Six Flags to plan and brand new park in Nigeria

Let me be clear that I have no problem with capitalism or acquiring wealth. What I have a problem with is greedy corporations who go about acquiring wealth at any cost.

I am lucky to work for an employee owned ad agency. We don't have highly paid partners who take wage increases and bonuses after they lay people off. If we have to lay employees off it's because business is slow and it's the only way to stay solvent. We grow where and when it makes sense. When Walmart lays off employees it's so they can show more growth and in turn earn more money for themselves.

To put things in an amusement park context, Hersheypark was built as a benefit to their employees. Now you're lucky to get 40 hours of work and health insurance.

But that's me. I don't have much of a solution, I will continue to speak with my wallet and hope that things get better before we all become slaves of China!

Cheers

Carrie M. said:
I'm gonna let ya in on a little secret, Ray. Wal-Mart sucks!

:)

..and so do every single one of their employees. "may they all rot in HELL". Seriously last year when one Wal-Mart greeter was killed I was driving through Colorado and heard some disc jockey on the radio going on and on about how all Wal-Mart employees deserved the same treatment and how he won't allow his children to play with his neighbor's kids because the mother was a manager of Wal-Mart..etc... To me that was a bit much.

To me Wal-Mart is really no different than anyone else. Yeah some towns do give them special treatment but then again in my hometown Kohls pays NO city taxes ( that will end in 2011 though ) because the city really wanted them there and as a result..back home there is no shortage of the anti-Kohls crowd. Kroger...they closed up shop in the middle of the night in my hometown of the night without warning to their customers and even employees..it was like "..ok we are now closed now get the hell out". K-Mart..often there is more employees outside taking a cigarette break than inside and how dare someone ask them a question. Food Lion..disgusting !!! Target? Last year on a hot day a dog died when some jerk customer had left him in his/her car while they shopped at a Borders Books next door. Despite the cries of other customers to do something the manager of that Target responded with "..hey its NOT my problem !!". I guess what I am trying to say..there is "evil" everywhere.

Mine was a joke regarding the Rain Man movie reference to K-Mart.

I don't follow the correlation of general bad human behavior and the Wal-Mart business empire. Perhaps you were only addressing the concern about customer service.

I stand by what I said earlier... I hold Wal-Mart far less accountable than I do the people who shop there. 8.3 made the point about speaking with his wallet and that really is the best course of action that any of us has.

The consumers have the power to impact change more than any other. But if you have no care to understand the bigger impact your consumer decisions have on things, then you get what you pay/ask for in the long run. Unfortunately, so does everybody else.

Carrie M. said:
Mine was a joke regarding the Rain Man movie reference to K-Mart.

I don't follow the correlation of general bad human behavior and the Wal-Mart business empire. Perhaps you were only addressing the concern about customer service.

I stand by what I said earlier... I hold Wal-Mart far less accountable than I do the people who shop there. 8.3 made the point about speaking with his wallet and that really is the best course of action that any of us has.

The consumers have the power to impact change more than any other. But if you have no care to understand the bigger impact your consumer decisions have on things, then you get what you pay/ask for in the long run. Unfortunately, so does everybody else.

I remember Rain Main LOL...my aunt at the time of the movie was actually a manager of K-Mart..and she AGREED LOL

Anyway to me it sees so weird how there are those who hate Wal-mart so much they hate everything about them right down to the children of their employees. I agree with "Speaking with their wallet", that is the right thing to do . My cousin for example hates the city Indianapolis..so he boycotts anything that has to do with Indy..his choice. But then again I am sure Indianapolis could really care less what my cousin does with his wallet.

And Walmart could care less about me and my wallet.

I was just thinking of ethics when it comes to corporations while looking at potential protest locations during the G20. It looks like they may protest Starbucks and I view Starbucks as a pretty ethical corporation. They treat their employees well, they treat their suppliers well and the customer experience is pretty good. They do try to force out local competition but they fail at that and local coffee shops continue to thrive when a Starbucks move in.

They are the opposite of Walmart.

Au contraire, mon frere. Walmart wants your wallet, very very much.

I'm not sure how well competitors thrive globally in the face of Starbucks--my experience is in college towns, where coffee shops have a higher-than-expected penetration.

I dunno... Starbucks has had to deal with massive lay-offs and store closures. Hard to sell a five-dollar coffee when unemployment gets into double digits. And now, McDonald's (apparently, I don't drink coffee or eat there) has made a decent and predictable drink for a fraction of the cost and unfortunately no tattoo/piercing hottie baristas.

That illustrates a difference in the type of companies we're talking about, too. Something like Starbucks (and perhaps Apple, Cheesecake Factory) sell a brand and a lifestyle. They don't compete on price, they compete on desire and quality. In some respects, as ridiculous as I find some folks' Starbucks obsession, I give a lot more credit to a company like that than one that sells entirely on price, service and quality be dammed.

Last night "The NEW Age Of Wal-Mart" premiered on CNBC. Didn't get a chance to watch it, but I have the DVR set for the replay.

It's apparently a follow-up of sorts to the original "The Age Of Wal-Mart" that you can still see on Hulu.

Thought of this thread when I saw the new show was on last night and figured I'd share. I'm cool like that. :)

When's the replay?

A CNBC Original, "The NEW Age of Walmart," will premiere on Wednesday, September 23rd at 9PM, 10PM and 1AM (ALL TIMES ARE ET)

The documentary will repeat on the following dates:
Friday, 9/25 at 9PM & 1AM
Saturday, 9/26 at 10PM & 1AM
Sunday, 9/27 at 10PM
An inside look at how the world's largest retailer is trying to reinvent itself. CNBC's David Faber investigates whether new leadership, aggressive green policies and a full-scale store overhaul signify real change for the controversial powerhouse. The documentary also includes a unique view of how the latest Walmart rides into town.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/32497527