6,000 retail stores closing

originally posted by: Nickn3
In a word: Amazon.com

Or where I go when I'm a little drunk to give my sober self surprise presents that I don't really need.

"I got a package! This is so exciting!" open package and "Oh, hey screw you drunk Domo!". The financial equivalent of drunkenly drawing a dick on my face.

What I am a bit shocked by is so many missing the point...

First we took a massive hit, as a nation, when companies shipped most of our middle class manufacturing jobs overseas. We lost the wages, the taxes, the tariffs, and so forth.

Now the literal storefront is following suite.

What's left when that's gone? Restaurants and car washes to employ us all?

Once you outsource the manufacturing, distribution and point of sale - there's nothing left to take. It's all gone.

a reply to: _BoneZ_

They are not exactly hanging on by their own. One of the phone giants, Sprite, I believe is taking them over. My local RS store is going to stay, but it already has a them installed with a counter and I believe a separate sales person.

a reply to: Hefficide

actually Amazon just opened a distribution warehouse in my area, that created thousands of jobs.

Business is business thou until these retailers can compete with online stores they are doomed.

Not to mention 90 percent of what I purchase is made in China, and last me if I am lucky a year or so if it is electronics.

Dont get me started on cell phones..

a reply to: Hefficide
I used to know a crazy man who would spend his days rearranging the trash in his yard.

Turns out he was not crazy just lookin for something to do.

a reply to: Bicent76

We were once the worlds breadbasket. I hate the idea of becoming the worlds warehouse.

Online buying is killing the brick and mortar businesses like Wal Mart killed the local Mom and Pop stores. They just can't compete.

a reply to: deadeyedick

Being in business to make money (income) as opposed to providing a paycheck (outgoing) to employees for standing around not selling anything is a poor business model?

I'm pretty certain that's not in the curriculum at Wharton, but sure.

a reply to: Hefficide

sigh, well that is what happens when we deal with foreign governments who have had more experience with something called economy and business.. Not to mention Corporatocracy does not help.

I hear ya thou, we USE ' TA be allot of better things.

Oh well, it doesn't matter that they're closing stores. Everyone that loses a job deserves it because it's their fault anyway. They shouldn't be freeloading citizens relying on any job they can get. I mean, there's so many to choose from outside of the service and retail industry...

Yep, more people are buying online. That is until they lose that retail or service job that lets them buy online.

originally posted by: Shamrock6
a reply to: deadeyedick

Being in business to make money (income) as opposed to providing a paycheck (outgoing) to employees for standing around not selling anything is a poor business model?

I'm pretty certain that's not in the curriculum at Wharton, but sure.

As much as I enjoy the system we live in I can still see that greed is unstainable in the long run.

I never said it is a poor business model. I believe that out of all the choices like commieism and others I like capitalism the best but it is clear that it has it's limits and we are nearing the end of the long run.

Is their any part of you that believes every person on earth could work 40hrs a week without quickly running out of space and resources?

There is just not enough work to go around. Then factor in automation and not much is left.

originally posted by: deadeyedick
There is just not enough work to go around. Then factor in automation and not much is left.

It's their fault. The world needs 100 million engineers.

originally posted by: Aliensun
a reply to: AnteBellum

On line sales are not going to employ the people or the many support services that brick and mortar stores do. The closed business use a lot of the under-15-bucks-an-hour folks. That is what is driving this cost savings on personnel. Perhaps it is a "better" was to profits for the companies (as Radio Shack is doing) but fewer people working. You really can't have it both ways for long.

That's not entirely true - fulfillment centers will expand and shipping companies will also increase their workforce as more shoppers shop online. You also have a lot of entrepreneurs running their own little online shops that in the past could never have afforded to run a businesses because the cost of a brick and mortar store was just too high.

Losing retail jobs is just another reminder that many adults in this country simply do not have skills or knowledge that is in demand. The supply of adults with little to no skills / knowledge is simply too high. I am not saying these people don't deserve food and shelter, but even if we are going to switch to a system that provides the basic needs for everyone, during the transition many people will have it rough and be struggling. The advice given to people in this situation is never received all that well though, so I will refrain from repeating it here.

this economic climate is killing uneducated and unskilled workers..

No doubt about it.

I mean you can see the future coming if people cannot find a skill or modify their business to adjust to this changing economy they are going to get hurt in it.

In the long run I think this generation mine X and millennials are not going to have enough jobs.

I cannot emphasize on this any harder you have got to have a skill people need for any kind of job security and pay, and the job security is not that secure even then, but that skill makes you a value..

It is that simple.. The days of our parents and grandparents working career is gone.. It is not coming back either, unless we have another kinda ww2 event which I doubt as well.

a reply to: Hefficide

Once you outsource the manufacturing, distribution and point of sale - there's nothing left to take. It's all gone.

At that point we will begin seeing the trend reverse. We will be so desperate for work that we will adhere to slave labor rates and standards of livings that those jobs will come back .

Maybe walmart wasn't bluffing about spending 250 Billion dollars over the next ten years to bring jobs back to America. Maybe they know that we will be desperate enough within 10 years to out do China with slave labor rates and standards of living?

a reply to: interupt42

That's rather insightful. It's the very basis of competition. If businesses compete with each other to gain customers by cutting prices, imagine what people will do to each other to get a job. People will be willing to take less pay just to get a job. Eventually people will be willing to accept minimum wage, and even less off the books, just to be able to work.

It's the very essence of competition. Maybe that's a goal.

a reply to: Bicent76
Skills to do what exactly?

Push papers

design more useless junk for a robot to make

hook up spy cameras

a reply to: EternalSolace

What makes it scarier is that Oligopolies that control our gov't with their billions in lobbying are NOT American companies any longer they are GLOBAL companies.

In other words , since they are GLOBAL they can build and destroy nations for profits. Prices get to high crash one economy, and build up a another one that you already invested in when the prices where low (Africa for example).

We have numerous so Called American companies that have been investing in Africa within the last decade or so. Enough so, that they convinced our gov't to use American tax payers money to build the African electrical infrastructure. After they already made their purchases when the prices where low ofcourse.

The next phase they are working on now , is to make Africa into the next china/india outsource hub. There are several programs in place to attract teachers and engineers to go teach in Africa.

Since India and China got a large influx of the exported jobs from America their economy started seeing an upswing. With upswing comes increase of prices of doing business. So now those same American Global companies might jump ship to Africa to do those same jobs at once again lower rates.

Sadly and Luckily nobody makes better consumers than us Americans and their is value in that as well. No company wants to make their consumers not have money. The problem is that other countries are wanting to step into our place as consumers and are just as willing to buy any new crap that comes out over necessity and savings.

So while we might still have some time that time is on a timer.