surfpup Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 So based on the talk you hear lately you'd think we were spending a lot of our money on goods from China, right? Interestingly though only 2.7% of the average American's personal spending on goods and services is on goods imported from China. And in fact more than half of that 2.7% goes to US workers involved in the importation and sale of those goods (transportation and retail workers mostly). So in reality we are actually "giving" only 1.2% of our average personal expenditures specifically to China. If you remove services from the above figures (96% of services purchased by US consumers are USA-produced services) and focus solely on goods it changes slightly... 12 percent of the goods we purchase do come from China. Adjusting for transportation, retail etc. as done above the figure would is only 5.3% of the goods purchased by Americans actually coming from China. The above figures are for all goods and services. There is of course huge variance by the type of goods purchased. While services are 96% domestic, furniture is 20% Chinese made and clothing/shoes are over 35% Chinese made. Still these figures strike me as being below what many think they are. My main source for further reading if you are interested http://www.frbsf.org/publications/economics/letter/2011/el2011-25.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Inside every retail store, are people working to feed themselves and their families. Everytime I shop and purchase goods from these " evil " stores, I am helping to pay a salary for someone that needs the paycheck. Maybe the CEO's salary. Those associates you interact with in the store are hourly wage earners that mostly cannot feed their families because of the pisspoor wages they earn. 46% of Walmart associates' children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured. Walmart helps depress retail wages and is a large part of the race to the bottom; a race I refuse to participate in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Maybe the CEO's salary. Those associates you interact with in the store are hourly wage earners that mostly cannot feed their families because of the pisspoor wages they earn. 46% of Walmart associates' children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured. Walmart helps depress retail wages and is a large part of the race to the bottom; a race I refuse to participate in. i thought 46% was the number of Americans on some kind of Food Stamps anyway! Therefore Walmart is right down the middle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I grew up in Arkansas. Walmart and Bill Clinton were the best things to happen to Arkansas. Maybe not the rest of the world but certainly to AR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluzhammer Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Maybe the CEO's salary. Those associates you interact with in the store are hourly wage earners that mostly cannot feed their families because of the pisspoor wages they earn. 46% of Walmart associates' children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured. Walmart helps depress retail wages and is a large part of the race to the bottom; a race I refuse to participate in. From where do you draw this statistic? Walmart allows ample room and opportunity to advance, but one has to apply oneself to do so. So, I guess by your reasoning , Walmart should pay all their employees what ? 100K right out of the chute? Don't be naive. I started out my career as an apprentice and worked up to top pay. I had to pay my dues along the way. Life is about choices, some choose wisely, others poorly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanvillRob Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 From where do you draw this statistic? Walmart allows ample room and opportunity to advance, but one has to apply oneself to do so. So, I guess by your reasoning , Walmart should pay all their employees what ? 100K right out of the chute? Don't be naive. I started out my career as an apprentice and worked up to top pay. I had to pay my dues along the way. Life is about choices, some choose wisely, others poorly. I started out in my current occupation making $2.45 per hour....(and after they took out union dues, I was bringing home $65 a week!) I know it's been 44 years....but I do make a little more than that now, (and I don't pay union dues anymore!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 I miss the small town stores. When I was a kid, in addition to the local movie theater and the diner, we had clothing stores, shoe stores, a variety store, sporting goods, auto parts, and a drug store around the court square. Now most of that is gone because 'everyone shops at Wal-Mart'. I know that is the same story with lots of small towns. It was a big experience back then to 'go to town'. I miss that. Every town had this but its demise started long before Walmart moved in. Once the multi-store shopping malls started being built the little in town store didn't stand a chance. Better location, parking, convenience and a food court spelled doom for the local small business guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I grew up in Arkansas. Walmart and Bill Clinton were the best things to happen to Arkansas. Maybe not the rest of the world but certainly to AR. I lived in Ft Smith for awhile and I remember Diamond mines, The Razorbacks and Rebel lures. I don't hate Walmart I just don't go there, there is no safe place to park! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 I don't know what's true/false/exaggerated/etc. in regards to the pros and cons about Wal Mart. I know their wages are not among the best, but I also know they give jobs to people that cannot find work elsewhere. People in their 70's-80's can get jobs at Wal Mart. High School kids who are "uncool" can get jobs at Wal Mart. Severly handicapped people can get jobs at Wal Mart. .................But there is also a dark side: if you go to Wal Mart at 3am on a Sunday morning, it's kind of like being on The Jerry Springer Show. I swear to God that there is an underground culture in this country that only comes-out at night, and they all go to Wal Mart and convenience stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyMoon Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Better wages means you don't need 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet...not needing 2 jobs free's up jobs for those who don't have jobs wich in turn means more people spending which drives economy.70 and 80 year olds should be enjoying retirement, not supporting families. Unfortunatly the big box stores have become so big that there is no turning back now...so while they pay off someone like Bob Nardelli (sp?)former ceo of home depot, 210 million to go bye bye you can sleep comfortably knowing that after 40 hours of work you can almost pay rent that week..oh, but crap, you havent eaten or wiped your but yet..oops, oh well grab a paper and start looking for that 2nd job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmonics101 Posted March 2, 2012 Share Posted March 2, 2012 Walmart a race to the bottom ? As far as paying minimum wage ? Keep in mind, minimum wage in some states aint that bad , $9.00 an hour in Washington state. Like some other poster(s) have stated, do you have more pride in taking a job or multiple jobs at menial pay, OR are you lazy enough to live off the generosity of the American government. Go ask Judge Judy what her opinion is on this. GO COLLECT ALUMINUM CANS PEOPLE TO PUT FOOD ON THE TABLE !!! Harmonics101 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disembodied Loaf Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Supporting Wal-Mart in any way is directly contributing to the reason many of us do not have jobs. I have a job... At Wal-Mart! Let me tell you guys... If you think the people who shop there are weird, you should check out the employees. Guess how much I make? Below minimum wage? Minimum wage in my state has been raised to $7.64, but I make $8.00. That's as low as it gets. In less than 2 weeks, I'm getting promoted and will make $8.40. In June, I'll be making at least $8.80. Not bad? I would be complaining if it wasn't for this promotion. I've been working the hardest, lowest paying job for 8.5 months. THIS is the slave job. Pushing carts is the job that EVERYONE takes for granted. "Cashiers too slow? Send ALL register-trained associates to front!" But if we're struggling, even while working damn hard, "Oh, you can't clear the lot all by yourself? **** you!" We are those guys who don't get a lot of respect. When we're all caught up and we still don't have enough carts for the customers, that's our fault even though we have no control over it. So yeah, the cart-pushers are treated like slaves, but I don't mind because I'm used to it. I used to hate it, but I've adjusted to being un-appreciated. It's a job, so yeah. And walmarts in general aren't bad. The one I work at is very new so it's not all run-down. I hear it's one of the busiest in the nation. I didn't believe that at first, but now I totally do. The supervisors/managers are generally cool, but as I've said, those of us who work outside are quite un-noticed for our efforts. I've seen people who work inside get praise and stuff. We have the never-ending job so our efforts aren't noticed. So yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slavestate Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 What about all of the genetically modified foods?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Whenever I feel down in the dumps and bad about myself I take a trip to Walmart.When I see some of the sorry looking lumps of protoplasm gallumphing through the store I feel great and figure things aren't bad at all-I could have turned out like one of them lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old mark Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Not at all. There are things I won't buy there, but there are other things I won't buy anywhere else. Don't like most of their meat, but their fresh produce is as good as anywhere else, including my local farmers market, and it a lot less expensive. Canned stuff, milk, paper products, etc, is the same everywhere, and a lot cheaper at Walmart. It is worth it to drive a little more to buy all that stuff there. mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.R.M.30! Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I used to work at Wal-Mart. I have mixed feelings about my time there, in that there was a ton of turnover while I was there. New managers would come and go and my equipment would keep breaking down every so often. The monopoly known as Wal-Mart has indeed destroyed some of the environment, sadly. I hardly ever shop there but I did get a pay check from there and met new people and formed everlasting memories, like the time somebody left some doo doo on a motorized cart or the time somebody through up behind the vestibule or the time more doo doo was spotted inside the vestibules or the time even more doo doo was found in somebody's panties in the back of the store and the time a little boy tinkled in the parking lot. Ah fond memories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 I don't know if any of you folks have seen these but every now and then friends of mine email me pix called The People of Walmart and these are actual pix taken inside of Walmart stores and not Photoshopped (or whatever they call it) at all.It's mind boggling the states of dress or even undress that people go to Walmart in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightTimeConcealmentX91 Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 deleted comment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 You'd better start preaching that to the American companies who contract out to Chinese companies to make their products rather than have them made in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff-7 Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 As long as Americans have a penchant for cheap, low quality goods Wal-Mart and businesses like them aren't going anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RowdyMoon Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I am starting to hate all box stores in general. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buliwyf Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Walmart helps me when I need a reality check.I have a bunch of strange (not for Walmart) people shopping at Walmart pictures but I cant figure out how to post them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishguitar Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I know walmart has shut down small business' due to price competition,but if i need something there, i go get it,the downfall of goin into walmart in a small town where i live is runnin into so many people you know and your 2 or 3 item shopping trip turns into hour(s).When i go,i park around back and go in thru the automotive dept.,usually no line and can get in and out like i prefer to do. I was a big time bass fisherman at one time and loved shopping all the little tackle stores in the area. Then Wally World came in with a huge fishing department, selling way cheaper, having closeouts cheaper still, until one day there were no more local shops. Then WallyWorld started shrinking their fishing department, then started selling crap combos, etc. Now I won't go in because the workers can't understand what I'm asking for, and China is supposed to mean dishes, not where everything is made. End of rant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.