I Love Walmart!

I've written a few anti-Walmart posts in the past, and I still don't think they treat their employees well, but damn, you gotta love Walmart anyway.

In another recent post, I said it might not be a bad idea to take our money away from the banksters. Well, last night around 8PM (and isn't it great that you can take care of financial matters after bankster hours) I decided to take my paycheck to try out Walmart's check cashing. Why let the bankster criminals get their hands on it for any length of time, I thought as I walked to the front of the line at the customer service counter inside the big store.

I just told them I was there to cash my check, and quickly and efficiently I had hundred dollar bills in my hand, and the cost was a mere flat three dollars. I just had to show ID and punch in my social, but it was nice to be able to quickly and easily bypass the criminal and statist bankster network.

After that I put the bulk of my funds away and took a few dollars to do some shopping. As I went up and down the aisles of merchandise, I noticed that prices had indeed "rolled back" on many items, including a 32oz jar of mayonnaise which was under 2 dollars. I got that and some more Oscar Meyer hot dogs for a buck fifty a package, and then picked up a box of Trisciuts for under two dollars as well ( a rollback of a dollar on the previous price).

I went away happy and very satisfied, my mood lifted by the greatness of the private sector, the occasion only marred by my awareness of the contrast with government and its evil bankster accomplices.

Chinese Walmart Items

...including crocodiles, turtles, and antibacterial bikini underwear for men.


16 Items They Only Sell At Chinese Walmarts

And think how "patriotic" it is to shop in a Chinese Walmart if you're Chinese. Everything in the store is proudly Made in China!

Always Toxic Jewelry, Always

And to think for years I painted my masterpieces with such colors as cadmium red, cadmium yellow...

After an exclusive AP report, Wal-Mart has decided to pull a line of Miley Cyrus brand jewelry that was found to contain high levels of the toxic metal cadmium.

The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business

Targeting Walmart

If you're poor like me, how can you not shop at Walmart? It seems impossible, and with more Federal Reserve inflation on its way, it might seem foolish to abandon the world's largest retailer. That is one thing Walmart deserves credit for, keeping inflation in check with their aggressive pricing.

I needed a new toothbrush (I use those spinning ones) and some shampoo and conditioner. One of my local malls has a Walmart as one of the anchor stores (in the not so long ago old days, the same space was occupied by one of the giants of old school department stores, Montgomery Ward) so I went there for my stuff. I know I really shouldn't. I know I should strive to be a better person. I know deep down how wrong it is. I KNOW, because I KNOW, how Walmart treats their employees. Of course, no one is forced to work there (or anywhere) but that argument carries less and less weight with me these days.

So I go inside and gather my necessities, not even bothering to grab a basket, and when I'm done locating my toothbrush and my 99 cent shampoo I head for what looks like a checkout lane I can live with. Just one other person in front of me, a woman with a kid and only a few items. But the guy behind the register (who still had his light on) tells her (while ignoring me) "Lady, you're my last customer". He was dressed a little better than the other clerks, and looked more like one of the managers or something. I contemplated going to another lane, but instead threw my stuff (okay, Walmart's stuff) to one side and headed for the exit. Walmart takes their customers and their employees for granted, and they can go you know what!

Thankfully there is a Target anchoring the other side of the mall. I walked there and bought all the things I needed. True, I paid at least two dollars more, but I felt better. Not that Target is much better to their employees, but since I don't know anyone who works there and can tell me the horror stories of working for them first hand, I was quite happy to give them my business.

Now, the next time I need something and I'm short of cash (which is pretty much all the time) where do you think I'll do my shopping?

That's right, Walmart!

Corporations, Walmart and the Free Market

Saint Walmart? (here, the question mark is not superfluous)

All libertarians agree that the various non-market policies, subsidies, regulations, as well as penalties and taxes, ought to be abolished. But I honestly have never seen a coherent argument that shows that Walmart would be anything but bigger and even more prosperous in a real free market.-Stephan Kinsella

Wal-Mart to Workers: Go To Hell

Another Wal-Mart story. I know someone who works at Wal-Mart (a retailer I visit frequently) and they informed me that during orientation they were told "You'll be paid for everything you do"-well I would hope so-and were given the example of being asked for help by a customer at the end of their shift. It was explained that even if they went over by 2 minutes past their 8 hours in a day they would be compensated and that all they have to do is report the extra time (however short) that they were on the job.

Well, it so happens that the other day this someone (not myself by the way, should that thought enter your little head) was asked by a manager to finish a task that needed completing in another section of the store. The Wal-Mart slave worker dutifully complied and proceeded to go over their scheduled shift by 18 whopping minutes. Well, this just wouldn't do they were told, because that's 18 minutes of overtime. It was suggested that the worker take an extra 6 minutes of lunch time the following three days to even it out. So much for paying their employees "for everything they do", although, taken literally, I guess it was a correct statement, but that sure isn't what seemed to be implied.

The Shopping Cart Kids

I seem to have a lot of Wal-Mart stories lately. I'm compelled to shop there because of the prices, but what else can one do when the economy is controlled not by the free market but by the capitalist-statist-big banking-big government fascist system. But on with the show...

Sometimes, my hours being what they are, I will stop by Wal-Mart before work, but I don't think I did this time; already the details begin to fade, but I'll give you the main facts. First, I knew I would need a basket, not one of those little plastic jobs that you have to carry around the store, leaving you with only one hand to shop, no, I needed a cart, something with wheels, and I aimed to get me one. I entered the store behind two very fat women and their kids, two girls of age 10 or so. It was one of those days when all of the carts were gone from inside the store. This is not isolated to any single Wal-Mart store, I've seen it numerous times at various locations and I always wonder where in hell the cart crew is at on those busy days. Shouldn't they be out in the lot collecting carts so the store doesn't run out for customers as they enter to shop? But for some reason everytime I've seen it happen there is not a single person outside gathering shopping carts! Wal-Mart managers, do your job, please! Once I went in to a Wal-Mart at a shopping mall (on one of those no-carts days) where it was not convienient to go back outside to search for a cart in the parking lot. I mentioned my irritation to a Wal-Fart employee and she just stood there with a stupid expression on her face, before telling me to please not speak to her that way (poor little Wal-Farter, how dare a customer complain to her about the shitty service at Wal-Mart) but it was only after I spoke up that someone got on a radio and got the cart guys on the ball that more shopping carts finally showed up inside the store, where customers could actually use them. Oh well.

Back to the women and children. I could see even as I crossed the threshold that there were only four carts left, but still only the fat women party of four was in front of me and kids don't need...so I was sure to get a cart. Well, woman number 1 took a cart and so did her friend. Then the first girl got her own cart and said to the other girl (when she tried to grab it) "Get your own cart!" Now, I was standing right there, obviously waiting to get a cart, and the two mothers could see me, as could their brats kids. But neither of the two "adults" said a word to the little darlings, they just let them take the last two shopping carts so they could play store, leaving me standing there as they waddled away. So much for teaching kids to respect their elders or to have empathy for others. When my sister and I were that age we would have been slapped by Mom and Dad for even thinking about doing such a thing. Plus, we had a toy grocery store with fake food at home to play with.

Loose Leaf

So I went to Wal-Mart looking for some filler paper for my binder recently and could not find any in the regular stationary aisle. Then an ah hah! moment and I went to the special "Back to School" aisles (there were two of them) and searched for my paper. I did not find it but did notice a Wal-Fart employee kneeling at the end of the aisle stocking something on a shelf. I asked politely if they had any loose leaf paper. "What's loose leaf paper?" he asked. I informed the useless dolt that it was paper to refill a binder. "Oh yeah, I think we had some over there" he said while he pointed to the shelf along the wall at the end of the aisle. He turned and craned his neck. "I don't see it now though," he told me, without another offer of assistance. I went to search again on my own, and just around the corner, in the main aisle, stood a giant cardboard display filled with loose leaf paper at just 50 cents a pack. I guess Mr. Employee of the World's Largest Retailer just didn't notice it. Good job Wal-Mart on your employee training! Or is it just that customer service is not cost effective? Must be, because everytime I need help in one your stores, I don't get any. I only shop there for the prices, which I guess is the whole point, 'cause there sure ain't any other reason to.

Barefoot In The Wal-Mart

Apparently some people are fascinated by the fact that you can get your feet dirty by walking around barefoot inside a Wal-Mart store. I do know they clean the floors at Wal-Mart on a nightly basis because I happen to know someone whose job that actually is. Is Wal-Mart a more likely place to get your feet dirty than other locales? Maybe it is, but if so only due to its popularity (more foot traffic down its aisles) leading to dirtier floors. If the floors are washed at night when the store is empty (or nearly so) then by the time most shoppers arrive later in the day the dirt has probably already been laid down by many dirty shoes. Thus, dirty feet if you dare to walk barefoot.

A Family At Wal-Mart

At Wal-Mart (one of the Supercenters) the other day, I did some shopping for a few items, mostly groceries. I wasn't really tempted to go elsewhere because Wal-Mart is still the least expensive place to shop, at least for most of the everyday things I buy. One of the things that does irritate me about Wal-Mart is that too often it takes forever to get out of the store. They never have enough people manning the checkout lanes (and it doesn't seem that they lack for employees, I see plenty wandering the aisles seemingly doing not much of anything, even when there seems to be things to do, e.g., cleaning up the aisles that have misplaced items and items on the ground etc., that Wal-Mart associates pass right by-I pick up and put back more stuff as a customer than they do, My conclusion: Wal-Mart loves to hire lazy incompetents). And speaking of customer service, try finding someone to help you and actually answer a question about any of the products. I guess ignorance is another qualification for getting hired by the world's largest retailer (not to mention being grossly overweight).

I took my shopping cart to the line that looked the shortest and found myself behind a young family; a mother, a father, and three daughters. One of the girls was trying out a hula hoop, her older sister was looking at the candy and the littlest one was up on her daddy's shoulders, rocking back and forth just a tiny bit precariously. It always makes me happy to see that the traditional family is still around and healthy. And who can blame them for buying from Wal-Mart? With an economy totally destroyed by the total incompetent in the White House, places like Wal-Mart become more necessary than ever for the average American. Still, I was disturbed by the case of Debbie Shank, the woman Wal-Mart sued for $470,000.

Eight years ago, Debbie Shank was stocking shelves for the retail giant and signed up for Wal-Mart's health and benefits plan.

After a tractor-trailer slammed into her minivan, the 52-year-old mother of three lost much of her short-term memory and was confined to a wheelchair. She now lives in a nursing home.

She also lost her 18-year-old son, Jeremy, who was killed shortly after arriving in Iraq. When Debbie Shank asks family members how her son is doing and they remind her that he's dead, she weeps as if hearing the news for the first time.

Wal-Mart's health care plan lets the retail giant recoup the cost of its expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit. And Wal-Mart set out to do just that after Shank and her husband, Jim, won $1 million after suing the trucking company involved in the wreck. After legal fees, the couple received $417,000.

Wal-Mart sued the Shanks to recoup $470,000 it paid for her medical care. However, a court ruled that the company could only recoup about $275,000 -- the amount that was left in a trust fund for her care.

Wal-Mart reversed itself and will now let the Shanks keep the money they need for Mrs. Shanks care. Wal-Mart's health plan allowed them to recover the money from these poor people but did not require it, but that didn't stop hypocrite Lew Rockwell from attacking those who dared criticize Wal-Mart's evil lawsuit:

I turned off his [Keith Olbermann] one-note rants when the alleged war skeptic refused to even mention Ron Paul. Recently--no surprise--the rich socialist Keith has been attacking Wal-Mart, the working man's friend. Here is a link, if you can stand it, to his lying attack, but also to Wal-Mart's ezcellent response.

Yes, asshole, I can stand it, more than I can stand your lies for zombie Jesus (I once sent an email to Mr. Rockwell, wondering about his posting of so many stories supporting idiocy like anti-science creationism on a site supposedly about libertarianism and he wrote back telling me to start my own web site if I didn't like it because LewRockwell.com was his "hobby" site). That he dare call one of the most vehement critics of George Bush's foreign policy an "alleged" war skeptic shows how hateful Rockwell really is when someone doesn't fit the mold he creates for "true" war critics. Could the key be Olbermann's failure to mention loser Ron Paul, a man everyone on the fucking planet knew had no chance to become President, except Mr. Rockwell, who throughout the primary season continued to publish ridiculous scenarios showing how Paul could win.

What was Wal-Mart's response that the "Christian" Mr. Rockwell loved so much? Here it is:

"This is a very sad case and we understand that people will naturally have an emotional and sympathetic reaction. While the Shank case involves a tragic situation, the reality is that the health plan is required to protect its assets so that it can pay the future claims of other associates and their family members. These plans are funded by associate premiums and company contributions. Any money recovered is returned to the health plan, not to the business. This is done out of fairness to everyone who contributes to and benefits from the plan. The Supreme Court recently declined to hear an appeal of the case, which concludes all litigation. While Wal-Mart's benefit plan was entitled to more than the amount that remained in the Shank trust, the plan only recovered the funds remaining in that trust".

How very nice of Wal-Mart to only take the remaining $277,000! Now Wal-Mart, under pressure of bad publicity, has backed down and changed its tune. Isn't that how the free market is supposed to work, Mr. anti-state Rockwell? Wal-Mart had already won in the courts, but thanks (at least in part) to a good man (who by the way has been consistently opposed to the Iraq war and the Bush administration) named Keith Olbermann exercising the first amendment right to free speech, a family has been saved from a terrible injustice. What does Mr. Lew Rockwell believe his homo erotic Jesus would do in these circumstances? I know as a devout Christian that Lew loves his gay zombie lover Jesus, so why then does he approve of Wal-Mart's previous very unchristian attitude toward this family? I think the answer is simple, Rockwell is nothing but a goddamned hypocrite.

And Rockwell may also be a racist. If you read the story you may find yourself shaking your head at Rockwell's hatred of the late William F. Buckley for trying to purge libertarians and paleoconservatives from the conservative movement. Rockwell's site published the following: “’the Ron Paul question’ constitutes a litmus test for libertarians. Simply put, the ‘Ron Paul questions’ consists of determining whether or not a person supports Dr. Paul. If so, as I see matters, he passes the test and can be constituted a libertarian; if not, his credentials are to that extent suspect.” I guess it's okay for Rockwell to have a litmus test but not Buckley. Go to hell Lew Rockwell, you hypocrite!