Biggest waste of government money ever

[mom'sfolly]

Walmart isn't targeted because it is an easy mark but because of pervasive company policies that make sure people are underpaid, among other things...

They have repeatedly lost court cases claiming they aren't paying people required overtime. Managers routinely change workers time cards.
Huge bribery scandal in Mexico. American head office knew, and fired the lawyer that kept pointing out what they were doing was illegal.
Gender bias suit, dropped on a technicality
Repeated labor violations with contractors...contractors who's only contract is with Walmart.
Brags that 70% of it's employees are full time, but calls anyone working more than 28 hours per week full time.
Walmart fined $110 million for dumping toxic waste.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

The student debt and college issue is not a matter of earn a high GPA/scholarships get a job, get low scores and don't. People currently applying for jobs with degrees can probably chime in on how often grades even come up...they don't.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2008/09/20/overrated-college-gpa/

Problems are starting to increase at the PhD level as well, and the debt risks for that are even higher. My heart goes out to many of my friends who went that route.

I'll try to look at these statements as the result of insecurity and fear rather than as purposefully inflamatory. The world seems like a much safer place when working hard ensures monetary safety and success.

 

[hemet dennis]

Quote:
Here
"Thus lowering the quality of people that live in the area."

 

[newfoundland]

Spookwriter is absolutely correct, class has nothing to do with wealth. I come from what is traditionally a very class-ridden society where these things still retain great importance. It may be buried under a veneer of total acceptance and respect for the ideology of meritocracy but I'm afraid it is in the DNA. Class is about so much more than money. It is about good manners and politeness, acceptance of others from different backgrounds and an over-riding sense of fairness and decency. It's about service to country, usually in the army, but never to be talked about again, unless with some amusing little anecdote. It is about donating to charity but always anonymously and with a shy diffidence. It's about being lord of the manor but being infinitely comfortable to talk to the local pig farmer because of a common interest in pigs and anyway you both play in the village cricket team. For us it's about unwavering loyalty to the crown, and the Commonwealth. It's about not letting a friend or brother down. Money can't buy any of these things, but we can surely all live this way, no matter how humble our origins.

 

[oldrooster]

Walmart isn't targeted because it is an easy mark but because of pervasive company policies that make sure people are underpaid, among other things...

They have repeatedly lost court cases claiming they aren't paying people required overtime. Managers routinely change workers time cards.
Huge bribery scandal in Mexico. American head office knew, and fired the lawyer that kept pointing out what they were doing was illegal.
Gender bias suit, dropped on a technicality
Repeated labor violations with contractors...contractors who's only contract is with Walmart.
Brags that 70% of it's employees are full time, but calls anyone working more than 28 hours per week full time.
Walmart fined $110 million for dumping toxic waste.

But are they the only employer that has ever done those things, or are they so large it makes it more noticeable? My employer says 32 hours are full time. An assistant manager in my employer's company has been switched to 4 different stores in 2 years for among other things daring a married coworker (he was her supervisor so it was a "conflict of interest") and sexual harasment. So as I stated I think what they do at wally world isn't correct, it isn't any different than lots of other employers....

 

[mom'sfolly]

Walmart is the largest private employer in the US and in the world. This makes the impact of it's policies much greater. This includes everything from environmental impact, to manufacturing practices, employee pay.

IBM is the second largest employer in the US.

 

[DHinton]

But are they the only employer that has ever done those things, or are they so large it makes it more noticeable? My employer says 32 hours are full time. An assistant manager in my employer's company has been switched to 4 different stores in 2 years for among other things daring a married coworker (he was her supervisor so it was a "conflict of interest") and sexual harasment. So as I stated I think what they do at wally world isn't correct, it isn't any different than lots of other employers....

just for curiousity - do the other companies actually have "training sessions" to show their employees how to file for SNAP and welfare and whatever? that wal-mart does, is a pretty non-secret.

 

[redhen]

Nobody is making those people work at/Walmart..

 

[oldrooster]

Quote:
So does many events held for Sr. citizens and minorities, and I don't hear people criticizing those events.....

 

[Anarchick]

The problem with Wal-mart is that it is a big part of company policy to move into poor areas, mainly what are called food deserts, urban or sub-urban areas where stores with food are few and far between save gas stations and the like, driving people to have to travel anywhere from 7mi to 20mi for food. These places are overwhelmingly devoid of food because they are areas of high poverty, and because of the high poverty few business open leaving few jobs in the area.

So wal-mart moves in, offering low prices and jobs. Only, it's also company policy to pay as low a wage as possible for starting employees who are often hired only part-time because it's cheaper to have 3x as many people employed at part-time minimum wage believing they'll get full-time and benifits one day than to have less hired at full-time. They also have a very high turnover rate. Anyway, wal-mart opens and people start working there and quickly find that you can't pay rant and bills and buy food on $7.25/hr (fed min. wage), and to make things worse the working conditions are awful. Now, like you say, no one is forcing them to work there. Sure, they could leave. But how would they pay their rent? How would their kids eat? $7 is better than nothing, but does that make a non-livable wage and awful working conditions okay? Of course not.

It also ties into a cycle called wage slavery, which is what happens when companies exploit the system knowing they can pay low wages because there are no other viable options. Workers could leave, but they'd risk homelessness, inability to get a new job, and be left with nothing. It's easy for people who have job security and are't below the poverty line to say "well no one s forcing them" "why not go somewhere else" "it isn't a crime to do..." and you're right, but it's not that easy when you aren't even living paycheck to paycheck and it's a little more like paycheck to bounced check to cash advance to paycheck.

Now wal-mart obviously opens in areas that aren't full of poverty, because those are profitable areas, but you can bet there will be some single moms, elderly, or teens in need of a first job.

Because of such low wages and their hiring practices wal mart actually costs tax payers money because there is no way to live on $7.25/hr even working more than the average full time without applying for aid.

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storewars/stores3.html
http://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision...unt-13-million/story?id=18355239#.UdEOPvnVCSo

and a graphic that highlights why minimum wage is such a problem
http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/paying-rent-on-minimum-wage/?_r=0