People are shortsighted. They think they save money at Walmart, but they don't comprehend the long term financial drain that happens when a Big Box Store wipes out the local economy.
I'm more concerned about poor people being able to have decent jobs that offer healthcare and don't require a 60 hour workweek with no paid overtime, than I am about poor people being able to buy cheap Chinese junk for a couple of cents less. When the Walmartization of America is over, the economy will be toast. Roughly 70% of the US economy is driven by consumer spending. When consumers don't have anything to spend and the economy enters a multi-decade tailspin, at least you can hold on to that bitterness at the "snotty liberals" to keep you warm at night.
You know what I really love, BTW? People who give you arrogant condescending responses to via rep, so that they can be anonymous and get the last word in without having to deal with being responded to. Really nice. How cowardly is it that you are afraid to even associate your words with your anonymous Clutchfans monkier?
We just did this same thing in my neighborhood in Austin. Wal-Mart still built their store, but they had to redesign the outside and make it look a local store. They couldn't have a grocery or a car service center. I've seen it a few times now and it really looks good - much better than a standard super-walmart.
Protip: if you are so worried about how much money consumers have to spend, perhaps you should take your hands off their paychecks. Let's start by allowing social security opt-outs. That would instantly increase take-home pay by 12.4%. Also, please describe all of these wonderful jobs that Wal-Mart supposedly displaced. Some random mom & pop bakery or pet store isn't the panacea you'd like to fool yourself into believing it is. Those places also pay their employees poorly, don't offer healthcare, and work their employees hard. Most of the jobs Wal-Mart displaces weren't that great to begin with. Professionals certainly aren't being displaced.
Pretty interesting movie, though I love Wal-Mart. I used to work for Wal-Mart. It was the greatest job I have ever had. I loved being there. The residents shouldn't be fighting it. Wal-Mart will bring more jobs than it will take away. Wal-Marts greatly vary depending on location. The local residents will primarily be the people that will shop there. It isn't like a sudden surge of drastically poor people will show up because there is a Wal-Mart. New Wal-Marts are also a lot nicer looking than they used to be.
so its just rich(er) people complaining an ugly looking walmart is going to bring poor people and criminals into their area? From looking at the map it does seem like it would cause some issues as it could easily clog up traffic on the west, south, and east, but i think most of the shoppers will come from the north side, either crossing under I-10 or exiting it. Therefore i dont think traffic will be a big issue. i dont think the scenary would be a problem either, as there's empty land or warehouses in most of the immediate area on the northern ends. It probably would give the populated area a better view. The criminals excuse isn't a sure thing, not sure that's good enough on it's own to stop it from being built.
The newish Super Walmart on HW6 near 59s in Sugar Land is the nuts. And the new masterplan community Telfair built a direct street to it, and it's not effecting prices at all. Telfair's actually like 140% more expensive then other communities around here. I don't think Walmart makes places ghetto. Walmarts located in ghetto areas will be ghetto and Walmarts located in nice areas will be nice. WTH is with those crime studies? It's not a crack house.
LOL. All of these uppity Heights residents who are supposed to be so tolerant aren't so tolerant now, are they...
sadly, this is snobbery edit: and i'm not talking about the wal-mart your whole "I'm a proud Houstonian but I'm now a cool Austinite, too cool for Houston" act is tired
Wal-Mart's reputation as an employer relative to its competitors isn't by accident. I don't think Wal-Mart employees should earn doctor's wages (honestly, doctors shouldn't earn doctor's wages) but they shouldn't be subject to unchecked downward pressure. They shouldn't be intimidated or fired for attempting to exercise their rights and form a union. They shouldn't be bullied into working free overtime. Everything is relative. Especially when you are talking about low wage earners, very small incremental adjustments in the ratio earnings to labor can make a huge difference, and in the same way that Wal-Mart bullies their suppliers into shaving little bits off their costs, they bully employees into constantly giving up little bits and pieces of what they earn or how much they have to work in the name of shareholder profits. Of course, Wal-Mart's model is the most profitable. As an analogy, hydraulic strip mining is the most profitable way to engage in mining. But as a society, we've decided that the negative effects on society outweigh the positives for the individual enterprise, and we've made that sort of wanton destruction of the environment illegal. Basically, Wal-Mart works by taking the money that in a balanced environment would go to employees and suppliers, and they redirect it to the ultra-rich shareholders. I understand that idea from the shareholder's perspective. What I don't understand is why everybody else lets them get away with it unchecked.
