End of an era – Retail Apocalypse

I can see this as being ripe for hackers to get free stuff on someone else's card
How far away does one need to be before the software can detect the proper purchaser? Two people standing next to each other... will it know who gets that product? What about the current hacking already going on with RFID readers?

 

There are grocery delivery services that cater to shut-ins. You can order your groceries on line and they're delivered to your house.

 

For a premium

 

With various online stores one must give one's address and the credit card's details must match. Once verified one can buy presents and have them delivered to other people, of course - but one gets immediate notification of a purchase, before anything has been sent, so there are checks and balances in the system...

 

Going the way of the old VHS rental places. With nearly every digital product available online there's not much place left for physical media.

 

@Joe C: Yes. There's -always- a premium.

 

Walmart is not to blame for the downfall of American manufacturing. That's like blaming Toyota/Honda/Nissan for a decrease in American car production. If American cars were superior when imports started selling here, nobody would've bought the imports.

Consumers are the ones with the power and when offered a choice, they choose what they feel is the best option. Walmart offered a choice to the consumer of a lower-priced product. Consumers liked the lower-priced product better than higher-priced American products and Walmart has grown to be a huge company based on that business model.

As Joe C said, US workers can't compete with foreign workers that are paid a fraction of what workers are paid here. But that's not Walmart's fault. The government could stop imports (and maybe this administration will), but it's a free market currently and Walmart is just giving consumers what they want.

I do agree with you that it's sad that manufacturing jobs have gone away from the US economy, but blame the government (or the consumer for wanting cheaper products) for allowing that to happen, not Walmart.

 

Edit : Nevermind.
Must learn to read slower.
You already knew where I was going with that.

 

Actually I put most of the blame on Sam Walton's daughter... And would bet Sam is rolling in his grave over what she has "accomplished".

 

Okay, at least Walmart is not being blamed.

But seriously, I don't know enough about her role to comment. I probably should learn more details about the company. Maybe it really is an evil company and I'm not aware of all the bad things they've done..

I just like the company (based on what I know) and enjoy shopping there.

 

Firstly Sam would never have gone the import route. He actually believed in America, American goods, and understood the economy behind that philosophy.

When he passed away his daughter inherited the company, and that is when she sold out America... Financially.
Where do you think the money for the first batch of supercenters came from ?
( from the land purchases to the greasing of palms of zoning commissions to the actual construction and stocking of those )

Perhaps you should research that portion of history for yourself ?

But I seriously doubt you will. Why ? Because you don't want to have your illusions shattered.

 

There is difference between buying "American" and buying "Made in the U.S.A."
I buy my "American Made" Carhart jeans which means they were made in Nicaragua, Not in the U.S.

 

JFKI: If Sam wanted to stay competitive in retail, he would've had to have gone the import route or he would've lost business to other companies that would've gone there eventually. If it wasn't Walmart, it just would've been another company (like Fed-Mart, Target, K-mart..) that would've done it.

I thought it was a number of his children that inherited the company, not just the daughter..

Here's the root of our difference- you say "when she sold out America". My take would be "when she offered lower-priced foreign products that inevitably would've been sold by Walmart's competitors".

You're right- I don't plan on researching the company's history. Not because I'm afraid of shattering my illusions, but because I look at what the company does today- hires many people at decent wages, donates to charities, offers low-cost shopping. A lot of companies have dark secrets and may have done awful things. Look at some of the things Bayer's parent company did during WW2. I still buy Bayer aspirin today though.

You can blame Walmart for the decline in America's economy; I think there are bigger reasons than just Walmart for the decline. We have a difference of opinion on this and it's not worth arguing over..

 

First of all, here's a history of WalMart, as told by Wikipedia. If you believe it's tainted, please research it and disclose the truth here.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Walmart

And that is the frightening truth of Capitalism. It's dog-eat-dog. And if you don't keep up, you go under.

In capitalist parlance, That family was destined for greatness. And the current financial state of WalMart makes me wish that I had bought stocks 30 years ago.

I saved ya' the trouble.

Take a look at IBM. And there are still many older Jews who will not buy Mercedes Benz because of what Germany did during WWII.

It's over and done with. You can't change it. Get past it.

@PointZero: I buy generic Ecotrin from the VA pharmacy. And look what the Veterans did during times of war.

People want lower prices. Plain and simple. And you can't blame WalMart any more than you can blame Dairy Queen or 7/11 for doing what they do best. And doing it well.

We have to stop demonizing success and start rewarding it.

 

First you have to define "success".

If defined as an entity which drains the economy faster, in multiple ways, than it replenishes then Congratulations...
Enjoy your Wal-mart success.

Regardless I am now out of this thread.
Enjoy.

 

In the case of WalMart, they are successful because they give the people what they want for a very low price. And that's what people want. More for their dollar. As far as "Draining the Economy" goes, that's Capitalism 101; The lowest price wins. As far as jobs go, the jobs they offer are entry-level positions, designed to be filled by retired people or part-timers. Very few people stay with WalMart. UPS is the same in that regard.

If Capitalism isn't for you, then you're not going to enjoy your golden years in American society.

 

I'm all for capitalism but places like WalMart do need to have more responsibility for the way they treat their employees, hiring nothing but part time workers only takes advantage of those trying to earn a living and having to depend on social services for health care because WalMart doesn't have to provide health care, vacation, sick days or any other types of benefits that people normally had before, because they are stuck with part time jobs, and being coerced to work more hours than they get paid for.

If a company can be successful and do very well then great for capitalism but if they do it by taking advantages of their workers and our ecology then they need to be regulated and forced into being responsible employers

 

@Joe C: I understand what you're saying. Thankfully, I do not have to rely on companies like WalMart for employment.

What you describe is a phenomena that's taking place all across America. Take a look at the staff of most restaraunts.
The wait staff are almost entirely composed of part timers. And they charge a premium for the dining experience.

They also have no health benefits. But they expect none.

Unless you're hoping to be a manager, Jobs like WalMart are not careers. They're a stepping stone to something better.