"Goomba" > wrote in message
...
> The UnInmate wrote:
>
>> It's cheap, and some people have to shop cheap. Even if you have a social
>> conscience, it doesn't help anyone if you go personally bankrupt over a
>> matter of principle. And for some people $7.50 for a pair of brand new
>> jeans that look decent, fit well, and last three years is just too
>> tempting because no other retailer even comes close.
> Sure there are. Consignment shops probably sell better brands for that. A
> lot of lower end stores exist, or better department stores with unsually
> good sale events.

Don't know of any consignment shops around here, and am not even sure what
they are. By lower end do you mean stuff like Zellers? If so, Wal-Mart is
actually cheaper here more often, which is why Zellers stores are folding.
The department stores here rarely have anything near as good as a $7.50 pair
of decent jeans. There is one remarkable community place around here called
Honest Ed's (at an old job I helped make the sign for it) but that's a kind
of shopping experience you have to be in the mood for.

> I couldn't care less about the union issues at Walmart. Unions have their
> own issues I dislike. But I do worry about the trade deficit, the
> questionable quality of goods from China, the way local Mom & Pops are
> squeezed out of business when tacky Walmart comes to town.
> In particular with grocery items-I also worry about the homogenization of
> America's eating based on the way Walmart sells only the very top 6 or 7
> sellers of any one item. I think it will encourage the loss of regional
> differences or "personality" down the road.

All good points, but Wal-Mart is not alone in this. Around here the chain
donut shops have forced every single mom and pop coffee place out of
business. Half the old houses and businesses have been torn down to put up
condos. Etc. etc. It's a society-wide issue, and singling out Wal-Mart only
distracts people from addressing it, IMO.