WereBear’s Recent Comments

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  Wal-Mart a boon to the poor?

  Let's examine that statement.

  For instance, clothes. One of the hallmarks of being poor, or just thrifty, was the practice of hand-me-downs. Third Brother got into First Brother's clothes, which still had plenty of wear in them.

  Unless Mom bought clothes from Wal-Mart. These things have a lot of stuff added to trick out the fiber content, including cellulose. Yes, paper. A year of washing later, and it's rags. Back to School has a whole new meaning when it becomes a case of everyone trying to keep their clothes together before they grow out of them.

  Or home appliances. The coffee maker at Wal-Mart is five or ten dollars cheaper. Good deal, right? Not when the cost cutters downgraded all the components to make Wal-Mart's price. It's a year later, and the heating element has burned out. Back to Wal-Mart for another cheap coffee maker.

  The Wal-Mart shoppers I know go to Wal-Mart a LOT. But it's not because they love Wal-Mart. It's because every time they turn around, that cheap crap they bought has broken, and back they go for more cheap crap.

  And they don't go to more expensive stores because the name brands are at Wal-Mart. They don't know the Levis, the Black & Decker, the other stuff they think is the same, isn't the same. The name brand companies downgrade their stuff to make it under Wal-Mart's price guidelines.

  Boon to the poor? More like a shell game. And we all know who wins that one.On New Yorker article reminds you why you hate it posted 2 years, 7 months ago 7 Responses