Maine joining the fight against Wal-Mart!!

[Maine-ah]

AUGUSTA (April 28): Saying that Wal-Mart pays its employees so little that they are often forced to sign up for Medicaid and other government assistance, a group of legislators wants to put a special sales tax on the store and other big-box retailers to reimburse the state for the subsidies it provides their workers.





“It is well documented that in some Wal-Mart stores, when you apply for a job you also receive an application for public assistance and Medicaid,” said Rep. Arthur Lerman (D, Augusta), the chief sponsor of a bill that would levy a 3 percent tax on gross sales at big-box stores.

http://www.villagesoup.com/Government/story.cfm?storyid=53996

[Squatch]

1. A lot of the people who shop at Wal Mart shop there because

they can't afford anyplace else. Levying a "special sales tax" on these stores will impact them hard.

[FreedomAngel82]

2. I don't like Walmart

I mainly go to "Target" for clothes and other electronic stuff (like movie's and cd's) since they're just so much cheaper then other stores.

[Squatch]

3. "a special sales tax on the store and other big-box retailers"

Guess what Target is?

[Maine-ah]

8. I shop w/ the small businesses.

The only place I can't is the grocery store, no choice there.

[zalinda]

5. They're paying more anyway

with their taxes, whether income or property, it has to come from somewhere.

Most places give big box retailers a tax break, but the customer doesn't get that break, all it does is put small business owners out of business. If you level the playing field it would probably help everyone all around.

zalinda

[Solon]

9. That's not true...

First, most items at Wallyworld are not on average cheaper than anyplace else, look at Electronics or Housewares for that. Also, of the items that are cheaper, usually on endcaps or islands in the store, they are of inferior quality than compariable products and do not last as long, forcing the customer to buy them again and again. In fact, it got so bad, that Wal*Mart was slapped with false advertising and had to change their slogan from, "always the low price. Always." to "always low prices. Always." after an investigation by the National Advertising Review Board. Guess what, they lied about their pricing, and they still lie about it, surprised. Its called advertising, most is BS and the rest is exaggeration.

[Maine-ah]

10. yep, and now the fuckers are trying to put in a super WM.

I work for a small foodservice distributor, and that'll put us out of business.

[Lexingtonian]

12. not actually true

That's a thing people believe contrary to the objective evidence, just like 'SUVs are safer'.

Wal-mart only "low prices" items where shoppers know the prices of the competition- it's less than 200 items nationally and often under 60 in individual stores iirc.

It's an excellent marketing scheme from the business p.o.v., and ultimately relies on the ignorance and laziness or lack of time/information of the buyers. People end up shopping at Walmarts (and Targets, etc. and once upon a time, Sears) because it's simpler/faster, because the "megastores" are more or less just massive stockpiles of 99% of the stuff American blue collar and lower end white collar families consume.

Walmart is a very well designed, comprehensive, and exploitive, economic scheme designed around the American blue collar working family. But to work as well (i.e. profitably/efficiently) as it does, it needs all kinds of government or government-enabled subsidies and lack of laws/enforcement to cover the inefficiencies of scale involved.

On a truly leveled playing field, Walmart goes the way of all the big retail outlets...decays into smaller, regional chainlets.

[TK421]

4. I'm glad....Maine ROCKS!!!

[Maine-ah]

11. welcome to DU!

:hi:

[Cuban_Liberal]

6. AWESOME!

It's about time!

[DIKB]

7. Fighting for the little guys

Something you will NEVER see a repuke do.