Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

I gave the movie 4 stars because I think the message is important. Even though the film is somewhat poorly made, the message comes across. It's an all too familiar story of corporate greed, on a gigantic global scale.Let's look at Jed's arguments point by point:1. It is an attack on Wal-Mart for one reason and one reason only. Wal-Mart is non-union.I certainly did not get this impression. Pro workers' rights, certainly. The movie spends only a small segment of time with Wal-Marts Union-busting.2. It is poorly madeYes, the film is low budget and the production values reflect this. It also looks like it was made very quickly. But it is still effective.3. Wal-Mart is a world wide corporation and makes mistakesHard to argue with that since both points are obvious.4. In the mind of the modern socialist/communist free enterprise is bad, you are too stupid to know what to do with your money and you will bow to what their will is no matter the cost.I'm not sure what Jed is trying to say here...5. If you are paying someone $2 a day to make goods but the average in their area is $1 a day, $2 is better (especially when there is no union dues demanded).$2 a day is still slave wages, anywhere in the world, no matter how you spin it.6. You cannot gauge poverty on income.Funny, because that's exactly how the US government measures poverty. People who have little or no income are usually considered poor. That's pretty much the definition of poverty.7. No one is forced to shop at Wal-MartIf Wal-Mart is the only place in your town to buy essentials such as food and clothing, because they've driven out the competition, then you are forced to shop at Wal-Mart. I've seen towns where Wal-Mart was the only store around for miles.8. Wal-Mart puts some businesses out of business (that is the goal of business, to be the best and that angers the socialist/communist who wants to be the one who has control of who is in business, who is not and how you will spend your money).So let's just have one company in the world, that would be great, right? That would be the logical end result of your argument. Some people prefer to have a choice when they shop.9. Businesses are created because of Wal-Mart (that really angers the socialist/communist because something grew without them and that does not speak well of their "you are too stupid to do anything without us" cry).What outside businesses does Wal-Mart create, other than its own stores? The only businesses I see them creating are manufacturing business for countries like China, Honduras, Thailand, Mexico, etc etc etc.10. Anti Wal-Mart, modern socialst/communists, etc. needs useful idiots and this is a great recruiting video for that.Well this as good a place as any to leave the reader with their own private estimation of Jed's intelligence.Thanks Jed.

1st-I hate Walmart. If I never buy anything from Walmart, it will be too soon. I tell people not to shop at Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart single-handedly put my 2 uncles out of the cattle business in Michigan. (Raising, not butchering).This movie resonates with me, I assure you. The tone of the movie was alarmist and overly dramatic. The movie quotes statistics, but leaves them without any scale. They say something like Wal Mart policies put 4500 children on public assistance in Texas...how many are on public assistance? If the number is 5000, then Wal-Mart's contribution is shocking. If its 500,000, its less shocking...almost irrelevant.I have never bought into the idea that Wal Mart is doing nothing differently than other companies are doing. Its a problem of ethics. If every company employed slave labor, would it be then OK for Wal-Mart to do so? Not necessarily. Just because abuse is rampant doesn't mean its OK to allow it to continue or to participate in it.Some of the points from the movie I felt to resonate with me, Wal-Mart is not helping America, its laying waste to businesses with Chinese made products and reshaping rural America in the pattern of India or some other third world rural areas (watch carefully, they are painting this picture in the background). Wal-Mart is a burden to the tax-payers...we aren't really getting cheaper products...we are getting products that seem cheaper, but they are made up for by higher taxes or less government services.If there is a problem with the United States and our job-base...we need more companies to hire more Americans at rates substantially above minimum wage. People need health-care and to be able to make enough money to provide for themselves and their families. Wal-Mart may not be the problem or the only one causing the problem, but it isn't part of the solution.There is some very solid material in there. Its worth a watch. Its not prime Greenwald, but its pretty good...3.5 stars.

Another great documentary from Robert Greenwald. Wal-Mart is the world's biggest retailer (in this country it owns ASDA) and will stop at nothing to get its own way and make bigger profits. Some small businesses have fought back, but the company will change its tactics to overcome any opposition. A searing expose of the retail business, which makes you wonder just how many other similar large corporations are copying Wal-Mart

Now dated but remains one of the best expose of big business capitalism alongside Enron and The Corporation.

good d v d . you must watch it

Great product, fast delivery and well packed. AAA+

Brill