James Newtons Massmind wrote: > My wife's friend Ann worked at Wal Mart. She became eligible for health > insurance and went to personnel to apply for it as she was having a health > problem that needed treatment. She was informed that better care would be > available via the medical system which is state sponsored at her income > level. They filled out all the paperwork for her and got her treatment > without providing it themselves. > > So, yes, they did help their employee. But at the cost of the tax payer, > rather than at their cost. It is my understanding that this is common > practice and it is not uncommon to see a significant drain on local health > care systems when a Wal Mart opens in your town. I have no facts or figures > other than hearsay to support that opinion. I was told there was a ban on > Wal Mart in Denver due to a study they commissioned that showed Wal Marts > actually hurt the local economy, but I found nothing about that on the net. > I personally doubt it. I think the overall effect is probably economically > positive. > That's an amazing story. Thanks for sharing. > But cost and economy are NOT the only factors that control where I shop. I > want a QUALITY product, and I'm willing to pay more for it, because I think > I come out ahead in the end. And I don't buy at Wal Mart because even if the > product is NORMALLY a quality product, knowing what Wal Mart squeezed the > mfgr down to with the promise of quantity purchases, and knowing how the > mfgr will push themselves to the limit to fill the order... Well, a widget > may be good, but a Wal Mart widget is less good. > > This is a good read that explains what I mean: > > http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/102/open_snapper.html > Good story. > But that isn't the main reason why I don't shop at Wal Mart. Another reason > is the people. Not the employees, the other shoppers. My impression is that > Wal Mart shoppers tend to be poor white trash. Costco, Trader Joes, Jimbos, > have a different class of shopper. I see a lot of people shopping for their > businesses; at Wal Mart, people are shopping for their whining kids. I see > people wearing classy outfits like jeans and a sweater or simple dresses; at > Wal Mart, people are wearing loud cotton/poly prints. I hear people using > full and correctly formed sentences and having informative conversations > with their kids; at Wal Mart I hear people yelling at their kids and buying > them candy to shut them up. > Yes, poor people shop at WalMart. Their money goes "further" at WalMart. They'd be foolish to NOT do so. > I feel better when I avoid Wal Mart. > > Now, we have purchased one thing from Wal Mart: Plastic miniblinds. Can't > have drapes (cats) and can't afford wood right now. We can't find the sizes > we need anywhere else, so we go to Wal Mart. In the last few years, we have > replaced them 3 times. They break very easily. If I could have afforded > better quality at the beginning, I would be ahead of the game in a few > years. > True statement in every case. I NEVER buy blinds at WalMart, they are flimsy. Guess what: Target sells the same flimsy blinds, at a 15% higher price. > And I haven't always been happy with things purchased at other stores. > Costco seems to have some of the same effect on product quality that I blame > Wal Mart for. I usually buy my tires at Costco. I always buy the top quality > and I've had problems with them that consumer reports would tend to indicate > are unusual for the brands. Without fail, the kids who put them on screw up. > Usually, they forget to put the little "hub caps" back on my Honda Civic. > Once, they cross threaded a nut and tried to say it was a pre-existing > problem. I knew better because I had just changed the tire by hand. The > manager saw it my way and they paid for the repair. > I don't buy Tires at WalMart either. I go to Discount Tire. Good employees that KNOW how to install tires. > I friend of mine just returned from China. He was very impressed with the > economic gains he saw. People were driving nice cars, sipping on Star Bucks > and living in modern, comfortable, even elegant houses. But when he tried to > look up some information on the city he was in, he found Wikipedia was > blocked. The local newspaper has a government employee who "corrects" > articles before they are published. He heard a man on a bull horn outside > and thought he would be witness to a protest, but no, it was an announcement > of the opening of a new computer store. The Chinese people seem genuinely > happy, living in a state controlled society without freedom of speech. Why? > > I think sheeple are distracted by shiny objects; I don't want to be a > sheeple. > > That is the real reason I don't shop at Wal Mart. > That's why you don't shop at WalMart? ...I must have missed a lot of this thread... --Bob > --- > James. > > > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: piclist-bounces@mit.edu >> [mailto:piclist-bounces@mit.edu] On Behalf Of Bob Axtell >> Sent: 2006 Dec 17, Sun 05:40 >> To: Microcontroller discussion list - Public. >> Subject: Re: [OT] I wonder what company would let such >> aproduct outthedoor.Naw, it couldn't be ... >> >> Golly, I have NEVER had a bad experience at WalMart, and I >> don't have any neighbors or friends that ever did. >> >> Can somebody document a bad experience at WalMart so I can >> get understand this? >> >> --Bob >> >> > > -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist