Work Is A Beautiful Thing. Wal-Mart To Invest $250 Billion

Wal-Mart has it's lovers and it's haters, but they have a new idea and it might not be a bad one...



Living in a town that has been hard hit by unemployment, I am surrounded by these massive factories that once hummed with life. My grandparents worked in them. My parents worked in them... and when I was of age, I worked in them. Many may frown on that kind of life, but it is an honest life and there was pride in what we made, how we made it, and we slept at night with the contentment of knowing that we did an honest days work for an honest days pay. That was my experience at any rate, before everything seemingly started to crumble.

Wal-Mart has stated that they will be putting 250 Billion towards helping create new manufacturing jobs in America in the next 10 years. That's a lot of money and could create a lot of hope.

The ad says -

“At one time I made things and I took pride in the things I made, and my belts whirred, and my engines cranked,” Rowe says in the video, delivering a monologue from the perspective of the factory as related images flash across the screen. “I opened my doors to all and together we filled pallets and trucks. I was mighty. And then one day the gears stopped turning.” “But I am still here and I believe I will rise again,” he continues. “And we will build things, and build families and build dreams. It’s time to get back to what America does best. Because work is a beautiful thing.”

It would be nice to bring jobs back to America. It is something we are sorely in need of. The commercial does give hope (and memories of pride for a few) that this may start an uptick.

One can't help but wonder WHY Wal-Mart would do this, but I guess we will have to see. It is nice to see something positive lately, and I hope that it does some amount of good regardless.

www.theblaze.com...

America will be a third world nation soon with the flood of illegals and economic collapse, it would be profitable to bring manufacturing back.

That is a lot of money from a company that can afford to do some good.

Personally, I am happy to see them trying go do something positive.

reply to post by amfirst1


You are exactly right. Now that the economy has crushed so many people into poverty they'll be happy to work in any factory for any wages they can get. Maybe they'll be working for FoxConn making iPhones for cheaper wages than the Chinese workers get now. All part of the plan.

The reason Foxconn may be of interest is that as Reuters reports, as a result of soaring wages on the mainland, and in its ongoing strategy to keep worker compensation as razor thin as possible, the fabricator is now actively looking to expand outside of China. Among the places considered? Indonesia of course. And, drumroll, the United States! In other words, from the perspective of Foxconn, US labor now has greater wage competitiveness than China. Link

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

One can't help but wonder WHY Wal-Mart would do this, but I guess we will have to see. It is nice to see something positive lately, and I hope that it does some amount of good regardless.

Probably just a PR stunt... "Sorry" says cynical me.

"We love America so much that we're willing to forego selling slave labor crap..."

Don't see it happening. Wal-Mart is all about profits. End of story.

COMING a Walmart sweat shop near you........just wait eventually we will all work for Walmart.
Or do we already?

Maluhia
Don't see it happening. Wal-Mart is all about profits. End of story.

They can't profit if there are no jobs.

So by helping others they help themselves.

well looks like walmart is bailing on china and that the rumors about china's economy about to go bust, are true.

sad thing though, if walmart is involved with it ,no one will make money but them.

true story, i guy i used to work for, his brother in law owned a hugh nursery. they built a super walmart in his town.
walmart came to him and wanted him to supply some plants, they talked terms, and he started selling to them. this went on for about a
year and a half, then they came to him and wanted him to supply to more stores. but they told him since they were giving him more stores and that was giving him more business, they need him to lower the price a little. he did. they did this to him four times.

by the last time they came to him, he had almost 90% of his business tied up in supplying walmart, and was starting to get into finical trouble. when they came to him the last time and wanted him to supply more stores and lower his prices, he told them that he could supply the store, but he couldn't lower the price. they told him we understand and would find another supplier for the stores.
with in 30 minutes of that conversation they sent him a fax saying that at the end of the contract that was in effect that they would no longer be needing his service.

just google does walmart squeeze it's suppliers.

here is a frobes article about walmart squeezing it;s suppliers. it's dated, goes back to 2007. but i have not heard or seen anything that has lead me to think that they have changed their practice.

The Wal-Mart Squeeze

so in vesting in factories just seems like away for them to guarantee, getting cheap goods and keeping manufacturers beholding to them.

screw walmart.



ETA: my bosses brother in law went out of business with a year after they canceled the contract. he had devoted so much of his business into supplying them that he couldn't get it built back up to what he had before doing business with them.

Metallicus
That is a lot of money from a company that can afford to do some good.

Personally, I am proud to see them trying go do something positive.

I am with you on this. My first thought was to suspect something and it may come to that, but I sincerely hope that it doesn't. There are good people in this world. And they can spare the money.... I just hope.

thesaneone

Maluhia
Don't see it happening. Wal-Mart is all about profits. End of story.

They can't profit if there are no jobs.

So by helping others they help themselves.

You are absolutely right. Some businesses find this out sooner than others, but it is true. I am sure they are looking to reap benefits from it somehow, but if we all go so broke we can't shop... that would be a BIG benefit at that point. I have no problem at all with them gaining some kind of benefit from it in the end, as long as it isn't slave labor or the like. You scratch my back kind of thing.

"If it sounds too good to be true it probably is"

There's going to be a catch(s) to this...there has to be... Methinks they are not going to be the type of "manufacturing jobs" you're thinking of...the ones where a good man can put a an honest days work, support his family and know it etc. They're going to be the kind of jobs that replicate the kind of moral, ethical and environmental business standards they already run. Need I be specific and elaborate. (I don't think I do)

Could it be they are getting a little antsy and figgity about their future with us?

We couldn't have that...oh no, we could not possibly have that...

As much as I'd LOVE to be optimistic and supportive:

Everyone's like... we must automatically believe all goodness and happy, gracious unicorns accompanied alongside purple butterflies will manifest from this headline.

I mean, we want our manufacturing jobs (that we consciously gave to China and other foreign countries) reinstated "now"?
Why specifically manufacturing-type jobs? Is this like a "whoops, we realize people are still mad about that so we're going to create these to fuel off of the fact people want them back in our country?"

It might sound over the top to think this way, but should we not be leery about the motives and agenda being played here?
This Isn't going to be an interest-free non-profit donation.

I'm sorry but one stunt of "potentially good" (well see) doesn't magically make up for decades of wrong. I'm not gullible enough to get excited "yet" just because a headline suggests something "good" is going to happen.

This doesn't sit right with me on more than one level.

Maybe the worm's gonna turn!!

I might be taking Ol' Wild Bill slightly out of context, but this might even make Sam smile in his grave.

Great, jobs that will pay so bad, people will just have no choice than to buy from walmart.

Give them 5-8% off and they'll have good slaves...just more sign that america's going down.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


I take back every nasty thing I ever said about Wally World. I do not see any company putting their money up to help the nation that made them rich except this one. Say what you want because actions do speak louder than words. Bravo! Bravo!

My faith in the human condition and the greed that oils the cogs was at an all time low until I heard this. They see the big picture and want to save the golden goose. Macro thinking at it's best.

theMediator
Great, jobs that will pay so bad, people will just have no choice than to buy from walmart.

Give them 5-8% off and they'll have good slaves...just more sign that america's going down.

For real dude?

Bitch when there are no jobs, Bitch when jobs are going to be created giving people more choices.

I see the problem with this country.

reply to post by thesaneone

They can't profit if there are no jobs.

True to a certain extent, but they profit most from low or no wage earners.

They took a big hit with the recent food stamp benefit reduction. Why don't they just pay their current workers more?

What is Walmart’s plan to deal with these losses? The corporation plans to fire more workers, and keep wages stagnant, citing the decline in fourth quarter profits as justification.

politicalblindspot.com...

LOSTinAMERICA
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

I take back every nasty thing I ever said about Wally World. I do not see any company putting their money up to help the nation that made them rich except this one. Say what you want because actions do speak louder than words. Bravo! Bravo!

You have a good point there. I know we have all been dealing with so much negativity, that we sometimes see everything with that same negativity. It's hard not to do. I am sure they are aware that people will be highly suspicious at this time. I just can't be negative about this really... unless something about it comes to light that makes it that way.

It seems a lot of us are quick to judge when someone doesn't do something, then we are quick to judge when they do. It's a damned if you do... damned if you don't thing.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

A $250B investment in job creation will certainly give the government a reason to reconsider some of its recent policy. And when is the last time the government made such a direct investment? The TSA? LOL

And the video -- really? Should not actions that are inherently "good" in nature "speak for themselves?"

"Let's pay someone to make this video that will appeal to Americans so we can get brownie points on top of our newfound agenda, Yeah, people will gobble this stuff right up!"

Is it the video that persuaded your vison? There's talented people who get "paid" for that sort of thing... ....

If you're truly doing something honestly good you should not need a cinematic-quality video to push it.

Does no one see or question these things anymore? Do we still follow blindly?

It's so comical that It's beginning to not even be funny anymore. We see this propaganda portrayed in this fashion "constantly."

We see these types of videos especially being aired during election season. Bought and paid for by yours truly.

DejaVu Anyone?

"Fool me once and shame on you, fool me twice and shame on me."

This is sad.

You ask why wal mart would do this? I will tell you why.

lets say you are Sam Walton. a billionaire. And your 5 kids are billionaires. Nice huh? Except for the fact that you have pretty much became responsible for the decline of America.

You can argue that but in the end it is true.

Wal mart told companies what it would pay for their products. ie Duracell batteries Wal mart says we will pay (for sake of argument) 10 cents per battery.

Duracell says it costs 10 cents a battery to make. Wal mart says make them cheaper or dont sell them in our stores. So boom we lose a company, China gains one.

Wal mart pays # money and their employees are on food stamps.

Wal mart has destroyed America.

Thats why he now wants to do that.

I doubt Sam Walton envisioned this, But George Washington created our country, Sam Walton destroyed it

If wal mart really wants to do something, let their employees vote to go union with out being fired or closing the store.

So what they want to build a factory in America? So we should congratulate them now. They can save shipping from the sweatshops in china? They gonna build union? They gonna pay wages? Let their workers be union?
Or they just going to ask for more tax breaks, let us working folk subsidize their employees while us working folk struggle?

Those are the questions you need to ask.