Earlier this week I ordered a scentsy warmer and some wax for it from a friends Scentsy party. Seening that she lives in Oklahoma I had to have it shipped to my house. Anways It came in yesterday and I posted how excited I was to get it on my facebook. I recieved a reply from a friend of a relative on her facebook. This person asked me why I ordered from Scentsy when its cheaper to get the warmer and wax from Wal-mart. This person had ordered from scentsy one time and their order got lost in the mail. Yeah I would be mad too if that happened to me. My reasoning for ordering from scentsy, is yes its more exspensive but its higher quality. (Which I love my product btw. Michelle or Kimmy thank Madison for me). I would rather spend more money on an item that will last than by some company that sells the same thing at a cheaper price but won't last as long. I have not had any luck with Wal-mart the last year or so. I am very disappointed in the products they sell,their customer service sucks. Everything in there is bunched up. You can barely walk in there without bumping into someone or something. Wal-mart isn't always the cheapest.
My friend Mandy took a politcal science class in school. One day they were talking about major corporations. This is what they talked about.
"Friday, October 15, 2010
It's not a love/hate. It's just pure hate.
Walmart. In my mind, it's such a dirty word. I know many people that experience the love/hate relationship with Walmart. They love the prices, the convenience, yet they hate they cannot go into Walmart without spending a bundle.
I was washing dishes earlier and this is what came to mind. Many people ponder random things while they do mundane tasks. It was brought to mind as I mulled over the issue my best friend Kari is having with Walmart. They broke her oil pan during an oil change and have yet to send her the money to refund her for this problem. (I asked her if she would buy clothes from a mechanic or groceries from an oil change place......so, why would she buy an oil change from Walmart?....LoL). I'm not faulting her. She's a good gal, just trying to save a few bucks.
I learned about the evils of Walmart while I studied Political Science. I adored this professor I had. The man has one of the most brilliant political minds I have ever encountered. (I often wished he was in government, because things would make a lot more sense with people like him). He showed us all how corporations with such large power can be so dangerous to countries. Let me explain in plain terms.
The idea of capitalism is a fantastic one. You have an idea/product/service and can turn it into a living. It is a fair playing field. You want to do something, you open a business, and you have a go at it. There should be nothing stopping you. That being said there is nothing stopping Joe Blow down the road from coming up with said similar ideas and making a competing service. All is fair, right?
When you have a corporation like Walmart, you don't stand a chance. Walmart has become too large. I get their concept. They wanted to provide a neat one stop shop for all to pick up basic goods. When Sam Walton opened Walmart he envisioned an American Company. He bought and sold only made in America goods. People had jobs in the United States. When Sam died and his children took over, they wanted bigger profits (never mind the fact that Walmart was a constant growing company with plenty of income as is). The children found that they could buy and import from poorer countries for a fraction of what they paid for American goods.
Is it their right? Sure it is. Walmart can do whatever they want. However, around the time they started outsourcing goods, guess what? People lost jobs. (Let me note, obviously Walmart was not the sole company doing the outsourcing thing.) Factories decided that since places like Walmart wanted foreign products, they would do the same. Get cheap labor there to do what they had been doing here. It started a trend that is partially to blame for where we are now. Extremely high unemployment, cheap products on the market that have little to no quality, and an alienation that makes the Mom and Pop shop feel of connection with the community a distant memory.
If that isn't enough to make you think twice about Walmart, think about this. Walmart employes a HUGE staff of political lobbyists. What does this mean? Walmart buys their way through legislation or to get huge tax breaks or whatever cause they are after at the moment. These lobbyists have huge allowances to wine and dine Congressmen and political people of the like. I mean seriously, if you're buddy buddy with half the Senate, do you think they are going to pass anything to negatively impact Walmart? Guess what else this lovely team of lobbyists can do? Get something declared as imminent domain or some other nonsense. They have turned beautiful places into nothing more than a large building, parking lot, and constant stream of people. The typical small business doesn't have a chance in hell against a corporation like that.
A dirty little not so well known fact about Walmart. They have the purchasing power. They bully companies that supply them to accept their prices, not the other way around. Hence, many believe that is the number one reason so many jobs go overseas. Let's say you own a toy corporation that supplies to Walmart. With an account that large, you bet your ass you'll be doing whatever you can to appease them, even if it means outsourcing. Let me repeat:
Wal-Mart has the power to squeeze profits from vendors. To survive in the face of its pricing demands, makers of everything from clothes to toys to food have had to lay off employees and close U.S. plants in favor of outsourcing products from overseas. Walmart is not only the world's largest retailer, it is one of, if not the the world's largest company. It is bigger than Exxon Mobile and General Electric.
The reason I explain this is people don't understand why I have such hatred of large corporations. I go out of my way to avoid Walmart. I frequent privately owned independent shops and services as much as I can. I want my money to go to the good of my fellow neighbor, not some foreign country. It's a sense of pride for my country, for my neighbors that keeps me away from the likes of Walmart. I understand my friends when they say they have to shop there for the prices. I hope they understand when I say that I don't shop there for the long term negative impact it is having on our society."
After hearing this I agree 100% with her. Thanks you Mandy for letting me quote this and teaching me about large corporations. I couldn't have said this better myself. Wanna debate about it? Take this up with her she has the Political Science degree. LOL.
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