State Senate Democrats Return Donation From Walmart

Walmart in nyc could change many things. Thus many people might be opposed/defensive of it and it's life changing effects. If your life is not changed by it or you enjoy going with the flow, you wouldn't be posting on this board. It was felt that some sort of non-acidic interjection to this online debate was needed. But it is appreciated by many people that you are spending time with your conscience over this matter. BEEP BOOP BOP!

This location is plenty far from Ground Zero... Where are all the pro-mosque advocates preaching about private property rights?

I blame Islamaphobia.

The point is mute since Wal-Mart will come to NYC one of these days..

I love how New Yorkers will scream about "diversity" and being wecoming for all, providing an environment welcoming to new business and wanting to help poor people find jobs..... and yet, they'll bitch and protest to keep Walmart out of the city.

Why? We have Trader Joe's and McDonalds all over the fucking place. What is so evil about Walmart and the fact that common, working and/or poor people want to shop there? Not quite "hip" enough, is it?

"What is so evil about Walmart..."

the fact that you even have to ask means you haven't actually done your research. that, or you're being willfully ignorant.

evidently YOU haven;t done your research- you've been put in place by two people on this post alone already.

Why don't you enlighten me? And don't just quote the anti-corporate vitriol you troll from your union newsletter or back issues of Mother Jones.

Seriously, WHAT is it about this company which is allegedly so much more evil than any other corporate entity? They put the working poor to work and raise the standards of living in EVERY neighborhood and town they move into. They provide insurance to over 85% of their employees (last I read they did anyway). They also provide less expensive, more affordable goods to average consumer as well as pouring money into schools and other community causes.

I'm sure you're way too fabulous to darken the doorway of a Walmart, but I'd rather buy my dog food and crappy t-shirts from them than train around Manhattan and patronize the pretentious, twatty shops you no doubt love.

Enough of the Walmart hate. If we're going to ban them from the city, ban American Apparel, the Gap, Trader Joes, McDonalds etc.. Why the double standard?

Mother Jones? ha! 85% insured? ha! raising living standards? ha! i have no idea where you are getting your info, Walmart brochures?

remember that thing called American Industry? well your friend Walmart has been an incredible force in it's destruction. in this race to the bottom, its all about buying power and Walmart is king.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-11/29/content_395728.htm

"If Wal-Mart were an individual economy, it would rank as China's eighth-biggest trading partner, ahead of Russia, Australia and Canada"

around 50% of Walmart employees have health insurance, with laughable coverage and incredibly high deductibles. those same employees are forced to use Medicaid at taxpayer expense. let's look at Massachusetts:

"A disturbing 41.4% of Walmart’s total workforce in Massachusetts used publicly subsidized health care, costing taxpayers $15.5 million in 2008."

http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dhcfp/r/pubs/09/50_plus_employees_04-09.pdf

but, this is a comment board not school. it is your responsibility to educate yourself and since you're already a devoted Walmart customer you probably don't care to know the facts (willfully ignorant). so next time you lament the demise of American industry and the jobs that go along with it, or perhaps you want to "Buy American" you can thank your consumer choices for our present situation.

Hotstepper, you're absolutely right!

Walmart is nothing more than a direct pipeline from China to the U.S. China ships straight to Walmart they sell it take their cut and the rest of the money goes straight back to China. Did anybody notice that China just became the 2nd largest economy in the world and they'll surpass us soon. China has financed these wars, we owe them so much money that our great grand kids will be paying them back. That's why this country is in decline with no way out. We don't produce anything and Walmart is partly why.

To whoever doesn't understand the damage being done to America by Walmart there's countless books on the subject and if you don't like reading you can watch "Walmart: The High Cost of a Low Price" http://www.walmartmovie.com/ an amazing documentary that will make most Americans jaws drop if they take the time to see it. The NY Times called this documentary "Breathtaking," Salon.com said it was "Mesmerizing" and Roger & Ebert gave it "Two Thumbs Up!".

Here's some WAL-MART Fun Facts for you:

WAL-MART Drives Down Retail Wages $3 BILLION Every Year

WAL-MART costs $86 MILLION a Year to California Taxpayers

ALABAMA: 3,864 Children of WAL-MART Employees are Enrolled in Medicaid

ARIZONA: 2,700 WAL-MART Workers on Medicaid

ARKANSAS: 3971 WAL-MART Workers on Public Assistance

CONNECTICUT: 824 WAL-MART Workers Have Children in a State Heath Care Program

FLORIDA: 12,300 WAL-MART Workers and their Dependents on Medicaid

GEORGIA: 10,261 Children of WAL-MART Employees are Enrolled in PeachCare for Kids

MASSACHUSETTS: 4,172 WAL-MART Workers and Dependents on State Health Care

TENNESSEE: 9,617 WAL-MART Workers on TennCare

TEXAS: 4,363 Children of WAL-MART Employees on CHIP

WISCONSIN: 1,252 WAL-MART Employees and Dependents on BadgerCare

WAL-MART Costs Taxpayers $1,557,000,000,00 to Support its Employees

$50 MILLION to settle an off-the-clock class action suit in Colorado

In Texas it is estimated that they cheated workers out of up to one hundred and fifty million dollars in unpaid wages

Wal-Mart currently faces lawsuits in thirty-one different States for wage and hour abuses potentially involving hundreds of thousand workers.

Federal Poverty Level Family of Four - $17,650

Average Wal-Mart Hourly Sales Employee Wages - $13,861

Wal-Mart is paying eleven million dollars to settle Federal allegations it used illegal immigrants to clean its stores.

Wal-Mart is facing a class-action lawsuit for discrimination against $1.6 million former and current female employees.

WAL-MART SUBSIDY NATIONWIDE: $1.008 BILLION

City of Cameron give WAL-MART $2.1 MILLION to set up shop

City of Brookfield gives WAL-MART $300,000,00 to open doors

1999: All new WAL-MART construction halted in state of PENNSYLVANIA due to Environmental Violations

2001: EPA orders WAL-MART to pay $1.0 MILLION fine for Clean Water Violations in: TEXAS, OKLAHOMA AND MASSACHUSETTS

2004: WAL-MART fined $3.1 MILLION by EPA, the largest ever for a retailer, for Clean Water Act violations in TEXAS, COLORADO, CALIFORNIA, DELAWARE, MICHIGAN, SOUTH DAKOTA, NEW JERSEY, TENNESSEE and UTAH

2005: Connecticut EPA orders WAL-MART to pay $1.15 MILLION for Clean Water Act violations in 22 stores

Cost for WAL-MART Factory Worker to Assemble: $0.18

Retail cost at Wal-Mart: $14.96

WAL-MART Imported $18 BILLION from CHINA in 2004

The WALTON FAMILY Has Given LESS THAN 1% of Their Wealth to Charity

Bill Gates has given 58%

The WALTON FAMILY Made $3.2 MILLION in Political Contributions in 2004

A WAL-MART Worker may donate money from their paycheck to the CRITICAL NEED FUND, a program to aid other employees in times of crisis, like a fire or tornado.

In 2004, WAL-MART Employees gave OVER $5 MILLION to help fellow workers

The Walton Family gave $6,000

The WALTON FAMILY received a federal tax cut of: $91,500.00 per HOUR in the 2004 tax year

Consider the following findings from existing academic studies that have studied Wal-Mart's effect on local markets:

A study of small and rural towns in Iowa showed lost sales for local businesses ranging from -17.2% in small towns to -61.4% in rural areas, amounting to a total dollar loss of $2.46 BILLION over a 13-year period.

In Iowa, retail businesses in several categories experienced a decline of up to 59% over a 13-year period.

In Mississippi, local food stores in counties hosting a Wal-Mart supercenter lost sales of up to 17 percent over 5 years

For every gain in sales by a Supercenter, there are corresponding losses in sales for local and/or family businesses

In Maine, Wal-Mart captured an average $7.8 million from local/family businesses in their host towns during the first year of operation.

Retail Forward, an industry consulting firm, estimates that for every Wal-Mart Supercenter that opens in the next five years, two supermarkets will close.

For citations visit here: http://www.walmartmovie.com/facts.php

It's really sad that more Americans are not aware of how destructive WAL-MART is to America.

not accepting the Walmart money in the first place would have shown some cajónes, but that's a little much to ask from democrats.

but they DIDN"T accept it. what's your argument?

reread the opening line of the article and then get back to me.

maybe you should re-read it.? it might be hard to understand for you, i know, i know, but try, little one:

'The NY State Senate Democrats had to RETURN a $15,000 donation from mega retailer Walmart...'

Sigh..

"Democrats had accepted the cash from the union-resisting Arkansas-based retail chain, ..."

You know.. not always the case, but you usually have to accept it in order to return it.

and 'returning' NULLIFIES accepting it- as in reverses, as in ZERO.

Err... the acts have been performed. It doesn't nullify anything. But, if you must put it that way, yes, that is the end result of returning it. But that's after returning it. I was referring to the the catalyst for the act of returning it.

And the weather is very nice in NYC.

don't bother with this one, that troll is lonely without her lover felix.

aw, get owned lately? once wal-mart is in, i'm sure you'll be the FIRST in line. youre probably some miserable union fuck who is the downright reason the local economies of main street america is screwed: RIDICULOUS demands made on business owners, empty threats with unattainable goals whose sole purpose to exist is one thing: gain money- period.

gm? ford? chrysler? going, going, and soon to be gone altogether thanks to union who have gathered en masse to so selfishly declare war on big business while FAILING miserably to see that it only screws the american worker out of a job that's soon outsourced to asia. $30 with a high school diploma to wotk at a chrysler plant? dream job.

for decades unions have scared the general public into believing 'they' provide a better product, while using the american mantra of 'buy american' and 'made in the usa' as an excuse for 'give me money' and 'support american jobs or you';; end up supporting china!' bla fucking blah blah

you're not very good at this.

"U.S. car makers are showing some of the biggest improvement"

http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748703961204575280940343668022.html

little one, i suggest you keep to trolling animal-obsessed ESL half-wits. stick a fork in it, you're done.

I don't really want to get involved in this but this is too funny. Did you miss the part where GM filed for bankruptcy?

ha! good times.

yeah, its a little hazy, but i think i recall something about a global financial collapse in 2008. i heard many companies and countries are still trying to get back on their feet from that one.

GM was in serious trouble before the Lehman collapse in September 2008. Lots of people were saying they would have to file for bankruptcy within years. The global recession just accelerated the inevitable. And since you mention the crisis, you're comparing sales and profit numbers from now with the depth of the crisis. Of course they are showing improvement. You might mention that GM laid off about 20,000 more workers after filing for bankruptcy, closed about 10 more plants, sold off half of their brands, and cut a new deal with the unions that lowered pay, especially for newer hires.

i agree with your analysis of GM, but i did not interject car companies into the discussion. let's look at the original argument here:

1. the GM/MTA model of bloated union contracts with unsustainably high wages and benefits that actually lower product/service quality.

2. the Walmart model of low paying jobs, union-busting, and artificially cheap goods that forces employees to use taxpayer funded healthcare and drives manufacturers to outsource production.

both examples are extreme and both are unsustainable for albeit opposing reasons.

'artificially cheap goods'? can you not by the vast majority or wal-mart products at much higher prices at other stores?

don't bother with this one, that troll is lonely without his lover blissfool.

can you add chrysler to the list?

lol, yes, asshole, showing big improvement AFTER HAVING ALREADY LEFT FOR CHEAPER LABOR

name-calling is a fun substitution for facts, but not really effective in an adult conversation.

oh well, whatever gets your angries out -- hope you have a better day sweetheart!

i'll take that as an admission of defeat...by a girl no less. :)

if it worked for Ah Q, it can work for you.

GOOD!

Keep Walmart out of New York City!

Why is NYC so scared of Walmart? Lets hear it.