Well, duh. Money spent at local businesses is recirculated in those communities via employee wages, reinvestment into the business (paying contractors and others during remodeling or expansion) and the owner’s own spending. Money spent at an extractive national chain heads straight for Wall St and/or an overseas tax haven, only a fraction of it remains locally to pay employees.
Walmart is even more fun though, they don’t pay their workers enough to survive and often give them just enough hours so that the employees qualify for government subsidies like food stamps, poverty level govt health insurance and/or welfare aid.
But wait, it gets even better: when Walmart moves into a new community they slash prices for a couple of years to draw as much business away from local competitors as possible. Once those companies are driven out of business then Walmart can ratchet up pricing to profitable levels, and because the competition is gone they can charge whatever they like. Prices often end up higher than they were in the first place.
They also steal from mentally handicapped people, and take advantage of the elderly. Truly a pillar of capitalism.
Mentally handicapped getting lower wages seems awful, but they wouldn’t have a job at all if they were paid the same as the rest of us. Think a store manager is going to hire a less capable employee? And it’s not like some dude with Down’s is slaving to pay rent. He wants to be around people, feel wanted and productive. For them it’s not purely transactional.
As to the elderly? Do you object to Walmart hiring them? And like the handicapped, which many physically are, they wouldn’t have a job at all. Also, have you considered that some old people work because they want to? I’ve planned to “retire” working at a hardware store, hopefully the super cool local place. Left to my own devices, I’d get bored as hell. Unemployed now and depressed. Yes, I get out and hike and kayak, do all sorts of fun stuff, but I actually like working if the manager is solid. 20 hours a week at the local place sounds fun!
It’s not like Walmart pays minimum wage, at least not around here. Starting pay is $15, double our state min wage, which still sucks, but at least you get some benefits. And keep in mind, some people simply can’t work higher paying jobs. I worked for a payroll company that served “low end” customers; churches, restaurants, thrift stores and the like. The owners were big time Christians and gave the churches and charities ridiculous pricing. As in, we barely covered out costs for doing their payroll (and taxes and state laws and worker’s comp, and HR and loads more). Some places simply cannot pay more and exist.*
If you’re smart enough to be reading this on lemmy, you may not have been exposed to the “unwashed masses”. They’re dumber than you think. Not saying they don’t deserve a living wage! But many people will never be able to rise up. It sucks and it’s depressing, but just think, Trump won, again. What does that say about our population’s general IQ?
The issue at hand is the blast crater that Walmart leaves in small towns. OTOH, those small town people, while lamenting the loss of local businesses, are happy to have a one-stop-shop at lower prices. I know, I’m one of them. I fucking hate going to Home Depot over the local place, but damn, if it saves me $50, what else can I do? Many of us have to drive a ways into town, just want to hit Walmart and get it all over with. Want us to burn more gas?
LOL, sorry for all that text. It’s just that these issues concern me, always thinking how to make things better. There are no easy answers. If someone has one? They’re ignorant or selling something.
* Interesting and uplifting note on that! The Christian thrift store chain payed rock bottom, to the penny, minimum wage. New CEO came in and flipped the place upside down in just 2-3 years! They were able to donate and care for far more homeless people, the worker’s wages went up nearly double, they got health insurance and paid education. Also, those same Christian payroll company owners? Like the thrift store, they walked the walk, didn’t talk it, just did it. I’m an atheist BTW, and they knew it.
I’m not talking about lower wages, I’m talking about wage theft. There are multiple documented instances of Walmart forcing them to work overtime without OT pay, forcing them to work off the clock, stealing their breaks, and a slew of disgusting practices.
Ah! Well, I’m sure you’re right. But much of that is a matter of worker education. As I said, I worked for a payroll company. We wouldn’t allow our clients to pull that shit for one second, because we were the employers of record. But if the employee never reports it?*
People need to understand that their state has a labor board they can call. Can’t speak for other states, but these employers are scared shitless of that board. And just imagine if an employer racks up loads and loads of reports. Investigation is on!
Say you force me to work unpaid overtime and I go complain to the Florida Labor Board. Guess what? The state agency automatically sides with me. The burden of proof is on the employer to document my worked hours. (Don’t sign your fucking time card if it’s wrong!) Can’t do that Mr. Scammer? Fuck you, pay the man anything he’s claiming. They will and they do and I’ve seen it. My state does not fuck around with wage theft, and I doubt many other states do either.
Hell, you don’t even have to push hard, unless your boss is a moron. Just say “labor board” and they will fucking cave. And if they don’t know better, and their superiors don’t know better, and want to fire you or fight? Oh my brother, it’s on! But anyone reading this, documentation is KING. You don’t get to walk into a courtroom, or even file a grievance, if you can’t show the paperwork.
But how many people know that?! I was in my late 40’s, well past working shit jobs that would steal from me, until I learned that. And only because I worked in that field by dumb luck.
And don’t start me on unions. What? We have to have some sort of formal organization? What if 50% of the employees at a given McDonalds says, “We want $X or we strike Monday.” Fuck are they gonna do? The employees just turned the money off and they can’t hire new people fast enough. I’ve seen shit places that run HR hiring non-stop because they’re shit to work for. Plus, you just made the local news.
Speaking of restaurants, I’ve worked several. Never known one that wouldn’t take an ass beating from a call to the local health department. So if you’re getting fucked around, make the call. Grow a pair and fight back, even if it means personal sacrifice. Fuck me, Luigi just went to prison for life to make a statement. Can’t make a couple of phone calls to fight back?!
Again, not on your case OP, but worker rights are a thing I’m constantly looking at.
tl;dr: We have rights we don’t know how to use!
* And how many people know they’re actually employees of another company? It’s a totally normal thing to have another business handle your payroll, but that business is doing far more than multiplying hours worked X wages and cutting a check. Payroll is wildly complex.
That’s why Walmart hires seniors, mentally handicapped people, and disadvantaged people, because they’re less likely to fight for their rights, if they even know what their rights are.
I strongly disagree that prices are higher. I live in a small town (9,000) and my camp is in a smaller town (900). Walmart’s far cheaper than the local stores and the Dollar General at camp is cheaper than the local general store. I buy local where I can, but sometimes I can’t afford to.
The main issue, as you said, is these chains siphoning off the money. Kinda like people around here resenting the county fair. They swoop in, bag the money and run. Those same people would shit kittens if you proposed removing Walmart. Yet chain stores are a non-stop drain, not just an autumn event.
So how do we sell these small, poor communities on kicking Walmart to the curb? “Look, just pay more for a few years and it’ll all come back around!” That’s true, but not something we would vote for. Making it all worse, these towns give the big chains deep tax discounts to come in. “More employment!” Think they’ll give Shalafi’s Tortilla Emporium* any breaks?
On top of that, where’s the money coming from to bring back the mom-and-pop stores? People are looking at their bank account, right here and now, no thought to the future. We already fucked ourselves letting these vampires in our communities, no easy way to unwind that.
Be of good cheer! Some towns vote to not allow Walmart in! There was some Alabama town nearby that told them to get bent, wouldn’t issue a business license. It can happen! Know how I know that? It was a controversy because the locals wanted the Walmart.
* Read an article on lemmy that inspired me. You might have seen The Atlantic article on tortillas? Apparently the mass produced ones we all know suck and there’s a huge difference in quality with “genuine” tortillas. Thought about learning the trade, but do you think I could convince people to pay triple? “Yeah, they’re great and all, but I’m broke, sticking will Walmart brand. Sorry.” I cook with tortillas several times a week and I may not go for a way higher price. Economies of scale have us by the short and curlies.
Who would have thought that a parasite would be harmful?
LOL, I’ve gone nuts commenting on this thread. Give a read!
tl;dr: It’s too late to kick Walmart from our small towns. Hell, the voters won’t go for it.
