[Vision2020] Re: Joan and her arguments against a WalMart Supercenter

Mon Jan 30 00:55:27 PST 2006

Setting aside Joan Opyr’s morbid behavior of launching  person retribution at those that disagree with her by publishing what  medication they or may not be taking on a public website, as well as posting a  joke about the medication, I would like to address her remarks regarding her  complains of factual data not being presented regarding the Super Wal-Mart  Store issue.        Joan wrote:
          “You airily dismiss (without citing any data whatsoever)  that all anti-
  Supercenter arguments, from WalMart's depressive effect on local wages to its 
  workers' dependence on public services and state-subsidized health care to the 
  company's proven use of illegal labor at home and sweatshop labor abroad. You 
  say that these arguments are irrelevant. Irrelevant to whom?”

      Let me correct your misinformation with facts and sources Joan:
          1)      Concern:  Poor working conditions at Wal-Mart factories
      Answer: Wal-Mart does not own  factories it distributes goods, it does not make them. They contract with manufactures;  the same manufactures that are used by ShopKo, Kmart, Target, Dollar General,  Dollar Store, Family Dollar, Sears, Dillards , TJ Maxx, Ross, etc. 

      2)      Concern:  Wal-Mart forces its competitors out of business.
      Answer: No shoppers do, and they  should have to support higher prices because of bad business practices. (http://www.ou.edu/class/econ3003/book/area1c4.html)  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_%28economics%29)

      3)      Concern:  Wal-Mart hires illegal aliens.
      Answer: No it does  not, it cannot  hire anyone that does not have a social security number. Wal-Mart has  contracted with independent companies that on their own violated the  law.  Wal-Mart also contracts with Pepsi, is it responsible for the laws it  violates  too, or any of the 60,000 businesses in the Unites States it contracts  with? (http://www.walmartfacts.com/newsdesk/article.aspx?id=1012)  

      4)      Concern:  Wal-Mart pays low wages
      Answer:   Wal-Mart’s starting pay is 40% over minimum  wage. If you have a problem with Wal-Mart wages, you obviously have a problem  with minimum wage which is even lower. Maybe you should work on raising the  minimum wage for every company, not just Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is also in favor of  raising the minimum wage. (http://www.heritage.org/Research/Labor/wm899.cfm)

      5)      Concern:  Wal-Mart forces people on Government Welfare
      Answer: No it does not. Wal-Mart  does not decide the standards for government programs. In addition, Wal-Mart  hires many part-time workers that are on disability. Wal-Mart does more to  reduce poverty conditions then government programs.  http://www.heritage.org/Press/Commentary/ed052005d.cfm

      6)      Concern:  Wal-Mart will reduce consumer choice
      Answer: It does not.

      “No  effect can be seen on retail sectors in which Wal-Mart does not compete  directly:”
      (http://economics.missouri.edu/Working_Paper_Series/2002/WP0215_basker.pdf)

      7)      Concern:  Wal-Mart does not provide Health Insurance to its workers
      Answer: Not true. Wal-Mart offers  health insurance for only $11 a month to any employee that has worked full-time  for more than 6 months or $25 a month for their entire family. 

      8)      Concern:  Wal-Mart encourages its employees to seek government benefits
      Answer: No it does not. It has a  system set up so that when employees that are on welfare, food stamps, SSI, are  employed by Wal-Mart they can easily report the employment number, income,  family information etc to the proper government agency as required by law. Many  large companies have these services. In fact, companies are required to have  employment numbers to give to government agencies, Wal-Mart just set their  system up to be efficient and easy to use for people on government assistance. 30%  of Wal-Mart employees where on government assistance when hired. 

      I encourage people to read this  research about Wal-Mart:

      http://economics.missouri.edu/Working_Paper_Series/2002/WP0215_basker.pdf

          Idaho Wal-Mart FACTS:
      http://www.walmartfacts.com/community/article.aspx?id=152
      -DJA

Joan Opyr <joanopyr at moscow.com> wrote:  Donovan writes:

> If I want a Wal-Mart because it is blue, that should be
> reason enough. It is my choice as a consumer to shop at
> only Blue stores when Elizabeth is the Queen of England.

If you want to shop at WalMart, Donovan, then for God's sake, shop there.  It 
seems to have escaped your notice that we already have one here in town.  High 
on a hill was a lonely WalMart, lady-oh, ah-lady-oh, ah-lady-hoo!  The 
question at hand is not whether a WalMart Supercenter would be good for you, 
Donovan Arnold, or good for me, Joan Opyr; it's about whether a Supercenter 
would be good for Moscow's overall economy.  The evidence on this point is 
overwhelmingly against, not for, WalMart.  

You airily dismiss (without citing any data whatsoever) that all anti-
Supercenter arguments, from WalMart's depressive effect on local wages to its 
workers' dependence on public services and state-subsidized health care to the 
company's proven use of illegal labor at home and sweatshop labor abroad.  You 
say that these arguments are irrelevant.  Irrelevant to whom?  To you?  Who 
gives a flip about you?  These arguments are important to Moscow.  We're 
talking about the future of our community, about the retail health of 
downtown, and, like it or not, this debate is about something more important 
than ensuring that you and Dale Courtney save a few cents on toilet paper and 
Monoxidil.

Take a clue from Gallileo.  The earth orbits the Sun; the earth does not orbit 
Donovan Arnold.  Not yet, anyway.  Not so long as you take your Leptropril and 
keep eating at Subway.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com

PS: When is a diet pill worth $153 a bottle?  When it gets rid of a fat head.

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