Inglewood to WalMart: Not In My Front Yard!

[Thegonagle]

Wal-Mart, unhappy with the city council's rejection of its plans to build a WalMart mega-store, uses California's legislative process, takes issue directly to voters, and ends up with egg on its happy-face. [EDIT: It's called the initiative and referendum process, not legislative, which makes sense--I'm not from California though, and I couldn't remember its proper name.]

AP Story

CNN Story

It wasn't even close: 7,049 to 4,575.

 

[Ryan]

Obligatory Nelson laugh: "HA-HA"

 

[Thegonagle]

Originally posted by: rbloedow
Obligatory Nelson laugh: "HA-HA"

 

[Kelvrick]

Take it walmart. You go to hell, you go to hell and you die.

 

[tcsenter]

Wal-Mart, unhappy with the city council's rejection of its plans to build a WalMart mega-store, uses California's legislative process, takes issue directly to voters, and ends up with egg on its happy-face.

California's initiative and referendum process.

Walmart is the largest retailer in the world and the loss of a few new stores, more or less, will never be noticed at the rate Walmart is currently adding them both here and abroad.

Inglewood is a working class community who could benefit from Walmart's lower prices, particularly on groceries. Inglewood proved nothing more than it is home to a lot of people who simply are not sophisticated enough to detect when smoke is being blown up their arse.

The local 'mom and pop' businesses Walmart is accused of crushing rarely offer health and dental insurance to the teenie boppers they predominantly employ, usually at minimum wage, let alone any one of the following benefits:

- profit-sharing
- 401K
- short and long term disability insurance
- stock participation programs
- life insurance

So Inglewood essentially rejected low-paying jobs with modest benefits in favor of low-paying jobs with no benefits and paying higher prices to boot. That puts into perspective who really has egg on their happy-face.

 

[Xionide]

Inglewood sounds fvcking retarded. I would put a wal mart in your yard if I could.

-Xionide

 

[Nebor]

Jules Winnfield! Our man in Inglewood!

 

[Goosemaster]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Wal-Mart, unhappy with the city council's rejection of its plans to build a WalMart mega-store, uses California's legislative process, takes issue directly to voters, and ends up with egg on its happy-face.

California's initiative and referendum process.

Walmart is the largest retailer in the world and the loss of a few new stores, more or less, will never be noticed at the rate Walmart is currently adding them both here and abroad.

Inglewood is a working class community who could benefit from Walmart's lower prices, particularly on groceries. Inglewood proved nothing more than it is home to a lot of people who simply are not sophisticated enough to detect when smoke is being blown up their arse.

The local 'mom and pop' businesses Walmart is accused of crushing rarely offer health and dental insurance to the teenie boppers they predominantly employ, usually at minimum wage, let alone any one of the following benefits:

- profit-sharing
- 401K
- short and long term disability insurance
- stock participation programs
- life insurance

So Inglewood essentially rejected low-paying jobs with modest benefits in favor of low-paying jobs with no benefits and paying higher prices to boot. That puts into perspective who really has egg on their happy-face.

Interesting argument....

 

[So]

Originally posted by: Goosemaster

Originally posted by: tcsenter

Wal-Mart, unhappy with the city council's rejection of its plans to build a WalMart mega-store, uses California's legislative process, takes issue directly to voters, and ends up with egg on its happy-face.

California's initiative and referendum process.

Walmart is the largest retailer in the world and the loss of a few new stores, more or less, will never be noticed at the rate Walmart is currently adding them both here and abroad.

Inglewood is a working class community who could benefit from Walmart's lower prices, particularly on groceries. Inglewood proved nothing more than it is home to a lot of people who simply are not sophisticated enough to detect when smoke is being blown up their arse.

The local 'mom and pop' businesses Walmart is accused of crushing rarely offer health and dental insurance to the teenie boppers they predominantly employ, usually at minimum wage, let alone any one of the following benefits:

- profit-sharing
- 401K
- short and long term disability insurance
- stock participation programs
- life insurance

So Inglewood essentially rejected low-paying jobs with modest benefits in favor of low-paying jobs with no benefits and paying higher prices to boot. That puts into perspective who really has egg on their happy-face.

Interesting argument....

Agreed. What do the 'mom and pop' shops actaully offer, except economic inefficiency. Besides, if the people really wanted to hurt wal-mart, they'd let them build the store, open it, and not shop there, that way wal-mart would have wasted money on the building and employing people until the store folded. It seems that the only way they can stop people from shopping at the store is to forcibly close it. If given the freedom of choice, the populous chooses wal-mart time and again, experience proves.

 

[compuwiz1]

Every city and town they have come into, with all their muscle and money, has resulted in a general crushing of the little guy....all the way from employee to the small business owner themself.
I have very fond memories of the the neighborhood pharmacy, where I grew up. It was really a cool little store, where you could sit at a counter, enjoying a soda, buy a model car, plane, ect, and catch up on the local news. Armand, who was the owner / pharmacist always called us by name, as kids. You just can't get that anymore. Also, I feel WM ' s "Cheap Assed" labor policies are not up to industry par. Example, our local check out people at most grocery stores here, get paid $15-$16 per hour. What does WM pay....as close to minimum as they can get away with. My wife works for Sam's club, but get's half of what most front end Checkers make, in grocery stores, but works harder. She's in it for the benefits, for the time being, but a better offer should come, someday. When the offer comes, speaking for her, the WM Corp. , can kiss our collective butts! :|

 

[So]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Every city and town they have come into, with all their muscle and money, has resulted in a general crushing of the little guy....all the way from employee to the small business owner themself.
I have very fond memories of the the neighborhood pharmacy, where I grew up. It was really a cool little store, where you could sit at a counter, enjoying a soda, buy a model car, plane, ect, and catch up on the local news. Armand, who was the owner / pharmacist always called us by name, as kids. You just can't get that anymore. Also, I feel WM ' s "Cheap Assed" labor policies are not up to industry par. Example, our local check out people at most grocery stores here, get paid $15-$16 per hour. What does WM pay....as close to minimum as they can get away with. My wife works for Sam's club, but get's half of what most front end Checkers make, in grocery stores, but works harder. She's in it for the benefits, for the time being, but a better offer should come, someday. When the offer comes, speaking for her, the WM Corp. , can kiss our collective butts! :|

That's all well and good, but when push comes to shove, I bet you shop at wal-mart too. I wish we could keep the niceties of the old mom-and-pop's. The fact is, though, those places are long gone. WM is pushing out smaller chains. Also, where do you work that grocery checkout play $15-$16 / hr! Holy bujesus! I mean, an EE intern gets $14 / hr

 

[SuperTool]

Inglewood... Always up to no good...

 

[compuwiz1]

"Also, where do you work that grocery checkout play $15-$16 / hr! Holy bujesus! I mean, an EE intern gets $14 / hr "


Safeway, Raleys's, Ralphs...people who care what their people need to live, around here.

Frankly, I cannot see how two people making that can make it aourd here.

I just went down my short list:

Rent = $1200+

2 cars = $1100

Electric & Gas = $140

Phone, seems to always be $95-100

Car insurance = $200

I spend at least $100 per week for gas and meals.

Wife spends about $75

Factor in at least $100 per week in groceries, and we haven't even bought beer or wine yet!

Cell phone $48

Cable / Internet $95


So far we need a $60k per year job, and we haven't even gotten to the fun part yet......boats, Barbeques, travel, entertainment.


This is a good one for the young ones, who think their ready to move away from home. The best advice you can get, is live there as long as you can!

 

[So]

Don't have safeway or Ralphs around these parts, but I know Raley's pays nothing near that in NV.

 

[tcsenter]

Agreed. What do the 'mom and pop' shops actaully offer, except economic inefficiency.

Well if you're Mom, Pop, Son, Daughter, Grand Child, Cousin, Nephew, or In-Law (i.e. those people who always get the full time hours, perks, and promotions at Mom and Pop businesses), then it ain't so bad.

It seems that the only way they can stop people from shopping at the store is to forcibly close it. If given the freedom of choice, the populous chooses wal-mart time and again, experience proves.

Voting is one of those easy symbolic gestures people can do, permitting them to feel warm and fuzzy about upholding one's principles without having to admit of downsides and consequences.

Far easier than, say, refusing to save money when the opportunity to do so is readily available.

 

[Double Trouble]

I view this as a good thing for several reasons. Wal-mart is getting so big and powerful, that they basically don't feel they have to answer to anyone. So long as they can offer the cheapest crap to the masses, they will continue to grow. Zoning laws getting in the way of your new mega WM? No problem, get city council to change the rules for you. City council won't cooperate? No problem, do an end-run around the normal process and spend more than $1 million to try and convince voters that you need to be outside the 'normal' rules everyone else has to live by. Some people don't want to sell their home or property? No problem, abuse the concept of 'eminent domain' to force them to sell to you.... etc etc etc.

Yes, everyone wants a good deal, and Wal-Mart is an unbelievably efficient enterprise, they do a lot of things right. Still, unchecked corporate power and greed is never a good thing. Wal-Mart needs to be reminded every now and again that they are a corporate citizen of the community, they don't own the community.

What do the 'mom and pop' shops actaully offer, except economic inefficiency.

They offer a way of life, they offer stability, they are part of a community. If profits in a certain location dry up, a corporation like WM simply pulls the plug and leaves for some other destination. They are not part of the community, they don't have a vested interest in the community. They don't care about the people in the community.....

 

[compuwiz1]

I admit, I've shopped there on numerous occasions. The rush of life demands that I find someone open at 10 O'clock, who has my razor, deodorant, or my drugs, if I need them. Most of us are guilty, of that, if that is something to be guilty about.

You wouldn't see any member of the Cleaver family, anywhere but at the dinner table, at 7:00 pm.

Does anyone remember having dinner at the same time, every night, with both parents present? I do.

 

[So]

Exactly, what mom n' pop is going to be open at 10 pm? not many.

Still, unchecked corporate power and greed is never a good thing.

True, but where is there greed here? They aren't abusing any power, they aren't jacking up prices in communities where they have run others out.

Ultimately, it sounds like everyone likes to say 'wal mart is bad", "evil", etc...
but at the end of the day, you all vote yes with your dollars. If wal mart really was a net harm, it would be pretty obvious, pretty quick, and pretty easy to turn on them.

You're saying...'they don't offer this, that, or the other thing' but you aren't willing to pay for those intangibles. Let's face it folks...economics is economics. There is a marginal cost for a folksy family shop and none of you are willing to pay it. Either stop demanding something for nothing or pony up the dough. You can't wish reality to be something else... I leave you with my signature.

 

[luvya]

Safeway, Raleys's, Ralphs...people who care what their people need to live, around here.

Did the thought of union contract ever occur to you?

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: luvya

Safeway, Raleys's, Ralphs...people who care what their people need to live, around here.

Did the thought of union contract ever occur to you?

I was going to say the same thing..

If you think it's out of the goodness of their hearts, you're kidding yourself.. lol

 

[Triumph]

Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Every city and town they have come into, with all their muscle and money, has resulted in a general crushing of the little guy....all the way from employee to the small business owner themself.
I have very fond memories of the the neighborhood pharmacy, where I grew up. It was really a cool little store, where you could sit at a counter, enjoying a soda, buy a model car, plane, ect, and catch up on the local news. Armand, who was the owner / pharmacist always called us by name, as kids. You just can't get that anymore. Also, I feel WM ' s "Cheap Assed" labor policies are not up to industry par. Example, our local check out people at most grocery stores here, get paid $15-$16 per hour. What does WM pay....as close to minimum as they can get away with. My wife works for Sam's club, but get's half of what most front end Checkers make, in grocery stores, but works harder. She's in it for the benefits, for the time being, but a better offer should come, someday. When the offer comes, speaking for her, the WM Corp. , can kiss our collective butts! :|

Kudos to compuwiz! This is what we are losing by going to these megalopolises. Things like this have worth, worth that you can't even put a dollar price on. And that's exactly the problem. If you can't put a $$$ to it, it isn't worth anything to most Americans. They see that a jar of peanut butter costs 99 cents at WM and 1.59 at M&P, and they make their buying decision based on only that information. That is one of the problems with capitalism - it assumes that all buyers and sellers have knowledge of all of the costs and benefits associated with each transaction. Obviously this is not the case and is an impossible endeavour anyway. But the fact remains that people buy their goods based on the sticker information alone, without consideration of the affects their purchase makes past the $0.75 that they saved.

The first person that calls me a socialist commie is also the first person who needs to take an introductory economics course.

 

[tcsenter]

They offer a way of life, they offer stability, they are part of a community. If profits in a certain location dry up, a corporation like WM simply pulls the plug and leaves for some other destination. They are not part of the community, they don't have a vested interest in the community. They don't care about the people in the community.....

What do you think Mom and Pop do when their business is no longer profitable...stay in business out of the goodness of their hearts?

Walmart is the community. While some corporate executive in Arkansas doesn't give two hoots about a community in Indiana, neither does he run the Walmart there. Walmart employs people from the community.

Ultimately, it sounds like everyone likes to say 'wal mart is bad", "evil", etc...but at the end of the day, you all vote yes with your dollars. If wal mart really was a net harm, it would be pretty obvious, pretty quick, and pretty easy to turn on them.

Americans love a winner, but you damned well better not win too much, because envy begins to set in when we are reminded of how good we're not.

Its like when someone dominates their sport for too long, they become despised and hated just for being too damned successful. But for the first few years, they are an American hero.

What happens is, we entertain some romantic notion of identifying with a winner. But if they're too damned good for too damned long, we begin to realize we have absolutely no hope of ever being that good, because they have exceeded all human bounds of success, making them some kind of abnormal freak.

Its all envy based.

 

[dethman]

score one against walmart. YES.

 

[dullard]

I personally believe in freedom in America. If someone wants to open a store (even a Wal-Mart), they should have the freedom to do so.

However, it is nice when a Wal-Mart doesn't move in for one major reason: quality of products. Wal-Mart stocks the lowest quality or two rungs of every product. Never will you see the high quality product in a Wal-Mart. And in many cases, quality does matter. So instead of buying one $100 item at a mom and pop store that lasts a lifetime, people are forced to buy a $30 item every year of their life from Wal-Mart. Sure you save money in the short term - but certainly not in the long term in all cases. Note: for some items, quality isn't an issue, so Wal-Mart is great on those.

And some of your arguments are misguided. If a community always pays $15 an hour for minimum wage jobs, and a Wal-Mart moves in offering $7 an hour, then no one would work there. The Wal-Mart will lose money and close up. The community would then lose nothing and gain the investment money that Wal-Mart pumped in to build the store. Obviously that isn't the case, so your arguments are obviously incorrect.

 

[amdskip]

Wal-Mart stocks the lowest quality or two rungs of every product.

Not true at all. I don't know which walmart you are shopping at. If you don't like something, take it back, one of the best return policy's in the business.

Sure everyone likes their locally owned small shops but people need to realize things change. They may have voted the store down but when they eventually do get one open, everyone will come around and they will shop there even if they say they won't.