Whitetrashmart (walmart) knows no limits it would seem

[hummtide]

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/publish/video/411270

[CurtisLow]

fuck walmart! I feel for that guy... BS

[erowe1]

If that guy didn't want a big store to buy the property next door to him, well he should have bought it first. He has no right to dictate what the rightful owner of that land does on it.

Walmart is one of the greatest corporate friends there are for us who love free markets. They are also one of the greatest friends of the poor in our country, providing goods inexpensively and numerous jobs. They're non-union, which is outstanding. And liberals hate them, which is the best part of all.

[RP4ME]

If that guy didn't want a big store to buy the property next door to him, well he should have bought it first. He has no right to dictate what the rightful owner of that land does on it.

Walmart is one of the greatest corporate friends there are for us who love free markets. They are also one of the greatest friends of the poor in our country, providing goods inexpensively and numerous jobs. They're non-union, which is outstanding. And liberals hate them, which is the best part of all.

Well im not so sure about that - half the crapola thats sold in Walmart is made in China and I think that and it supplies Americans with products form manufacturers taht used to be here......I am not sure youre argument holds up.

Also many of their foods are produced by the giant agribusinesses which has dtesroyed our farmers.....

Its a kin to Hedge funds going in a pumping and dumping companies, laying off teh work force and not creating ANY value - just raiding and stripping and taking huge profits for a very few. They do they same by sourcing overseas. Centralizing welath is not what PAul is about - he is in to decentralization! Its a bad thing when our manuf and agriculture is sourced off shore for so many reasons.......

I am not saying Walmart is all eveil but it is not a good example for free mkt capitalism youre saying it is. Its buying in to a system that is parasitical and does not nuture real wealth in this country but kinda drains it.......

[Rich333]

If that guy didn't want a big store to buy the property next door to him, well he should have bought it first. He has no right to dictate what the rightful owner of that land does on it.
Maybe you should learn a little something about how property rights actually work. By right of first appropriation, it is Walmart who has no right here, not that man, because he established his property right first. Walmart is a late-comer, and has NO RIGHT to damage his pre-existing property. His claim is superior to Walmart's claim. If Walmart can't build a store there without doing damage to or polluting his property, and that includes noise pollution, then Walmart simply has no right to build a store there.


Walmart is one of the greatest corporate friends there are for us who love free markets.
Except when they violate the property rights of others, as they're doing in this instance.


He should sue the pants off of them for cracking his home's foundation, and file criminal charges for threatening his life with explosives.

[angelatc]

Put my in the "I love Wal-Mart" camp. I don't usually shop there but I can tell you that my husband had a business deal he was working on.

First, you have to know that in the grocery stores, all the shelf positions are bought and paid for. If you want a store to carry your item, you need to pay them a shelf fee of $10,000.00 or more. - maybe $100,000 for the bigger chains. That's a tough nut for a start up.

Wal-Mart is the only company that doesn't do that. The deal is that if they like the product, they will buy it. They liked our product, and they told us how it should be packaged and what it should be priced at to get their customers to buy it.

The deal didn't work out, but that wasn't Wal-Mart's fault. If it wasn't for them, it wouldn't have had any chance at all.

Another thing - their buyers are known as the most honest and ethical buyers in the business. They're forbidden from accepting even token gifts, and all their dealings with vendors are videotaped.

Last - my friend's bought a small house in a so-so part of town. It was next to an oil changing shop. Wal-Mart decided to build there. Their first offer on my friend's house was so generous that she managed to make a 50% down payment on a much nicer house even after taxes.

I try to avoid stuff that is made in China, but it's everywhere, not just Wal-Mart.

[LibertyOfOne]

If that guy didn't want a big store to buy the property next door to him, well he should have bought it first. He has no right to dictate what the rightful owner of that land does on it.

Walmart is one of the greatest corporate friends there are for us who love free markets. They are also one of the greatest friends of the poor in our country, providing goods inexpensively and numerous jobs. They're non-union, which is outstanding. And liberals hate them, which is the best part of all.

But they have to pay for any damage done to another's property. He can stay there for as long as he wants. It's his property after all. You are correct about buying the property next door, but Walmart should be held accountable for the damage done. Wal-mart is not so rosey red as you make the business out to be. They have used eminent domain laws in the past to grab up property.

[angelatc]

I need to know more about the land. If it was zoned commercial.then the guy should have known there was a chance this was coming.

[Rich333]

I need to know more about the land. If it was zoned commercial.then the guy should have known there was a chance this was coming.
So? Since when do government dictates override individual rights? He has every right to be there. It's his property. Walmart has no right to force him out, to threaten him or his property, to injure him or damage his property, or to pollute his property.

[Electric Church]

Wal-Mart is one of the greatest corporate friends there are for us who love free markets.

Wal-Mart is the main buyer from the US companies who have moved American manufacturing jobs overseas to utilize slave labor. I don't think the "free markets" that Ron Paul is talking about includes slave labor



They are also one of the greatest friends of the poor in our country, providing goods inexpensively and numerous jobs.

That is a sick joke. They create the poor by supporting the off shoring of US manufacturing jobs which erodes the US middleclass. What a great free market: filled with poor unemployed skilled workers and overqualified and underpaid workers employed at MacDonald’s and Wal-Mart who are all so grateful to possess a pile of cheap goods produced by slaves.

[angelatc]

So? Since when do government dictates override individual rights? He has every right to be there. It's his property. Walmart has no right to force him out, to threaten him or his property, to injure him or damage his property, or to pollute his property.

I didn't hear that Wal-Mart was trying to force him out. I was under the impression that he's just going to be living next to a Wal-Mart.

I certainly think that Wal-Mart should pay for the foundation damage.

I don't know if it's still there, but In St Petesburg, quite a few years ago, one of the grocery chains tried to buy out some houses to build a parking lot for their new store. One guy decided he was going to hold about for more money than the store was willing to pay, so there was a guy's house in the middle of a Publix parking lot.

[angelatc]

They create the poor by supporting the off shoring of US manufacturing jobs which erodes the US middleclass. What a great free market: filled with poor unemployed skilled workers and overqualified and underpaid workers employed at MacDonald’s and Wal-Mart who are all so grateful to possess a pile of cheap goods produced by slaves.

I think the unfettered illegal immigration has done far more harm to Middle Class AMerica than Wal-Mart.

[LibertyOfOne]

One guy decided he was going to hold about for more money than the store was willing to pay, so there was a guy's house in the middle of a Publix parking lot.

ROFL .. Are there any photos of that floating around on the net? That is a must see :O

[Rich333]

Wal-Mart is the main buyer from the US companies who have moved American manufacturing jobs overseas to utilize slave labor. I don't think the "free markets" that Ron Paul is talking about includes slave labor
They don't utilize slave labor, they utilize cheap labor in developing countries. There's a big difference.


That is a sick joke. They create the poor by supporting the off shoring of US manufacturing jobs which erodes the US middleclass.
Your understanding of economics is virtually nil. You need to learn about the concept of comparative advantage. Do you think it's an efficient use of, say, Yao Ming's time to paint houses? He's certainly got the height to do so more efficiently than most house painters. His time however is better spent in other pursuits, like playing basketball. The average house painter may not be able to do the job as efficiently as he could, but he's still better off hiring someone else to paint his house, so he can spend his time doing things that no house painter could do. It's the same with American and overseas workers. Is American industry more efficient than third world sweatshops? Certainly. Is that the best way to utilize the American labor force? Absolutely not. Manufacturing jobs have moved overseas because it's cheaper to get the work done there, and have Americans do other things. American workers can now use their time more efficiently, in more productive jobs. This is called progress.


What a great free market: filled with poor unemployed skilled workers and overqualified and underpaid workers employed at MacDonald’s and Wal-Mart who are all so grateful to possess a pile of cheap goods produced by slaves.
In what warped version of the world do you live where any of that is the case?

[Electric Church]

I think the unfettered illegal immigration has done far more harm to Middle Class AMerica than Wal-Mart.

You mean the illegal immigration of unskilled labor from south of the border? You may be right if you just single out Wal-mart. I was referring to the offshoring of manufacturing jobs which traditionally supported the middleclass. I think offshoring of manufacturing jobs overseas has had more effect on the American middleclass than illegal unskilled labor from south of the border.

“Offshoring and free market ideology are turning the US into a Third World country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one-quarter of all new US jobs created between June 2006 and June 2007 were for waitresses and bartenders. Almost all of the net new US jobs in the 21st century have been in domestic services.” Paul Craig Roberts

[Electric Church]

They don't utilize slave labor, they utilize cheap labor in developing countries. There's a big difference.


You are living in la la land. Why don't you move to China and see for yourself if it's "cheap" labor or slave labor.

[LibertyOfOne]

Not that hard to understand. We get cheap products from China, good. China gets to build its industrial base and move up in economic status, good. Both parties benefit from the transaction. That is the free market at work. No one is entitled to a job that pays x. In a free market you adapt to the change and learn a new skill.

[Rich333]

“Offshoring and free market ideology are turning the US into a Third World country. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one-quarter of all new US jobs created between June 2006 and June 2007 were for waitresses and bartenders. Almost all of the net new US jobs in the 21st century have been in domestic services.” Paul Craig Roberts
How clever. He could be the next Michael Moore. "Domestic services" is a rather broad term, which covers a hell of a lot more than waitressing and bartending.

[Electric Church]

One fourth of all the jobs created from June 2006 to June 2007 consist of waitresses and bartenders.

Of the total 1.6 million net private sector jobs created from June 2006 to June 2007:

Leisure and hospitality account for 30%.

Education and health services accounted for 35%
100,000 jobs in educational services
456,000 jobs are in health care and social assistance (Principally Ambulatory health care services and hospital support staff)

Finance and Insurance
93,000 jobs (1/4 real estate ½ insurance)

Transportation and Warehousing
65,000 jobs

Wholesale and Retail Trade
185,000

Architectural and Engineering
51,000 jobs

[LibertyOfOne]

One fourth of all the jobs created from June 2006 to June 2007 consist of waitresses and bartenders.

Of the total 1.6 million net private sector jobs created from June 2006 to June 2007:

Leisure and hospitality account for 30%.

Education and health services accounted for 35%
100,000 jobs in educational services
456,000 jobs are in health care and social assistance (Principally Ambulatory health care services and hospital support staff)

Finance and Insurance
93,000 jobs (1/4 real estate ½ insurance)

Transportation and Warehousing
65,000 jobs

Wholesale and Retail Trade
185,000

Architectural and Engineering
51,000 jobs

Jobs don't pop up out of no where. If there are more jobs in the service industry than it's resonable to deduce that there is a growing demand. No poor country would have a huge sector of the economy dedicated to hospitality.

[LibertyOfOne]

"Leisure" Which needs disposable income.

[Electric Church]

Jobs don't pop up out of no where. If there are more jobs in the service industry than it's resonable to deduce that there is a growing demand. No poor country would have a huge sector of the economy dedicated to hospitality.

No true American with a brain in his head would look at those frightening statistics and try to spin them as being healthy except if they were anti-American like those in the mainstream media.

[DJ RP]

Dude you do realise that the man you support, ron paul, is in favour of free trade with all nations??????? If you want trade regulations you're voting for the wrong guy.

[Steve Hunt]

He can buy yellowcard CDs in his backyard now! They are a fine alternative band!!!

[LibertyOfOne]

Dude you do realise that the man you support, ron paul, is in favour of free trade with all nations??????? If you want trade regulations you're voting for the wrong guy.

Some people don't think things out like logical human beings. What we need is not an increased industrial base. That is for the countries of old. This is the information age where ideas alone create wealth. What we need is a desocialization of our education system in order to produce thinkers of a higher standard.

[LibertyOfOne]

No true American with a brain in his head would look at those frightening statistics and try to spin them as being healthy except if they were anti-American like those in the mainstream media.

Stop basing your ideas solely on what Alex Jones says. The world would be better off if you did.

[Electric Church]

Dude you do realise that the man you support, ron paul, is in favour of free trade with all nations??????? If you want trade regulations you're voting for the wrong guy.

Offshoring US labor is not freetrade. When US labor is removed from the production to produce goods and services for US markets and replaced with foreign slave labor there is no trade involved. Instead of goods being produced by Americans in America and freely traded abroad, US brand names are produced using slave labor in China and sold back to US citizens. This is exactly what is destroying the America that once was: a manufacturing giant and major exporter to a nation of fat consumers of cheap slave made products creating the largest trade deficit in history. This is not what the founding fathers wanted.

[BenIsForRon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBnKh6B2cMw

You people are out of touch with reality. I actually agree with electric church on this one. Do you people believe China's economy, or our economy for that matter, actually has a future?

[LibertyOfOne]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBnKh6B2cMw

You people are out of touch with reality. I actually agree with electric church on this one. Do you people believe China's economy, or our economy for that matter, actually has a future?

It will when we get the government out of the way other than that, no. Trade protectionism is not the answer that is for sure. All it will end up doing is driving up prices to the point of eating a chuck away from the middle class. The dollar already has lost most of its value. The last thing we need is trade protection ramping up the prices.

[buffalokid777]

Is American industry more efficient than third world sweatshops? Certainly. Is that the best way to utilize the American labor force? Absolutely not. Manufacturing jobs have moved overseas because it's cheaper to get the work done there, and have Americans do other things. American workers can now use their time more efficiently, in more productive jobs. This is called progress.


You're 100% correct.

Look at McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Target, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wendy's....the list of goes on and on.....

I can't wait until Chamco Automotive starts selling Cheap Trucks here, that should finish off the American auto Industry....then all those GM and Ford workers, can build the best burgers in the world with the most efficiency.

And actually Rich, it's not progress, it's progressive.

[Electric Church]

My posts have nothing to do with protectionism. If the US continues to offshore it's workforce, for example if GM, Ford and Chrysler and some of the other few remaining US manufacturers move all their manufacturing to China, the US will be nothing more than a bunch of consumers and along with manufacturing so goes research and design. What do you have left? Bottom feeders.

[Electric Church]

You're 100% correct.

Look at McDonalds, Wal-Mart, Burger King, Target, KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Wendy's....the list of goes on and on.....I can't wait until Chamco Automotive starts selling Cheap Trucks here, that should finish off the American auto Industry....then all those GM and Ford workers, can build the best burgers in the world with the most efficiency.

And actually Rich, it's not progress, it's progressive.


.

Unbelievable...well said: Well this Canadian is going to get otta here and leave these anti-American trolls to themselves...Im beginning to wonder where all the Americans are.

[fletcher]

Knows no limits? Wal-Mart has every right to build on their own property. If they damaged his house he can sue the contractor and make them pay. Wal-Mart was even nice enough to offer to buy his place so he didn't have to live next to a Wal-Mart. He passed, even though he knew the neighboring property was zoned for commercial use. He has to live with that.

[BenIsForRon]

It will when we get the government out of the way other than that, no. Trade protectionism is not the answer that is for sure. All it will end up doing is driving up prices to the point of eating a chuck away from the middle class. The dollar already has lost most of its value. The last thing we need is trade protection ramping up the prices.

Trade protectionism is the reason we are in this mess, what do you thing the WTO is? If we get rid of the protectionism people in these third world countries would fight to increase their standard of living, instead of slaving their asses off 70 hours a week so that their corporate owners can live extravagant lives.

And are you telling me that you're fine with multinational corporations having this much control over the markets? IBM is now owned by a Chinese company! You say this is good for our economy? I say under fair trade with sound money all countries will have manufacturing jobs and try to improve their standard of living in a sustainable way.

[LibertyOfOne]

Consumers? I'm sorry to inform you, but the world does not revolve around manufactured goods. We shifted to a different type of production, one based on information. Most of the world uses our computer software. Which by the way is an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds. We design goods here. Intel no longer needs workers here to work on PCB boards or silicone wafers. That is for countries that need an industrial base to shift out of third world status. No, they develop the technology here and have it built some where else. It's not just about built goods anymore. This is the information age where development of technology on its own generates wealth. Cars are still designed here, they are just being made elsewhere. Your nonsense about slave labor is laughable. I never knew of slave labor where the work is voluntary and you get paid. Nor have I ever heard of slave labor that builds a middle class. Do you think the American industrial revolution was based on slave labor too?

[LibertyOfOne]

Trade protectionism is the reason we are in this mess, what do you thing the WTO is? If we get rid of the protectionism people in these third world countries would fight to increase their standard of living, instead of slaving their asses off 70 hours a week so that their corporate owners can live extravagant lives.

And are you telling me that you're fine with multinational corporations having this much control over the markets? IBM is now owned by a Chinese company! You say this is good for our economy? I say under fair trade with sound money all countries will have manufacturing jobs and try to improve their standard of living in a sustainable way.

What do you think get the government out of the way means? No need for trade deals ect. What does it matter if company X is owned in country Y? American workers are still getting paid devloping new hardware and computer processors at IBM.

[LibertyOfOne]

Shut up you anti-American trash...

How cute. Did you take that line from Alex? Why didn't you call me pond scum? That seems to be his favorite phrase.

[BenIsForRon]

What do you think get the government out of the way means? No need for trade deals ect. What does it matter if company X is owned in country Y? American workers are still getting paid devloping new hardware and computer processors at IBM.

Ok, I think you're missing my point. I'm saying the trade deals are making product prices artificially low, which makes it feasible to have the global economy we have today. This is why we have a huge trade deficit with China, we're giving them dirty green paper for actual goods! So you take away trade deals, product prices will reflect actual production and manufacturing costs, and it becomes too expensive to ship most things over seas. This forces us to live within our means by actually exporting goods to china as well as receiving them, while at the same time returning many jobs back to America so they will be more cost effective.

[LibertyOfOne]

All things being equal trade deals or not. China will still be able to produce stuff cheaper than we could.

[john_anderson_ii]

If the US continues to offshore it's workforce, for example if GM, Ford and Chrysler and some of the other few remaining US manufacturers move all their manufacturing to China, the US will be nothing more than a bunch of consumers and along with manufacturing so goes research and design.

Not that it makes much difference, but Chrysler just recently became an American company again.

Until May of 2007 they were a European company, owned by Daimler. For many years it was hard for Daimler to sell Chrysler because Chrysler outright refused to drop the debt of it's retirement obligations for American workers. I'm not sure what direction Cerberus, the new owner, plans to take Chrysler manufacturing in. I do, however, know they are not a public company, and have no shareholders to answer to. I sure hope they keep their manufacturing jobs in the U.S. open.

Sorry, but I like my engines stamped Detroit!

Yes I own a Dodge (owned by Chrysler), no I don't plan on buying from any other manufacturer...unless they start outsourcing more manufacturing and I can't get a Detroit engine anymore.

Anyway, I'm of the opinion that a company knows what is best for it. Public outcry has many companies worried over the hit their reputation is going to take when they outsource jobs. In markets where there are not a lot of competition, this isn't a big deal. In others, it's a huge deal. So the answer, as usual, is more competition.

Wouldn't it be possible, that less government regulation, might lead to the startup of more and more American automobile manufacturers? After all, when GM closes a plant in Ohio, all that tooling, space and expertise has to go somewhere. As it is now, the bar to break into the auto industry is very high. All the government certifications, and loops to meet safety and emissions requirements is ridiculous. Every wonder why the only "new" automobile manufacturer to hit the U.S. in 50 years that I can think of is Saturn? Even they had to sell out to GM.

[BenIsForRon]

All things being equal trade deals or not. China will still be able to produce stuff cheaper than we could.


That's true to an extent, but you have to remember that getting rid of the trade deals would make things more expensive at places like walmart. Prices rise, business at walmart goes down, people at walmart lose their jobs, people in china lose their jobs. If you understand this you will see that in general globalization can only drive everyone's standard of living lower, (except for the wealthy, of course). The only reason it doesn't seem that way right now is because trade deals and cheap oil prices are creating a trade bubble, and any intelligent economist will tell you this bubble isn't going to last forever.

I'm not saying we can't trade with China, just that the massive scale (with walmart and others) we're doing it at right now is completely unsustainable.

[buffalokid777]

Consumers? I'm sorry to inform you, but the world does not revolve around manufactured goods. We shifted to a different type of production, one based on information. Most of the world uses our computer software. Which by the way is an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds.

Take it from a computer programmer who's wages have decreased by 30% the past 5 years.

Much more software is being developed in India and then a few American programmers make it consumable for this country.

GET YER FACTS STRAIGHT!

[john_anderson_ii]

Take it from a computer programmer who's wages have decreased by 30% the past 5 years.

Much more software is being developed in India and then a few American programmers make it consumable for this country.

GET YER FACTS STRAIGHT!

Amen to that. Specifications are designed in America, then shipped to India. The product is brought back and fixed in the U.S. by the designers.

[LibertyOfOne]

Take it from a computer programmer who's wages have decreased by 30% the past 5 years.

Much more software is being developed in India and then a few American programmers make it consumable for this country.

GET YER FACTS STRAIGHT!

You're still employed. Competition is what the market is about. Be it for employment or prices. The game industry alone in the U.S is a multi bullion dollar industry eclipsing Hollywood.

[buffalokid777]

You're still employed. Competition is what the market is about. Be it for employment or prices. The game industry alone in the U.S is a multi bullion dollar industry eclipsing Hollywood.

But my salary and standard of living is DECREASING because of OUTSOURCING to INDIA!

Your beliefs will only DECREASE the standard of living in America for those who aren't outsourcing.

Must be you make money from a globalist economy so you don't care about your fellow Americans....You are truly a man without a country for plundering the world for your own gain at the expense of Americans is your oyster.

Well I love my country and I care about the citizens in it unlike you.

[john_anderson_ii]

You're still employed. Competition is what the market is about. Be it for employment or prices. The game industry alone in the U.S is a multi bullion dollar industry eclipsing Hollywood.

I understand that he lost 30% of his normal wages in the last 5 years. Are you saying that is fine and dandy because he's still employed? Now add in the fact that the cost of living has been rising rapidly during this last 5 years.

Don't get me wrong. I agree with you in regards to the market and competition. I don't want to see the government step in and start making decisions for the market. I certainly wouldn't support any legislation imposing restrictions on outsourcing. However, I don't think anyone can deny that 30% loss in standard of living is a problem. It's a very real American problem. I also don't accept the notion that Americans must lower our standards of living in order to compete with foreign labor markets.

I guess that's the heart of the outsourcing problem. Foreign labor markets are outperforming domestic ones as far as ROI or "bang for the buck" is concerned. So the issue must lie somewhere along the lines of somehow lowering the cost of labor, while at the same time lowering the cost of living. Then we have a competitive labor market, without a drop in the standard of living.

I think that might be impossible.

[buffalokid777]

I understand that he lost 30% of his normal wages in the last 5 years. Are you saying that is fine and dandy because he's still employed? Now add in the fact that the cost of living has been rising rapidly during this last 5 years.

Don't get me wrong. I agree with you in regards to the market and competition. I don't want to see the government step in and start making decisions for the market. I certainly wouldn't support any legislation imposing restrictions on outsourcing. However, I don't think anyone can deny that 30% loss in standard of living is a problem. It's a very real American problem. I also don't accept the notion that Americans must lower our standards of living in order to compete with foreign labor markets.

I guess that's the heart of the outsourcing problem. Foreign labor markets are outperforming domestic ones as far as ROI or "bang for the buck" is concerned. So the issue must lie somewhere along the lines of somehow lowering the cost of labor, while at the same time lowering the cost of living. Then we have a competitive labor market, without a drop in the standard of living.

I think that might be impossible.

No doubt on the inflation, I have seen the food I buy rise 10%-15% in the past 2 months....

My standard of living is decreasing due to outsourcing......I'm barely making my mortgage payment (And I have a fixed rate one, not some exotic adjustable rate mortgage) due to the policies of the government and I KNOW I'M NOT ALONE......

[LibertyOfOne]

God forbid there is competition on the global market. The inflation of the money supply is killing your standard of living. The needless government regulations that put added costs on new startups is killing your standard of living. The needles taxes are killing your standard of living. Assholes that spend your tax dollars on war in order to boost weapon sales is killing your standard of living. The increasing fuel costs due to war is killing your standard of living. Competition that lowers prices across the board is not the problem.

[john_anderson_ii]

Speaking of foreign labor markets outperforming domestic labor, has anyone looked into why this is the case? Yes, they work for cheaper wages and accept a lower standard of living, but is that all there is to it?

What benefits, besides lower labor costs, does a company receive by outsourcing? Isn't the lower labor costs somewhat offset by the problems of outsourcing*? What changes would need to take place in American markets to bring jobs back to the United States? Why aren't representatives of the people asking these questions?

* Startup/Training costs, overall reduction in customer satisfaction, damaging to reputation.

[buffalokid777]

Competition that lowers prices across the board is not the problem.

If the competition is UNFAIR it is the PROBLEM!

Tell me why Chamco(a chinese automaker) will be able to sell trucks here with no excise tax, but If GM or Ford wants to sell a truck in China....they will pay a 25% excise tax....

Could it be managed trade?

This managed trade is killing the country.......

STOP TRYING TO SELL FREE MARKET AS MANAGED TRADE.........

[john_anderson_ii]

STOP TRYING TO SELL FREE MARKET AS MANAGED TRADE.........

Strike that and reverse it: STOP TRYING TO SELL MANAGED TRADE AS A FREE MARKET.

[buffalokid777]

Strike that and reverse it: STOP TRYING TO SELL MANAGED TRADE AS A FREE MARKET.

Your right, Globalist Unamerican Libertyofone really makes me mad.

[LibertyOfOne]

If the competition is UNFAIR it is the PROBLEM!

Tell me why Chamco(a chinese automaker) will be able to sell trucks here with no excise tax, but If GM or Ford wants to sell a truck in China....they will pay a 25% excise tax....

Could it be managed trade?

This managed trade is killing the country.......

STOP TRYING TO SELL FREE MARKET AS MANAGED TRADE.........

Yes, you're right. Im speaking from a view of an even playing field. Global trade in general.

[Electric Church]

What changes would need to take place in American markets to bring jobs back to the United States?

Legalize slavery....and the way things are going this is a strong possibility. But the better way is to get Ron Paul in the oval office and eventually get these foreign invaders who control the economy (the Fed) out.

PS

And all their online trolls too

[LibertyOfOne]

Legalize slavery....and the way things are going this is a strong possibility. But the better way is to get Ron Paul in the oval office and eventually get these foreign invaders who control the economy (the Fed) out.

PS

And all their online trolls too

You're wrong. Paul would never endorse your evil visions of government censorship.

[buffalokid777]

And all their online trolls too

I see them too....

Do they really think we're too stupid to not recognize them?

I say we don't censor them....let's put em before a jury and imprison them for their anti american activities if found guilty.....

[Nefertiti]

Is American industry more efficient than third world sweatshops? Certainly. Is that the best way to utilize the American labor force? Absolutely not. Manufacturing jobs have moved overseas because it's cheaper to get the work done there, and have Americans do other things. American workers can now use their time more efficiently, in more productive jobs. This is called progress.


You use the example of the basketball player earlier painting houses. That made sense. But if we are going to talk about Americans versus everyone else can you explain what is so inherently different about those two groups that Americans should not be manufacturing? Are the other jobs that people are doing now in the US actually providing them with a higher standard of living?

[thuja]

some of you are amazingly uninformed. you should be doing much more research on this corporation. and even on such things as city or county councils, who could have rezoned the land next to him as commercial just for wallmart.
this corp. IS evil.
as for companies who sell to it, they are strongarmed into selling at the lowest price or else.

[angelatc]

You mean the illegal immigration of unskilled labor from south of the border? You may be right if you just single out Wal-mart. I was referring to the offshoring of manufacturing jobs which traditionally supported the middleclass. I think offshoring of manufacturing jobs overseas has had more effect on the American middleclass than illegal unskilled labor from south of the border.



But I blame the unions for that more than I blame business. Business has an obligation to maximize profits, especially when publically held.

[angelatc]

What benefits, besides lower labor costs, does a company receive by outsourcing? Isn't the lower labor costs somewhat offset by the problems of outsourcing*?


There's always environmental regulations, the ability to use manufacturing chemicals that are banned here in the US, less taxes, cheaper land and construction costs...

[angelatc]

Not that it makes much difference, but Chrysler just recently became an American company again.

Until May of 2007 they were a European company, owned by Daimler. For many years it was hard for Daimler to sell Chrysler because Chrysler outright refused to drop the debt of it's retirement obligations for American workers.


I would never let any company survive that dropped that debt. The unions should walk off and refuse to allow scabs to cross if that happens.

But they won't because, they use their elderly members as bargaining chips.

[nexalacer]

There are two criminals that lead to the problems of a diminishing manufacturing base and a lowering of the quality of life. They are the AMERICAN government and the trade unions. We can't control China. If they want to allow slave labor conditions or whatever their current work conditions are, we have nothing to say about it. We also have nothing to say about their choice to charge tariffs on GM and Ford.

Looking at foreign countries as the root of our problem will just frustrate you or turn you into a war monger because there is literally nothing we can do about their foolish economic policies. In the end, they will have to allow free markets as well or they will just collapse as we are collapsing in the face of heavy government intervention.

The American government has gotten us into these brutal "Free-Trade" agreements that allow for the kinds of business practices that gives Wal-mart the opportunity to offer such low prices. Also, the government's inability to support property rights for OVER a CENTURY is what has led to the situation where Wal-mart can use eminent domain laws to get the land needed for it's stores. This has also led to private individuals having to find a lawyer who will actually take a case against wal-mart, since it will surely become an incredibly expensive legal battle.

And to the idiot from Iowa who suggested that this guy was given an opportunity to leave by wal-mart but didn't take it, so it was his fault, I have two questions. Is it possible that this man's home was worth more to him than the monetary value that wal-mart offered? Does his desire to not take their offer also invalidate his own claims to not have his property infringed upon?

Also, trade unions are what have destroyed the manufacturing base of this country. They use lobby groups to make laws that allow them to become another form of taxation for the workers, all the while not providing anything but demands for wages that are so high, companies can no longer afford to keep their factories in America. I'm sorry, but if you expect a job that requires very little education to give you the same standard of living for 30 years, all the while Central Banks are creating wild inflation, you are crazy.

LibertyOfOne is right on, although the delivery comes across as callous. But the fact is, cheaper labor would be beneficial to people on the whole if there was much less government interference in the market. But right now, it just makes an already bad situation worse.

[freedominnumbers]

This is why we have a huge trade deficit with China, we're giving them dirty green paper for actual goods!


Haha, suckers. Good thing those chinese haven't figured out our scam yet.

[BenIsForRon]

The American government has gotten us into these brutal "Free-Trade" agreements that allow for the kinds of business practices that gives Wal-mart the opportunity to offer such low prices.

That's why I'm saying this level of trade with China is not good. Cheaper labor on the whole is beneficial, but when wages rise with one segment of the population and lower in another, you've got a problem.

[JaylieWoW]

Wouldn't it be possible, that less government regulation, might lead to the startup of more and more American automobile manufacturers?

In my VERY humble opinion, this is actually the root of the whole problem (and additionally realizing that unions are a very bad thing for the American manufacturing business). Although this post began with a discussion about WalMart (and no, I have not watched the video), it has obviously moved to a discussion of import/export and manufacturing jobs moving overseas.

I don't know where I read it (probably here or on Mises), but there was a story about a Chinese man who invented a new technology/method for cutting stone or something along those lines. Because he was deluded, as many Americans are, into believing America was the "land of opportunity", he came here to sell/promote his product where he believed he would be the most successful. However, after seeing all the red tape AND expense required under American "laws" he soon went back to China.

Though I've not researched the story for myself to see if it was true, I've often seen similar comments appearing in news articles made by business owners in other countries. These business owners are completely befuddled at how any business can possibly afford to be successful under the heavy handed regulations of the American government. How long are we going to argue over moot points before we focus on the real problem? Government is WAY too big and we don't need it to make every single decision for us! Most of the debate I've seen here ignores the real diagnoses and only seems to point out the bad/evil in the symptoms.

On a side note, I personally don't have a problem with Wal-Mart. Very similar to the "Shrimp" story (look it up on Mises), they're doing what they can do to be profitable (necessary for any business that isn't government subsidized) with the hand they've been dealt. Call me short sighted if you will, but the real problem is our government and that's what we should be arguing/debating on how to fix.

[Electric Church]

There's always environmental regulations, the ability to use manufacturing chemicals that are banned here in the US, less taxes, cheaper land and construction costs...

Also the benefit of up to 18 hour work days, 7 days a week, utilization of child labor, no expense on health insurance, and worker safety regulations....

[lucius]

Gurudas said it best in 'Treason: The New World Order',

“All these people say there are powerful groups threatening our way of life. Some sources identify the bankers and corporate elite as the source of our problems, while others feel the national security state is the threat. The power of Wall Street is now obvious to many. So much is happening today that it is increasingly clear a police state is no longer some distant event to fear. The American people must awaken and join together to restore constitutional government and diminish the power of the large corporations and their agent, the federal government, so that we can again be a free people.”

At my last company, I was part of a corporate downsizing team; the ratio we used was for every American/Canadian, we could hire 8 in Mexico, 20 in China, and projecting 30+ in Africa. As a strategic paradigm shift we shut down 20 plants, high-paying high-technology electronics manufacturing, in 18 months 2003-2005 in Canada, America and even in Mexico, laying-off over 24,000 workers, plants that were operating in the black, and opened 19 in PROC. For software development, why pay some code-monkey $60,000/year + benefits when you can get individuals as well educated/experienced for $8000/year by outsourcing to India.

In our China plants, they work 12 hours a day, six days a week, at the equivalency of $0.19/hour with no benefits. When they break for meals, they cook, eat and cleanup at under 30 minutes. We got tremendous subsidies by the PROC government on taxes, utilities, infrastructure, as well as subsidized government freighting. These types of efficiencies interfere with our liberty message. The writing has been on the wall for a long time, America revamped its education in the 70-80's to prepare for this shift from manufacturing to a more service based economy, check out how ITT etc. are now promoting our new found industries of Security/Criminal Justice where 1/3 will watch and lock-up the other 2/3. TCI (Texas Correctional Industries) is a $3 billion+/year slave labor industry in Texas alone, competing with local business--"Arbeit macht frei", ya sure you becha…

It is about 'The Globalization of Poverty and the New World Order', succinctly, class warfare, destruction of the middle class:

"Chossudovsky gives us a clear analysis of how the International Monetary Fund has well served this corporate plan. He gives us case studies of the ''restructuring'' and subsequent impoverishment of the people in countries like Somalia, Peru and Russia. He lays out the blueprint for the rest of the world." Briarpatch

http://www.globalresearch.ca/globaloutlook/GofP.html

[Brother Butch]

Confessions of a Walmart Hitman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mQH9DloKD8

Walmart is sleazy. I've had three kids that have worked there and I avoid them like the plague. I'd rather go with employee/privately owned stores and pay... just a little really... more.

[MicroBalrog]

Well im not so sure about that - half the crapola thats sold in Walmart is made in China and I think that and it supplies Americans with products form manufacturers taht used to be here......I am not sure youre argument holds up.
.

America has vastly reduced unemployed since China started going big.

[Rich333]

Must be you make money from a globalist economy so you don't care about your fellow Americans....You are truly a man without a country for plundering the world for your own gain at the expense of Americans is your oyster.

Well I love my country and I care about the citizens in it unlike you.
You're the one who doesn't seem to care about this country's citizens. Your ability to profit from your work may have been decreased due to competition from overseas, but those around you are benefiting from the decreased costs. What you want is to force your fellow Americans to pay more for software development, solely for your own benefit. In this respect you're no different from those who lobby for protectionist steel or sugar tariffs, both of which drive up domestic prices on the products made with those materials. I'm a programmer too; unlike you though, I don't complain that I'm not getting paid as extravagantly as those in our profession were paid in the late '90s. The value of our work to the consumers is whatever it is, and we get paid accordingly. If you don't like your present salary, stop scapegoating the competition and try being more entrepreneurial; use your brain, come up with some novel software or service, and then market it. Your level of income directly reflects the utility of your work to the consumers, so if you want more income you need to figure out how to serve the consumers better.

[Rich333]

The unions should walk off and refuse to allow scabs to cross if that happens.
So you think it's right to use physical violence to prevent other people from working? "Scabs" are people too, who need to work just the same as union workers.

[Rich333]

You use the example of the basketball player earlier painting houses. That made sense. But if we are going to talk about Americans versus everyone else can you explain what is so inherently different about those two groups that Americans should not be manufacturing?
Higher levels of education among first worlders. Manufacturing jobs generally don't require a great deal of training or education, and are thus better suited for those who lack the opportunity to obtain such training and education.


Are the other jobs that people are doing now in the US actually providing them with a higher standard of living?
In many cases yes, but not always, though everyone's standard of living will trend upward as we experience economic growth (or at least it would if we had sound money). A large part of the problem is that many American workers had an inflated standard of living to begin with, due to union meddling, and this was gotten at the expense of other Americans and stifled our overall economic growth. Other American workers, those shut out of manufacturing jobs by the unions, are doing better now in our more service-oriented economy than they were previously; we see this in our vast reduction in unemployment. We'd probably have much more of a competitive edge over countries like China and India than we do now had we not crippled our own internal competition for so long, because we'd be better adapted to handle competition and we'd likely be more economically and technologically advanced than we are now.

[erowe1]

I need to know more about the land. If it was zoned commercial.then the guy should have known there was a chance this was coming.

There should be no such thing as zoning laws!

I agree that Walmart owes him for damages done to his property. But that's all. They have the right to build the store on their land. Any law that some of you are talking about that says that they shouldn't be allowed to do that because he was there first is an unjust law.

And if Walmart is selling cheap food that they buy from big agri-business, well good! And if doing that is putting old-school farmers out of business who can't keep up with the competition, well that's even better! What capitalist could ever argue otherwise. Some of you guys are like the old tailors who took to the streets when the sewing machine was invented because it put them out of jobs--looking back we all know that putting them out of their jobs was precisely what needed to happen.

[erowe1]

I would never let any company survive that dropped that debt. The unions should walk off and refuse to allow scabs to cross if that happens.

But they won't because, they use their elderly members as bargaining chips.

Oh yes! Please, let that happen. Then put those thugs in jail for getting in the way of people crossing the street. If only all union thugs did that and they could all get replaced by scabs, then maybe their influence would dissipate and we could erase the misguided policies like minimum wage that they've been pushing through in our otherwise great land.

[Electric Church]

America has vastly reduced unemployed since China started going big.

Unemployment stats are misleading because it doesn't count those who have fallen off of unemployment assistance and gone on to welfare. It doesn't count the self-employed who are out of work. Also fewer jobs means fewer persons with insurable earnings, leading to fewer people collecting employment insurance, leading to lower unemployment rates. If the entire work force was thrown out of work and went on employment insurance, if none were rehired they would all eventually stop collecting employment insurance and the stats would say and unemployment rate of zero.

[Rich333]

I agree that Walmart owes him for damages done to his property. But that's all. They have the right to build the store on their land. Any law that some of you are talking about that says that they shouldn't be allowed to do that because he was there first is an unjust law.
I was talking about homesteading, the principle of first appropriation, the very basis for property rights as rationally derived from self-ownership. If they can't build their store without doing damage to him or his pre-existing property then they have no right to build their store.

[erowe1]

I was talking about homesteading, the principle of first appropriation, the very basis for property rights as rationally derived from self-ownership. If they can't build their store without doing damage to him or his pre-existing property then they have no right to build their store.

Sure, but if the damage done is an accident, as it apparently was, then they merely owe him for damages. His property rights only extend to the land he actually owns.