Necessary evil shopping.
We went and got the graduation clothes shopping done.
We went to Walmart.
Ugh.
I would have gone elsewhere, but I needed really cheap, and really cheap just isn't happening at any other stores in Sarasota.
I just really hate shopping at Walmart, but it's a necessary evil in these hard economic times.
Not only do I hate them for what they did 2 Christmases ago, but I hate them for their very unethical business practices.
Example, Walmart sells a pair of women's black pants for $20.
The girl in Indonesia who makes them all day long, only makes $278 for the entire year, and all she does is sew those pants together for 17-18 hours per day.
Yes, the cost of living is much different there, but what she makes for an entire year still has her living in absolute poverty, and most of the time, she lives in a room with 15 other girls who also work at the factory and are basically slaves to the factory owner for the room they share so that they are not homeless.
They pay him to share a room with 15 other girls, so her pay is handed right back over to the factory owner.
I hate how once Walmart moves into a town, all of the small stores that were in business for ages, lose business and end up having to close.
I hate how little Walmart pays it's employees, how little they care for them, and the hiring and promotion practices of those employees.
Women who are far more qualified, who have been employed by Walmart longer, have a much higher education than their male co-workers, are often passed over for promotion, and earn less.
* female hourly workers earn up to 37 cents less per hour than their male counterparts;
* female full-time employees working at least 45 weeks earn on average nearly $5,000 less than male employees in yearly salary;
* women make up 72 percent of WalMart's total workforce, but only 33 percent of its managers;
* and women make up 92 percent of WalMart's cashiers, but only 14 percent of WalMart store managers.
Walmart gets around having to offer or pay health insurance for a majority of it's employees by keeping everyone but the managers, working part-time hours.
Part-timers are not eligible for health insurance, so most of their employees are on some type of welfare.
About the evil that is Walmart, watch this video, The High Cost of Low Prices.
But I really had no choice, I had to go where it's cheapest.
I try to avoid them like the plague, because I absolutely hate to think that my money helps support what they do.
Every time I step foot in a Walmart, I feel like I'm screwing the employees, hurting the city I live in, and putting an even bigger financial strain on the welfare system, because I know what they do and how they operate.
I know that how they run their stores hurts the towns they build their stores in, it hurts the people who work there, and it ruins the lives and business of other smaller stores that are forced to close because they cannot compete with Walmart's low prices.
Walmart forces artists, musicians, to edit their music or else they will not sell it in their stores.
That is their right to refuse to carry a product, but it forces artists to censor their music, to put out albums that have been totally edited, if they want to be able to have their albums sold in the nation's largest retailer.
They basically have artists over a barrel.
Edit your music or we won't sell it.
Green Day is refusing.
Good for them.
Walmart will no doubt win this battle, they have the money and the lawyers to win it, but it still sucks that because they have the money to fight it, and they promise jobs and tax revenue, that cities often cave in and let Walmart build wherever the hell they want to.
I hate myself for days after shopping there.
Mark now has what he needs, but the $75 I spent is helping to support an evil company, and I hate that.
I very rarely shop there, like once every 6 months, if not longer, but I would seriously love to never ever have to shop there again.
I need to find a cheap store here in town that can compete with Walmart's low prices, and just boycott them and their evil forever.
Comments
Sad thing is most of those things you said are true for other places, not just walmart... women might have gotten rights but the male society still treats us like crap... As for walmart moving in and killing towns I really blame the people of the towns cause if they didnt want to have those stores go out of business they would shop at the small town stores but they dont... I was happy to see that greenday refused to edit their new cd I dont think any store should have the right to censor what we buy... Its kind of a double standard they dont want to sell cds with curse words but then they will sell movies with not only the curse but visual too...
Posted by: draven | May 28, 2009 6:22 PM
I totally agree with you. I feel that way sometimes as well when I call my internet provider and feel like I am talking to someone in another country with an accent so thick that I can barely understand them and with a name like Joe or Micheal. I am one patient person when it comes to accents but I get pissed thinking about how it is cheaper for us to send over businesses over seas but can totally understand somewhat cheaper labor.
Posted by: Kelli | May 28, 2009 6:23 PM
I would totally support Kmart but their stores are a filthy mess and majority of the employees can/will not speak english (at least in Sarasota anyway) We just need to drive around one day and hit all the smaller stores to see what they have to offer. There are some really cool consignment shops that have great bargains. My mom shops some in Nokomis a lot. So one day when you feel up to it we can make a day of just browsing some of these shops.
Posted by: Mindy | May 29, 2009 9:02 AM
I am right there with you. There are things that I must buy there, also, just because I can't afford to get them anywhere else.
I actually started my retail career in a regular Wal-Mart store (when Mr. Walton was still alive; before the coming of the 'Super Wal-Mart'), and I was full time, weekdays, and had health insurance and a small percentage of Wal-Mart stock. That would be unheard of today.
I can almost see Sam Walton spinning in his grave over what his family has turned his business into.
Posted by: Devilish Southern Belle | May 30, 2009 3:39 PM
I'm sorry that your financial situation forces you to shop there. My mother is in the same boat, and I feel both your pain/frustration and hers.
I hate Walmart. Hate them. I hate how they treat their employees, the local and foreign communities, and around here, I hate the low-class, ghettolicious element that shops there.
Needless to say, I really don't shop there. Fortunately, freelance writing and design has enabled me to shop at Target, so while I know I do spend a bit more on a lot of my purchases, I do feel better about shopping at a better store, with happier employees (I've worked at two different Targets, and they really are GOOD to their employees) and a higher class of customers (around here, anyway).
Posted by: Jenn | May 31, 2009 3:50 AM