driftrider

Still think so?

Mike

Todd1700

The same is true of the Wal-Mart superstore near me. Over a dozen stores have sprung up next to it. Not only has Wal-Mart not killed Thomasville it has sparked a business building boom unseen in the history of the town.

And you'd win that bet.
Mom and Pop here = minimum wage, no insurance, no retirement, no paid vacations.
Wal-Mart = better than minimum wage, 401 k retirement plan, paid vacation, health life and dental insurance.

vc1111

Thanks, driftrider, you saved me the trouble of ticking off similar stories of the success bred by the advent of Walmart in several areas.

Oldelkhunter, the traffic patterns alone are enough to cause a spot near a Walmart to be highly desirable for most businesses.

The reference to the firearm as a "Walmart gun" could have been nothing more to a reference to a given batch of warranties, or any of a dozen similar references. You can conclude nothing from such a comment.

I will concede that you are completely dead nuts on the money and I am utterly mistaken IF you can prove that Remington IS making their firearms cheaper now solely because of the advent of a chain of retail stores.

Are they using cheaper metals than they did 10 years ago? Prove it.
Are they making the stocks differently somehow strictly to save costs because they are overwhelmed with Walmart orders? Prove it.
Is the warranty lesser than it was? Is their service flagging specifically because of the excessive demand created by Walmart? If you have proof, something more than your "say so" I'm all ears. Other than that, you are entitled to your opinion, but it will remain no more than that.

There it is. Theres your problem. You are disgruntled over their success. Other than regional pockets of questionable business practices, I salute them. I have no problem with them dealing with China or any other country that is not blacklisted economically by this nation. If they are doing business legally, I wish them all the luck in the world and all the wealth that comes as a result.

As to businesses "going under" as a result: So what?

America is all about competition. Last time I looked that is one of the major reasons Americans have opportunity. Sam Walton, and now his kids, are one of the greatest success stories in the history of this great nation.

I've been very successfu in business for over 30 years. I regularly tell my staff, "I want the best and brightest, the fiercest competitors, the most educated, experienced, and hardest working people in the area to open their doors across the street from me because it will only make me work smarter and harder and I will get stronger as a result."

Here is somethin you should think about Oldelk...from Business 101, Chapter One, page one, paragraph one:

.

driftrider

On the topic of "predatory business practices..." This is something the chain store critics invariably point to as one of the top three "evils" of big retail business (with the others being "poor pay and treatment of employees" and "selling out to China (et. al.)"). After thinking about this a bit, I realized that this is absolutely true, BUT this mindset in business is not limited to just the big chain stores. It is also very common to small business owners as well. The only thing that separates a single proprietor with corporate Wal-Mart is the ABILITY to prey on their smaller competitors, not the absence of desire to do so. This is where the double standard exists. If "Bob's Hardware & Sporting Goods" opens next door to "Bill's Ammo Barn" and puts Bill out of business by offering a better selection, better service, or just better prices, the Wal-Mart haters call it "competition," gives Bill a pat on the back, a sorry about your luck and better luck next time. But if later Wal-Mart does the same thing to Bob a year later, the same people cry foul.

And on the subject of China; had anyone every stopped to think that it might be stores like Wal-Mart that bring about the demise of Communism in China without us having to fire a shot? Bear with me on this. China has become a major producer of goods for the U.S. market. In fact, China's economy has come to depend on us and this, along with the absorbtion of Honk Kong, has caused China's once hard-line Communist leadership to see the value of capitalism and caused a rightward shift in the economics of China as a whole. Perhaps, in time, the Chinese people will see the possibilities of a non-command economy and force further political change. It's a long shot, but stranger things have happened (like the dramatic collapse of Soviet Communism in the late '80's and early '90's). And, as an added side benefit, it'll make the U.S. economy and workforce stronger in the long run because we will be forced to adapt and overcome the challenges of East Asian competition. But we will have to accept that the changes won't be painless, but like the saying goes...that which doesn't kill us...

Mike

Rebel Hog

Well said Driftrider!

DANTHEHUNTER

Damn drift tell us how you really feel. I like just about everything you said , I how ever dont care for our jobs to go any where but the USA. We are also fueling there war making abilities by giving them more money then they have ever seen in years. I just feel like I am buying a bullet with USA wrote on it every time I buy something that says made in china.