From an email:

Pt 1

1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart Every hour of every day.

2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.

7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only
15 years.

8. During this same period, 31 supermarket chains sought bankruptcy.

9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 Years ago.

11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pt 2

In California, the families of Wal-Mart employees use an estimated 40% more in publicly funded health care than the average for families of employees at other large retail firms, according to an August 2003 study by University of California, Berkeley's Institute for Industrial Relations. Providing health care to Wal-Mart families costs California taxpayers an estimated $32 million annually.

Thanks to their poverty-level wages, Wal-Mart workers are often eligible for other kinds of government assistance as well. The same study found that California Wal-Mart employees and their families utilize an additional $54 million in non-health related federal assistance, including food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, subsidized school lunches, and subsidized housing.

The Democratic staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce estimated the breakdown of costs for one 200-employee Wal-Mart store:

* $36,000 a year for free or reduced school lunches, assuming that 50 families of employees qualify.

* $42,000 a year for Section 8 rental assistance, assuming that 3% of the store employees qualify.

* $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming that 50 employees are heads of households with a child, and 50 employees are married with two children.

* $108,000 a year for the additional federal contribution to state children's health insurance programs, assuming

that 30 employees with an average of two children qualify.

* $100,000 a year for additional Title I expenses, assuming 50 families with two children qualify.

* $9,750 a year for the additional costs of low-income energy assistance.

Overall, the committee estimates that one 200-person Wal-Mart store may result in an excess cost of $420,750 a year for federal taxpayers.

The effects of Wal-Mart's free-loader policies radiate beyond Wal-Mart itself; Wal-Mart employees are not the only victims. Firms large and small are forced to cut their own costs in order to compete, creating a "race to the bottom, in which everyone suffers," according to the AFL-CIO report. Employers that provide adequate pay and benefits to their employees are under pressure from companies like Wal-Mart that do not. The result: a growing low-wage sector and ever-greater need for government benefits (funded, incidentally, by an increasingly regressive tax structure).

As an economic power, Wal-Mart is in a class by itself, with over $8 billion in net income last year-it's about five times the size of the second-largest retailer in the United States. Wal-Mart's sheer size means it can drag whole sectors with millions of workers both in the United States and abroad down its low-road path. Taxpayers are feeding this giant corporate monster, and at a very high price.

So, stop shopping at Wal-Mart? Or is there more? You want to take them down right?

I second not shopping there if you do not like the place

People have a right to spend their money where ever they choose. Walmart happens to be a popular destination for many because of the cheap prices and the variety of goods and services.

Most of all people choose Wal-Mart for the same reason you shop your favorite store. Coming on here trashing Wal-Mart is really a waste of time. You kind of remind me of the fat ugly girls in high school that trashed the cheerleaders.

Why don't you find a hobby that gives you something positive to dicuss.

From an email:

Pt 1

1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart Every hour of every day.

2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.

7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only
15 years.

8. During this same period, 31 supermarket chains sought bankruptcy.

9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 Years ago.

11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pt 2

In California, the families of Wal-Mart employees use an estimated 40% more in publicly funded health care than the average for families of employees at other large retail firms, according to an August 2003 study by University of California, Berkeley's Institute for Industrial Relations. Providing health care to Wal-Mart families costs California taxpayers an estimated $32 million annually.

Thanks to their poverty-level wages, Wal-Mart workers are often eligible for other kinds of government assistance as well. The same study found that California Wal-Mart employees and their families utilize an additional $54 million in non-health related federal assistance, including food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, subsidized school lunches, and subsidized housing.

The Democratic staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce estimated the breakdown of costs for one 200-employee Wal-Mart store:

* $36,000 a year for free or reduced school lunches, assuming that 50 families of employees qualify.

* $42,000 a year for Section 8 rental assistance, assuming that 3% of the store employees qualify.

* $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming that 50 employees are heads of households with a child, and 50 employees are married with two children.

* $108,000 a year for the additional federal contribution to state children's health insurance programs, assuming

that 30 employees with an average of two children qualify.

* $100,000 a year for additional Title I expenses, assuming 50 families with two children qualify.

* $9,750 a year for the additional costs of low-income energy assistance.

Overall, the committee estimates that one 200-person Wal-Mart store may result in an excess cost of $420,750 a year for federal taxpayers.

The effects of Wal-Mart's free-loader policies radiate beyond Wal-Mart itself; Wal-Mart employees are not the only victims. Firms large and small are forced to cut their own costs in order to compete, creating a "race to the bottom, in which everyone suffers," according to the AFL-CIO report. Employers that provide adequate pay and benefits to their employees are under pressure from companies like Wal-Mart that do not. The result: a growing low-wage sector and ever-greater need for government benefits (funded, incidentally, by an increasingly regressive tax structure).

As an economic power, Wal-Mart is in a class by itself, with over $8 billion in net income last year-it's about five times the size of the second-largest retailer in the United States. Wal-Mart's sheer size means it can drag whole sectors with millions of workers both in the United States and abroad down its low-road path. Taxpayers are feeding this giant corporate monster, and at a very high price.

And you own how much stock in Target Corporation ?

Looks like a lot of ppl here are prone to jumping to conclusions. I never said good or bad about WM but how many here were enlightened at the indirect tax subsidies that a WM creates?
That was an eye opener for me and probably very much under the radar to most.

So ddavidson8 & rcjunkie you can have any opinion of me that you want but don't assume you know my intention for posting this.

This stuff gets put on so many forums. I wish for everyone to be paid a good wage. But face it, a cashier scanning bar-codes or a stocker stocking shelves just isn't a 15 to 20 dollar an hour job in any market for any chain.

This stuff gets put on so many forums. I wish for everyone to be paid a good wage. But face it, a cashier scanning bar-codes or a stocker stocking shelves just isn't a 15 to 20 dollar an hour job in any market for any chain.

Simple answer is to just work two jobs. I know many Asians here do it. There's little reason to think we Americans can continue to prosper in tough economic times when our personal business model is stuck on a part time job at WM or working a 40 hour week. Anyone can be successful if they work hard.

I love Wal Mart. I am a loyal customer. It isn't perfect, but the bullies supported and encouraged by the pro union groups who want to take them down piss me off. There are plenty of businesses to demonize if someone has a motivation.


People who don't think at all about other business can quote you chapter and verse from the Wal Mart tax revenues - as here. They are on a mission and never seem to stop and think about why this is so important to them when there are plenty of other causes. It is just popular to bitch about Wal Mart. Anyone who has this much energy -for heaven's sake go do something constructive and helpful. Pointing out stuff from the internet that can be cut and pasted isn't a mission - it is a strange hobby. Who the hell cares besides the ones saying, "aint it awful?"

Fact is, if WalMart was a union shop, this would all go away.

I don't mean to be so offensive but you just see this over and over and over and over. It has become just nagging. "Do you get it? Do you get it? Do you get it? Wal Mart is BAD! Wal Mart is BAD!" For god's sake, who cares? Just don't shop there. It is not going to bring about the end of our western civilization. People confuse trashing Wal Mart with some sort of community service. It isn't.

Well PQ rather than trashing WM I posted this to point out the system that allows WM workers to work there but still be on the public dole. That's what I'd be trashing if I chose to trash something. As I said, I know of many that work more than one job and choose to do so rather than accept public assistance. Please don't group me with the Walmart trashers. I had no such intention. It's the entitlement mindset that irks me.

It's all about supply and demand and Wal-Mart provides. Why punish them?

I'm constantly surprised how many people in this country hate the free market we have. It's not perfect, but I'll take it over anything else out there.

People who don't think at all about other business can quote you chapter and verse from the Wal Mart tax revenues - as here. They are on a mission and never seem to stop and think about why this is so important to them when there are plenty of other causes. It is just popular to bitch about Wal Mart. Anyone who has this much energy -for heaven's sake go do something constructive and helpful. Pointing out stuff from the internet that can be cut and pasted isn't a mission - it is a strange hobby. Who the hell cares besides the ones saying, "aint it awful?"



Speaking of strange hobbies, one of the strangest would have to be posting on a message board 24/7.

People confuse trashing Wal Mart with some sort of community service. It isn't.

Agree. Walmart's trashy enough as it is; no need to pile on.

For the nonWalmarters: Try buying all your stuff at CVS for 6 months. You'll be back. :)

Speaking of strange hobbies, one of the strangest would have to be posting on a message board 24/7.

So get a new hobby, bud.

For the nonWalmarters: Try buying all your stuff at CVS for 6 months. You'll be back. :)

why would you be limited to CVS?

why would you be limited to CVS?

Well, whereever they go, just go if they aren't satisfied with Wal Mart. If they come back, fine, if not, they will have voted with their feet which is the only thing that can ultimately makes a difference.

Speaking of strange hobbies, one of the strangest would have to be posting on a message board 24/7.

OMG You're my new hero. I about died laughing lol.

I think the government is to blame more than Wal-Mart. The people working at Wal-Mart are just using the system.

The government needs to stop handing out stuff and make people work for their money. That is what our country was founded on, hard work! Not government hand outs.

Got a good deal at Walmart yesterday. Buy any gas grill and you get a $50 gift card. I bought the $94 one. Err.. $44 one. :-)
(BYOB tho. They don't come with propane tanks)

I think the government is to blame more than Wal-Mart. The people working at Wal-Mart are just using the system.

The government needs to stop handing out stuff and make people work for their money. That is what our country was founded on, hard work! Not government hand outs.

Possibly on the hard work of their slaves.

I'm constantly surprised how many people in this country hate the free market we have. It's not perfect, but I'll take it over anything else out there.

So the free market is highly desirable when Wal-mart over the years drives all of it's competition out of Oklahoma towns so the people there can no longer choose to shop to compare prices at Gibson's, T.G. & Y., Otasco, K-Mart and so forth. (OK, I'll admit people must have done that, found prices too high and bought at Wal-Mart.) Anyway, these days you gotta hope your town is big enough to have other places to shop other than Wal-Mart, such as Big Lots and Lowe's. And in at least one or two towns in Oklahoma Wal-Mart gets the thrill of having to compete with itself from having two of its super centers in town.

I will give credit to Wal-Mart for directing me to a small business. In Stillwater I went to Wal-Mart to get a battery replaced in my watch. But the clerk said they no longer replace batteries in watches they don't sell. She directed me to a tiny watch and clock repair shop on Main St. While there, it was interesting waiting since because the shop owner had old time pictures of Main St. from way back hanging on the wall along with a glass counter of old coins for sale. So Wal-Mart isn't totally bad.

I think the government is to blame more than Wal-Mart. The people working at Wal-Mart are just using the system.

The government needs to stop handing out stuff and make people work for their money. That is what our country was founded on, hard work! Not government hand outs.

Well, I wouldn't be surprised if people who work at Wal-Mart think they work hard from being on their feet all day, especially if full time.

Isn't the reason why people who work at Wal-Mart are on government entitlements is because they have kids? If so, what do you do about the kids? Should the government do something to prevent poor couples from having children, for instance, by giving a poor couple, or unmarried women, a big tax write off bonus from the government to put their babies up for adoption?

The problem IMO is that too many Americans aren't instilled with a work ethic and the family units aren't strong enough for when times are tough.
The majority of Asians don't have that problem. They'll put in as many hours a day as it takes and see value in living 3 or 4 generations under one roof.

The problem IMO is that too many Americans aren't instilled with a work ethic and the family units aren't strong enough for when times are tough.


lol, I bet the people who are dead tired at the end of their work day, only to have to be loyal enough to face doing the same thing all over again the next day don't like to hear of your talk of a lack of work ethic in this country. There's still some grunt work left out there. Robot workers haven't taken over the work day world yet. When that happens your talk of a lack of work ethic will become all too true, but only mainly from the lack of work.

If working at a minimum wage job has you dead tired at the end of your shift you either have a physical defect or you just aren't used to doing a days work.

BTW, there'll never be a lack of work. Just a lack of willing.

You certainly don't need to be "hired" to earn money either. You can get free lumber at most any construction site and with a $4 hammer a saw and a few nails you can build craft things to sell, etc. Nobody should be saying there's no way to earn a few $$. IMO what the handout ppl have more of than anything is excuses...

IMO what the handout ppl have more of than anything is excuses...

and internet access.

Nobody holds a gun to anybody's head and forces them to work or shop at Walmart.

I don't shop at WalMart. Whoop-de-do. As others' said, this is a free market economy and I am thankfully able - not to mention absolutely willing - to shop with my feet - and my money, which I spend largely at Crest and Target for my grocery and similar sundry items.

Nothing against the people who shop there or work, I just have a general distaste for Wal-Mart's business practices and have had for several years. But I don't begrudge people who do shop there. It's there choice.

If working at a minimum wage job has you dead tired at the end of your shift you either have a physical defect or you just aren't used to doing a days work.



Hey, don't tell me it's not normal to feel dead tired at the end of a work day after being on my feet all thru it, whether it's a low pay job, or not. I've been there and done it for years. And at least I do feel blessed from not having to apply for government handouts aside from some unemployment checks a long time ago.

I don't shop at WalMart. Whoop-de-do. As others' said, this is a free market economy and I am thankfully able - not to mention absolutely willing - to shop with my feet - and my money, which I spend largely at Crest and Target for my grocery and similar sundry items.



A lot of people in Oklahoma's small towns have never heard of Crest and Target.

Don't get me wrong, Walmart does some things that are just wrong IMO. But it is a free society (so far) and we don't have to shop at any specific store. If my town has nothing but a Walmart, I'll find a way to get to the next town and shop in another store. I shop there, but don't like it much. IMO they misuse their employees and customers as well. Ever been there when there is a line with 10 people in it and no other checkers come out? And there might be someone "watching" the self-check registers. Come on! I think Walmart could make even MORE money if they didn't mismanage their resources so badly.

But I digress. If you dislike Walmart enough, you'll find another store in which to shop. I apparently haven't reached that level yet.

From an email:

Pt 1

1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart Every hour of every day. ...other major businesses make the same or even more every day.

2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute! ...depends on what exactly is being sold/bought

3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year...thats common knowledge/basic sense considering target isnt open 24hrs.

4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined. ....the first doesnt help you out much if you reside in an apt, kroger isnt in every state, target isnt open every hour, sears is usually located in malls, and costco requires a paid membership...so yeah, thats understandable.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English. ....they would have to speak english at some point considering the big conglomerate they are.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World. ....pretty understandable considering how much of a discount they gave on common items, their excellent return policy, the fact most are open 24 hrs.

7. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only
15 years. ..kroger and safeway are not located everywhere, heck neither of them are even in oklahoma for that matter, so what point are you trying to make again, im sorry?.

8. During this same period, 31 supermarket chains sought bankruptcy, what other grocery store gives you the convience of being open 24 hrs, and also selling other goods like electronics, toys, clothes.

9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world. ..much of the world is third world/poverty, and doesnt even have enough food for all their citizens.

10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 Years ago....yeah, it all started around 1996...basically its just walmart shutting down their old-business model store and upgrading it to the super-center concept model.

11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is approximately 6.5 Billion.) . purchases will occur wherever goods are cheap. open a store and sell cheaper than walmart, and your store will grow too.

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart. ...expansion will do that.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pt 2

In California, the families of Wal-Mart employees use an estimated 40% more in publicly funded health care than the average for families of employees at other large retail firms, according to an August 2003 study by University of California, Berkeley's Institute for Industrial Relations. Providing health care to Wal-Mart families costs California taxpayers an estimated $32 million annually.

Thanks to their poverty-level wages, Wal-Mart workers are often eligible for other kinds of government assistance as well. The same study found that California Wal-Mart employees and their families utilize an additional $54 million in non-health related federal assistance, including food stamps, the Earned Income Tax Credit, subsidized school lunches, and subsidized housing.

The Democratic staff of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce estimated the breakdown of costs for one 200-employee Wal-Mart store:

* $36,000 a year for free or reduced school lunches, assuming that 50 families of employees qualify.

* $42,000 a year for Section 8 rental assistance, assuming that 3% of the store employees qualify.

* $125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming that 50 employees are heads of households with a child, and 50 employees are married with two children.

* $108,000 a year for the additional federal contribution to state children's health insurance programs, assuming

that 30 employees with an average of two children qualify.

* $100,000 a year for additional Title I expenses, assuming 50 families with two children qualify.

* $9,750 a year for the additional costs of low-income energy assistance.

Overall, the committee estimates that one 200-person Wal-Mart store may result in an excess cost of $420,750 a year for federal taxpayers.

The effects of Wal-Mart's free-loader policies radiate beyond Wal-Mart itself; Wal-Mart employees are not the only victims. Firms large and small are forced to cut their own costs in order to compete, creating a "race to the bottom, in which everyone suffers," according to the AFL-CIO report. Employers that provide adequate pay and benefits to their employees are under pressure from companies like Wal-Mart that do not. The result: a growing low-wage sector and ever-greater need for government benefits (funded, incidentally, by an increasingly regressive tax structure).

As an economic power, Wal-Mart is in a class by itself, with over $8 billion in net income last year-it's about five times the size of the second-largest retailer in the United States. Wal-Mart's sheer size means it can drag whole sectors with millions of workers both in the United States and abroad down its low-road path. Taxpayers are feeding this giant corporate monster, and at a very high price.

read above

No one is being forced to work there.

read above

Aren't you a little late to the party?

Party hats are cheap at wal mart!

Party hats are cheap at wal mart!

And available 24/7 and oh look, the price was just rolled back too!

I love Wal Mart. I am a loyal customer. It isn't perfect, but the bullies supported and encouraged by the pro union groups who want to take them down piss me off. There are plenty of businesses to demonize if someone has a motivation.


People who don't think at all about other business can quote you chapter and verse from the Wal Mart tax revenues - as here. They are on a mission and never seem to stop and think about why this is so important to them when there are plenty of other causes. It is just popular to bitch about Wal Mart. Anyone who has this much energy -for heaven's sake go do something constructive and helpful. Pointing out stuff from the internet that can be cut and pasted isn't a mission - it is a strange hobby. Who the hell cares besides the ones saying, "aint it awful?"

Fact is, if WalMart was a union shop, this would all go away.

I don't mean to be so offensive but you just see this over and over and over and over. It has become just nagging. "Do you get it? Do you get it? Do you get it? Wal Mart is BAD! Wal Mart is BAD!" For god's sake, who cares? Just don't shop there. It is not going to bring about the end of our western civilization. People confuse trashing Wal Mart with some sort of community service. It isn't.

screw unions. nobody should be getting paid $27 hr plus incentives just to snap on car doors along an automated assembly line. Its the reason why the Japanese are killing us in the automotive industry, and its the reason why OKC lost their GM plant.

all unions are is just a bunch of people bitching about more pay and benefits they think they deserve, but dont. they are scores of people in this country that work harder for less pay and arent with unions.

they are scores of people in this country that work harder for less pay and arent with unions.

Like who? People on their feet all day working at Wal-Mart and McDonald's?

illegal immigrants

Yep, it's interesting I don't seem to hear that one reason to get rid of immigrants is because they refuse to work or work hard or rally to from labor unions.