS3? "May be made in Japan, Korea, Malaysia or China." None of them were made in America.

I can see the hostility towards Wal*Mart if you treat every other place exactly the same. But this wasn't about products made in China, it was about employees unable to make ends meet. This is true of a great many establishments. Do you boycott them all? Do you advocate raising the minimum wage? How high?

To me this has always looked like a classic trendy "hate of the week".

I think that the larger negative impact that Wal-Mart and other chain stores is on locally owned business.They suck many local business dry in a small town or city the presence of a "super" Wal-Mart or Target or what have you can completely change the traffic pattern meaning that locally owned stores and restaurants can get forced out of business because they are not located in the new high traffic area.

Another nail in the coffin for locally owned bushiness can be rising costs of renting or leasing a location as other stores fail the property owners tend to raise the price to make up the difference.

Buying American is a nice notion(when the product is of good quality which is not always the case)but it becomes increasingly difficult especially with low cost items such as generic clothing (though much of the high end stuff is made under similar conditions overseas) another issue is that companies want to make maximum profits in order to please share holders.Most any item from a TV to a toilet is going to cost less if made in a third would country which means more profits which means happy share holders which means happy fat cats.

I do not think that you can find a pair of underwear or socks that is low in cost that is produced in the USA.And the USA label can be a ruse as well some items are made in Saipan which is an unincorporated Territory of the US.The workers though are from Taiwan or China.

The larger underlying problem is that it costs less no matter how you cut it to produce something overseas.We have become (as a collective whole) in the US,Canada,Western Europe,Japan and Australia mass consumers we want a cheap item right away this is an addiction that is not easily cured.

Look at how many idiots line up for those black Friday sales need I say more?To not be of this crowd makes you an ever increasing minority indeed not to say that you must assimilate.

Wal-Mart is also especially persons on low or fixed incomes the lowest cost place to purchase food.

Corporate America is rolling in money, but they're many signs the good times could be coming to an end again. Corporations have cut wages, benefits, about everything to increase profits, but because of that, Americans can't buy their goods like before. Eventually this tactic will backfire in a big way.

The good times never end for the fat cats it is rigged so that they always come out ahead.Something similar to the Khmer Rouges Year Zero would be the only thing that would change that and something like that is never going to happen in the US.

Look at the past 100 years of US history the song always remains the same the fat cats always remain fat numerous recessions and depressions have occurred since the turn of the 20th century(1900-1999) yet nothing really changes.Sure laws and regulations may change yet bad times still occur.Of course not every recession is completely unavoidable.

Have you noticed burgers at most of these places are much smaller? Heck, I ate at Wendy's the other day, been a long time and was shocked their burgers are about half the beef as before, but price was up.

Let's face it, Americans are competing with 3rd world wages and benefits and millions Americans have to take these jobs, but since they don't pay the bills, the have to use govt programs, food stamps, etc. The fact is as wages and benefits decrease across the board for Americans, the govt will keep growing bigger regarding needs programs to make up the difference.
If businesses can't pay a living wage, expect bigger govt, more debt and higher taxes.... or we can wait until millions of Americans are rioting in the streets as they are in Europe.

The economic model has changed since about 1980. The global economy ruined America. We were all told it would be a good thing, but it was a big lie. All the regulations were stacked in favor of corporate America, not Americans.

Look back before they could send our jobs out in mass, big business had to compete for Americans, wages were decent, most had good medical insurance and many even had that thing called a pension. This issured wealth was more spread and created a mass middle class and kept govt. smaller. NOw,we have an elite class of uber rich that hold 70-80% of all real wealth. Worse, now the majority of Americans want big govt, social programs, healthcare, etc., which is creating a national debt that can't be substained.

Armistead and Stealhead have reached the crux of the whole matter.
I applaud you gentlemen. :Kaleun_Applaud:
Steve was accusatory. Shame on you. :nope:

Personally, I couldn't care less what Wally World does or doesn't do for their work force. They at least provide some jobs. If their employees can't make ends meet, they should either tighten their belts or get some edumacation and find a better job.
You could say that working at Wal-Mart is akin to working for a state government. They pay you just enough to keep you alive and enslaved with only a small chance of being promoted. Pay increases are few and far between and are usually insulting.

I do not own a bridge. There isn't a salesman alive who could sell me one. They aren't smart enough.
:haha:

I disagree entirely of course economics have changed over the years that fact is largely irrelevant.Because economies are constantly changing.

Surely you jest when you say that the wealth on the fat cat level was ever shared equally.There has always been an elite class of uber rich and a much larger class of poor the middle class is the one that is the most short lived it was only a sizable class for a few generations from around the end of WWII up.

The real killer was the increased focus on pleasing the share holder by maximizing profit no matter the effect on employees.Pensions only became common place during WWII they where used as an insensitive to satisfy workers because the government enacted wage freezes during the war in other words they made up for pay increases which where not permitted thanks to the wage freezes.As far back as the mid 1960's companies began reducing or stopped offering pensions.That in and of itself did not kill the American manufacturing sector it was the focus on ever increasing profits.

Why should I be ashamed. Who did I accuse? I answered accusations with challenges. I don't see you taking anyone else to task, and the general trend of the thread was accusatory. I challenged the attitude, and no one has yet answered the challenge.

I've had years of seeing posters on lampposts and posts in forums, all saying identically the same thing: "Walmart is evil!. They only buy Chinese products!" I accuse, yes. I accuse people of having their own version of PC. Call it SC - Social Correctness. What I asked is for anyone to show that Wal*Mart is doing anything any other company doesn't do, and then why they seem to have a personal grudge against only one corporation.

Yes they did. But the thread wasn't about what is wrong with America, or even corporate America. The OP was a condemnation of one company for seemingly being exceptionally evil in their horrible treatment of employes. I say that's wrong. Has anyone showed where I'm wrong?