Is WalMart good for America?

[Diesel]

You ever think about the meaning of Capitalism? There has always been an idea that the market will take care of itself? It was thought that if the system had a monopoly, that it would be eliminated for the Free Market to work.

WEll, now, WalMart has come around. They play by the rules. They are NOT a monopoly. They have lower prices than anyone else in the game and they cover all areas. The incentive to go to Walmart is TOO Great. How is it bad?

No business can survive in the same province as Walmart. Walmart closes every mom and Pop Business that tries to compete. In Walmart's wake are Health, Laundrymats, and Handymen....

Look at all the businesses that compete:

Grocery Store, Hardware Store, Bakery, Florist, AutoShop, Stereo places, Etc.

Walmart has ushered in the MEGABusiness... And with it is : Lowes, Home Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy, and Pier 1. The Mom and Pop business years are gone.

Isn't this bad for America?

[Gambit99]

Companies like Wal-mart and McDonalds are what the American Dream of Capitalism is all about. You create a business and utilize it to become mega-rich. Look the difference between mom & pop and Sam Walton is that Walton built a system that could be followed and run by a high school drop-out. Mom & Pop depend on mom & pop too much. If you want to be a capitalist then you must learn the game.

Read: 1st (Rich Dad, Poor Dad) 2nd (Cashflow Quadrant) both by Robert Kirososki(sp) 3rd (E-Myth) by Micheal Gerber

These three books will change anybodies who is running or wants to run a Capitalist Business right.

[cyman3]

"The incentive to go to Walmart is TOO Great. How is it bad?"

- im not hatin on WALMART. but there are some negatives about it

1)u get wat u pay for. yes the stuff are cheap, but w/ cheap stuff comes cheap material. for ex- CDs. all their CDs are EDITED, so if ur a hip-hop/rap fan- u dont want to go to walmart for ur CDs

2)Car services- ever have an oil change at WALMART for $12 or $15? do u trust them? how long was the wait time?

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i agree tho, MOM & POPs business are suffering cuz of WALMART but its fair rules. MOM & POP are capable (in theory) of pullin a WALMART if they wanted to. when MOM & POP invested in "MOM & POP" they knew the risks.

[chillzatl]

The mom and pop places that make a good product or offer a level of service not available at the mega-stores, survive. Calling them "mom and pop" only serves to add a sense of nostalgia to what is/was nothing more than privately owned small businesses.

A small privately owned car audio shop IS a "mom and pop shop" without the mom and pop. Instead it has an enterprising 27 year old owner who is taking the same chances that a similarly aged man might have taken 30 years ago when he opened his electronics store. He's the one that eventually became "mom and pop". Beyond that, there is no difference between them. Only the market they run their business in has changed. If the guy with the car audio shop doesn't adjust to the market and make smart decisions, he will fail. Just as the electronics store owner would have had to do before him, or possibly still do today.

People don't go to Wal-mart expecting the pinnacle of quality or performance. They go looking for a decent product at a decent price and Wal-mart delivers that better than a small shop ever could. If it weren't for the wal-marts of the world, we'd still be paying $500 for 19" TVs and something as simple as a "desk" would be impossible for most to own. Now 19" tv's are under $100, affordable by 99% of the families here and you can get a good quality desk at wal-mart for $129. If you can afford more and want to pay it, you can buy something nicer. Which more often than not leads you to a smaller, privately owned business. One that, if the owner grows with the market, will be around for a long time. Possibly long enough to become "mom and pop" in someone elses eyes.

Privately owned businesses make up something like 85% of our economy and new business startups are still at record levels. The market has and will continue to support both types of business. Small business owners just have to be smart.

I'm definitely not a fan of wal-marts ability to uproot people from their privately owned property to build their stores. But that's an entirely different issue.

NOw I have to ask... You been watching south park? If not, you should find and watch episode 809 (something wall-mart this way comes". It's funny.

[Diesel]

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The mom and pop places that make a good product or offer a level of service not available at the mega-stores, survive. Calling them "mom and pop" only serves to add a sense of nostalgia to what is/was nothing more than privately owned small businesses.

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I used to think that way... But then I noticed that Nostalgia is only for those who can afford Nostalgia and THAT not being all the time. For Instance, you ever go to Walmart the day after Thanksgiving? They have a sale that pretty much takes out all the competition. Mom and Pop can't compete. In a tight economy, the only thing that matters is the bottom line.

Also, I used to think that there were certain businesses out of Walmart's reach like Television repair? Welp, I've watched 2 television repair places go out of business because nowdays, it's easier to save up $300.00 go to Walmart and replace the broken television with a brand new one...

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Privately owned businesses make up something like 85% of our economy and new business startups are still at record levels. The market has and will continue to support both types of business. Small business owners just have to be smart.

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This too is a myth... In any given month, if 1000 new businesses start, 1010 old businesses go bankrupt.

The funny thing is this:

Now, citizens are trying to stop Walmart's from opening in their neighborhoods for whatever reason they can manufacture... Doesn't this go against the principle that our economy was founded upon...

[kudzu23]

The only thing that bothers me about Wal-Mart is that they convince the local governments to allow them to build a huge shopping center, but at the expense of those who live right next to it. Not just traffic issues and stuff like that, but if their house is in the way and they dont want to sell, the government comes in and condemns the home, claiming that they can do so because of the taxes it will bring into the system. Walmart or the government wont offer them anything lucrative for their home. I've heard a few cases like this, and it sounds like a scary thing to have no hand in your own property and what you can get for it, and to have it possibly just taken away.

[chillzatl]

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I used to think that way... But then I noticed that Nostalgia is only for those who can afford Nostalgia and THAT not being all the time. For Instance, you ever go to Walmart the day after Thanksgiving? They have a sale that pretty much takes out all the competition. Mom and Pop can't compete. In a tight economy, the only thing that matters is the bottom line.

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There is and has been a super wal-mart about 5 miles from my home. If I take a trip there, I will pass, roughly 150 small businesses along the way. Everything from appliance repair stores to music stores (both instruments and recorded music). All of which are doing well despite living in the shadow of Wal-mart.

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Also, I used to think that there were certain businesses out of Walmart's reach like Television repair? Welp, I've watched 2 television repair places go out of business because nowdays, it's easier to save up $300.00 go to Walmart and replace the broken television with a brand new one...

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As I said, evolve or die. It is that simple. This is not the 1940's. You can't start a business and not expect to have challengers. Whether it's Wal-mart or someone who decides they can offer what you offer, only better. You can't plant a tree and never tend it and expect it to surive, much less grow and thrive.

That is the differene between today and yesterday. Yesterday you could start a hardware business and expect to be able to do business the same old way forever, simply because chances were high that you would never have competition. You could charge what you wanted and offer only what you wanted to offer. Today, you have to have business smarts. You have to watch the market and grow with it, otherwise you lose.

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This too is a myth... In any given month, if 1000 new businesses start, 1010 old businesses go bankrupt.

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That's untrue. something like 80% of the money in our economy comes from small businesses. You simply don't have that kind of % when you have 101% turnover. These are not political stats. Small businesses have made up the bulk of our economy for decades and will continue to do so.

[Diesel]

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That's untrue. something like 80% of the money in our economy comes from small businesses. You simply don't have that kind of % when you have 101% turnover. These are not political stats. Small businesses have made up the bulk of our economy for decades and will continue to do so.

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Those numbers are laughable...

According to the office of Advocacy, the truth is that 4 out of every 5 new business fails in the first 4 yrs. That's down from 9 out of every 10 Startup failing in the first year.

And the only way that Small business is driving our economy is because the money that small businesses owe the bank in interest is helping to drive the economy.

[chillzatl]