BKm you sound a little bit like Lyndon Larouche.
BKm you sound a little bit like Lyndon Larouche.
LOL. Nope. I really don't believe that the Queen of England is the nexus of the world narcotics industry.Originally posted by gkmo62u
There are non-crazy people who believe sincerely that record government deficits+record trade deficits will eventually lead to major economic turmoil/destruction. You don't have to be crazy to believe that we have a seriously unbalanced society. Only people like me (zero impulse control+materialistic) are keeping the house of cards upright.
A slight sidenote here; As for the TV tube plant, right now the onus is on their management to retool their plant, and in a hurry, because glass cathode-ray tubes are essentially obsolete. LCD and plasma flat screens are fast overtaking them and if dilly-dally any, the plant will be history, too, regardless of what the Wal*Mart, et al, price buying stratagies and China's trade policies are.
Mike
Why would they retool the plant for flat screens? The Asian countries dominate production and there is actually a bit of a glut of production capacity. Just shut the plant down. The employees can go work at a fast food chain restaurant by the freeway.
I watched, but fell asleep somewhere along the way because it was pretty boring. I think that China's complete entry into the WTO (in 2001? after all restrictions were lifted?) is really why this country's manufacturing sector is going to hell, although NAFTA didn't help either.
A guy once told me, "Do not have any attachments, do not have anything in your life you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner."
Neil McCauley (Robert DeNiro): Heat 1995
Frontline was interesting for the questions that it didn't ask (or quickly skimmed over) as much as for those that it did. For instance:
--the quality of Walmart goods. Are they at the same level as the goods available at what competition remains. Has Walmart's market dominance further eroded quality throughout the detail industry (because of demands placed by Walmart on the suppliers)
--are Walmart's prices really cheaper (this was hinted at by the ex-Walmart manager, but was not pursued)
--the impact Walmart has had on small town America (which, I suppose, most interests many Cyburbians)
--discussion of Chinese society, including lack of labor laws, environmental regulation, etc. (despite devoting so much of the program to China's role in the entire phenomenon)
--any type of discussion of what the alternatives to the continued Walmartization of America might possibly be, including the role that cheap oil plays in the rise of Walmart (and other big box retailers)
Anyway, on the whole, the program was not too revealing. Walmart has done more or less what McDonald's has done to the food industry (especially beef and potatoes) -- it's just on a much bigger scale. And Walmartization seems bound to continue, as it gradually comes to dominate the grocery business (granted, this industry, with its smaller cost margins, will be more difficult, but the trends are clear enough). And, by the way, can anyone sincerely doubt that the rise of the Republican party and the rise of Walmart (taking Walmart as the most adept of the mega retailers) and the Walmart "world view" (for lack of a better term) are hardly isolated, independent phenomena...?
PBS ran an anti-Walmart special a couple of years ago, detailing the struggles of Ashland, Va. to keep Walmart out of town....of course, in the end those opposed to Walmart lost out. Classic case of how Walmart is inordinately more powerful than small town America, and ably takes advantage of the fractured nature of America's jurisdictions (OK, you don't want us, so we will build two miles down the road in jurisdiction X instead). By comparison, Frontline was quite balanced.
The quality of goods now is better than it's ever been. Economic Darwinism. If it wasn't of an acceptible quality, it wouldn't sell. When products originally came from China, they were subpar... but competition (even if it is really only between different firms in China) forces products to improve.
IMO, overall prices are cheaper. I don't have any real evidence to back this up, as my wife does all the shopping. But we mainly purchase low-end items (low price-point items, perhaps?) and overall, our grocery bill comes out lower at Wal-Mart. With that being said, we only go to Wal-Mart once every three or four months, as our Wal-Mart is so busy that it is impossible to get in and out in under an hour.
I know in the city that I provide planning assistance to, a new Wal-Mart (currently under construction) is viewed as a positive. While the spectre of the loss of some businesses is a concern, the city is so small that the loss of businesses will be minimal. There is one hardware store that one grocery store that are strongly against it. The employment at the Wal-Mart will more than make up for that at the hardware store and grocery store combined.
Supposedly, the city leaders have gotten a development agreement with Wal-Mart to design an attractive building. The city is reviewing a big box ordinance (25,000+ sqft) to address future structures. One thing to keep in mind is that requiring an attractive building will not stop Wal-mart. They will still come and will still impact nearby businesses, but will do so on a site that is not as much of an eyesore.
The only instance where I've seen a location pass an ordinance that stopped big box retailers was in River Falls, Wisconsin... where they required a 5% escrow to be paid annually to cover the cost of demolition in case of abandonment. While our city considered this... they had concerns about the legality of it.
This is my biggest concern. Due to the lack of fundamentals freedoms in China, labor can easily be undercut in terms of labor-cost, giving the Chinese a strong advantage over other factory workers.
Honestly, I'm not concerned about an oil shortage or how much of an impact one would have on a company that relies so heavily on transporting all of its goods long distances. I believe that when oil prices rise high enough, alternative energies will emerge overnight (historically speaking of course.)
I wonder if this is true of Home Depot. I've heard they use similar bullying methods to get mfrs. to lower prices. In my own experience with Behr paint, you end up using more than you would of the brand from the small store because they thin it. It doesn't coat that well. I've also heard, from a contractor, that the DeWalt tools you buy at a HD are not the same quality that you get in a DeWalt store or other hardware stores. The ones HD sells have nylon gears vs. steel normally.The quality of goods now is better than it's ever been. Economic Darwinism. If it wasn't of an acceptible quality, it wouldn't sell. When products originally came from China, they were subpar... but competition (even if it is really only between different firms in China) forces products to improve.
Another thing I don't like about Wal-Mart is that a lot of them have McDonald's inside. Its like the alliance of the centers of evil. Plus the smell is really disgusting when you walk in.
Adrift in a sea of beige
I'm guessing Home Depot uses some of the same type of buying strategies. Of course, Home Depot isn't really cheaper than their competitors in many cases... so maybe not. There could be something else at play.
All we need is Wal-Mart to add Disney stores to each megastore, and we'd have the ultimate trifecta.
I found myself in need of a printer at 7:30PM on Sunday night.....I drove to Wallymart and picked up a Lexmark for $28.88. The two print cartridges inside would cost me $40 to buy.....so why not just buy a brand new boxed computer everytime your ink runs out.....??? I can't think of a reason......sad.......but a great example of our disposable society.....the other being the way we now treat our workers.....
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
That isn't necessarily a 'Wal*Mart' thing, it's the way a lot of manufacturers' business plans are set up. Sell the durable 'base unit' for a dirt-cheap price (or even give it away!) and make the money selling proprietary consumable parts for usury prices. Recently, Lexmark even took an aftermarket ink cartidge manufacturer deep into federal court over that, claiming that the chips in their 'generic' ink cartridges violated the DMCA's 'anti-circumvention' clause. Lexmark ultimately lost the case, but that is the way that they all do business.I found myself in need of a printer at 7:30PM on Sunday night.....I drove to Wallymart and picked up a Lexmark for $28.88. The two print cartridges inside would cost me $40 to buy.....so why not just buy a brand new boxed computer everytime your ink runs out.....??? I can't think of a reason......sad.......but a great example of our disposable society.....the other being the way we now treat our workers.....
Since pretty much every printer will nowadays make 'eye-candy' quality prints, the #1 criterion for my choice of a new printer early last year was 'ease of refilling the ink wells'. I have become quire adept at it and will often buy the bottles of refill ink at Wal*Mart.
Mike
I can't trust my kids to not get that stuff all over the place.....That isn't necessarily a 'Wal*Mart' thing, it's the way a lot of manufacturers' business plans are set up. Sell the durable 'base unit' for a dirt-cheap price (or even give it away!) and make the money selling proprietary consumable parts for usury prices. Recently, Lexmark even took an aftermarket ink cartidge manufacturer deep into federal court over that, claiming that the chips in their 'generic' ink cartridges violated the DMCA's 'anti-circumvention' clause. Lexmark ultimately lost the case, but that is the way that they all do business.
Since pretty much every printer will nowadays make 'eye-candy' quality prints, the #1 criterion for my choice of a new printer early last year was 'ease of refilling the ink wells'. I have become quire adept at it and will often buy the bottles of refill ink at Wal*Mart.
Mike
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
What about a Starbucks?
Still remember an old Onion headline "New Starbucks to Open in Restroom of Existing Starbucks" (Or something to that effect.)
I'll try to check out this Frontline online.
Did anybody catch the Wally World special on CNBC?
A guy once told me, "Do not have any attachments, do not have anything in your life you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you spot the heat around the corner."
Neil McCauley (Robert DeNiro): Heat 1995
I don't know about Lexmark but it isn't unusual for the ink cartridges that come with a printer to be special "starter" cartridges that print only a fraction of the pages a full cost cartridge would. I seem to recall there being an article on Slashdot a while back about a manufacturer who got caught doing this by not actually putting less ink in the starter cartridge (that would require changing the production line) but rather by giving those cartridges a certain serial number that the print driver would detect and stop putting out ink after a certain number of pages.I found myself in need of a printer at 7:30PM on Sunday night.....I drove to Wallymart and picked up a Lexmark for $28.88. The two print cartridges inside would cost me $40 to buy.....so why not just buy a brand new boxed computer everytime your ink runs out.....??? I can't think of a reason......sad.......but a great example of our disposable society.....the other being the way we now treat our workers.....
Just imagine if Gillette could figure out a way of doing something similar. Think I would grow a beard.
As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron. - H.L. Mencken
Where's Ralph Nader when you need him
He's on vacation until 2008.....ha ha ha.... I hope a $28 printer doesn't have the ability to sense serial numbers or control ink levels.....I'll be able to get a sense of how long the cartridge lasts...In either case, unless there's $12 less ink in these cartidges, I'll just buy another printer.....(that way, you get a clean print head anyway
)
On the ground, protecting the Cyburbia Shove since 2004.
A few of the posts in this thread made slight references to Rubbermaid "failing" or "going bankrupt". I don't believe that is the case.
Rubbermaid did sell off some major portions of their business. This included a shuttering of their "historic" Wooster, OH, plant and the subsequent sell-off of a large number of molding machines. That news got a lot of press.
Looked like quite a few reasons for these in-the-news closures, including product lines with margins too low, resin prices that have jumped dramatically in the last year, shipping costs for bulky products (costly to ship "air"), and cheap overseas labor.
Bear
Occupy Cyburbia!
One thing I would like to bring up in relation to Wally World.For many of us, making less than 30k/yr, the prices for many products at these large discounters really makes a diference to us. I know the quality may not be quite up to par and the design of these places does need a bit of reworking, but the fact that cash in hand dictates that some people have no other choice.
Conservatives are quick to claim that Americans are better off and wealthier than ever before in the nation's history. While it is no doubt true that most of us -- at least from the lower middle class up -- have more "stuff" than ever before in all of human history, this fact doesn't necessarily mean that we are better off. When I was growing up, in a middle class family in a major metropolitan area (i.e. close to stores), back in the 1970s it was relatively rare for us to buy things. We simply had them, most seemingly from time immemorial. It was extremely rare when something had to be replaced. I realize that some consumer goods are disposable and need to purchased repeatedly. But this type of mindset seems almost quaint in comparison with today. We have more stuff today -- there is, after all, more stuff to buy -- but we also have more debt. In the days before Walmart, were we unable to buy the things that we needed? Was the lower middle class falling into poverty? I know, it is a decidedly un-American, cart and buggy type of mentality that even dares to ask such questions...
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