Thursday Links

hey, what happened to the chatter of wal-mart showing up in bushwick? I much prefer the bushwick location

Who gives a sh!t if the pieces in your Walmart bought Monopoly game are plastic instead of metal? You’re gonna lose em anyway!

Talk about cheaply made, watered-down goods, ever been in an H&M?????

IMBY is correct on Walmart’s negotiating tactics with their vendors. I freelance for a company that makes bedding for them, and I’ve listened to their sales people talking to the factory about what they have to do to cheapen their product so that Walmart will buy. The product originally made in India has to be watered down by the final factory in China. The difference in the samples from both countries is astonishing. I imagine it’s the same for any of their products. People may be getting cheaply priced stuff, but it’s cheaply constructed stuff as well, out of low quality goods.

It’s hard to argue with the jobs and tax part of the equation, as we need both. Low income people also need affordable goods, and I don’t like the idea of a nanny state telling people what is good to buy, or not good, even if, in the long run, the nanny state is correct. People should be able to make their own choices, and for many, Walmart would be that choice.

However, blaming everything on the unions is so tired and inaccurate. There wouldn’t be such an uproar all across the world when Walmart comes a callin’ if there wasn’t something to it. And that goes for places in the US, and countries where unions don’t have all that much power.

To anyone considering the Walmart in Valley Stream > it s-u-c-k-s. Avoid! NJ does have better walmarts, regardless of the B&T toll.