HeyBub wrote:

According to Walmart, only one store in Los Angeles:

http://www.walmart.com/storeLocator/...e=&x=29&y =10

Panorama City, Porter Ranch, and West Hills are politically within the
city limits of Los Angeles and are subject to its zoning and taxation
regulations.

Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:
RickH wrote:

Women LOVE WalMart,


If that is true, then I am not a woman, even though I have carried and
delivered four children.

In the formative years of our species, the hunter/gatherer societies, the
men hunted and the women gathered.

To the degree that there's a gene imposing a genetic mandate to gather roots
and berries, a female possessing such an attribute would bring home more
victuals, thereby standing a better chance of her offspring surviving and
passing on that gene. Biologically, that's why women like to "shop;" they're
following the innate trait of "gathering," or at least looking for something
to gather. Even today, they often bring home fruits and nuts - from the
bars.

It's possible you're an outlier.

We men have it easier. We're just programmed to kill things.

On Aug 19, 12:55*pm, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply
wrote:
RickH wrote:

Women LOVE WalMart,

If that is true, then I am not a woman, even though I have carried and
delivered four children.

Go into any wall mart and 90 percent or more of the shoppers are
WOMEN, you are the exception.

"PanHandler" wrote in message

I spoke to a friend who is the CEO of a bicycle manufacturer about his
dealings with Wal-Mart. He said he's happy to sell to them, but only on
condition that his company's name does not appear on the product, because
of what he's forced to do in order to meet their pricing policies.
Example: fewer spokes in the wheels, vinyl instead of leather saddles,
plastic where metal should be used, unsmoothed welds, no primer, less
paint,
etc. You only get what you pay for. A great majority of Wal-Mart
merchandise
is built to a price point, rather than a quality/feature level.


Google Vlasic pickles and Wal Mart.

"RickH" wrote in message
...
On Aug 19, 12:55 pm, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply
wrote:
RickH wrote:

Women LOVE WalMart,

If that is true, then I am not a woman, even though I have carried and
delivered four children.

Go into any wall mart and 90 percent or more of the shoppers are
WOMEN, you are the exception.

I am also female, and I only buy the brand name stuff that is exactly what
is available at other retailers, only about 25% less at Walmart. I hate
Walmart, but I need the lower prices. However, I'm VERY careful about what I
buy.

"RickH" wrote in message
...
On Aug 19, 12:16 pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
RickH wrote:

Women LOVE WalMart, I know I cant say anything bad about WalMart
around my wife. Women expect value and low prices and they get that
from Wal Mart. Men on the other hand have the luxury to be
idealistic, union loyal, anti-chinese activists, or whatever concept
floats their political boat, etc. Whereas most women just want to
make the family budget function properly, and Wal Mart lets them
accomplish that. For most towns a Wal Mart is a boon to the local
economy, because soon after they open, many other smaller retailers
and restaurants will infill the area creating economic growth.
Chicago union-strapped politicos have kept Wal Mart out of the poor
black neighborhoods, against the will of the poor residents. Well
those residents are still suffering with no place to buy fresh
produce, or much of anything else for that matter, and a serious lack
of local jobs.

It's interesting where there are, and are not, Walmart stores.
New York City - 0
Boston - 0
Chicago - 0
San Francisco - 0
Philadelphia - 2
Washington, D.C. - 0
Los Angeles - 1
Minneapolis - 0
Albany - 1
Providence - 1
Pittsburgh - 2
Boulder - 0
Denver - 1
Seattle - 0

Albany has 3 of them and I live near the Albany burbs, which have an
additional 5 .

"Percival P. Cassidy" wrote in message
...
On 08/19/08 02:07 am rochacha wrote:

Move to NY.....you pay tax on top of tax on top of tax......forever.


We lived in NY (Long Island, not NYC) for several years and have no idea
to what you are referring. Of the 8.5% ST, 4% went to the state and the
rest to the county, but the taxes were not cumulative.

Perce

They sure are in Upstate NY (middle of the state, not Westchester).

mm wrote:

So far, your complaint against Walmart sounds like something you've
heard but haven't really thought about, and is one of the nonsense
complaints that people who don't like something concoct.


I am having a stressful week and when you said "tax base," I was
thinking sales tax. I know that the biggest complaint when they were
trying to put a Walmart in our community was that it would cause
increased traffic in an unincorporated area without the tax base to
support the improvements that Walmart didn't want to pay for, and the
proposal was rejected.

In article ,
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:

Actually, Walmarts don't contribute a lot in taxes

Wrong. They pay a LOT in taxes.

because they strategically plan so much of their floor space
to their grocery department, for which they pay no taxes.

Wrong.

The contemporary Supercenter dedicates about 1/3 of the store to its
grocery operation. Pre-packaged, consumable food is not subject to
SALES tax in many areas but virtually everything else is. Given they
are not a not-for-profit entity, they pay taxes on their profit. They
pay property tax.
--

JR

In article ,
(Don Klipstein) wrote:

Watch out for WM having WM-specific versions of merchandise, such as
lighter weight version of "personal size" frozen pizzas of a specific
brand

Such merchandise is clearly marketed under Walmart's "Great Value"
brand. All merchandise is presented in its original packaging, clearly
marked with all required labels such as content, weight, volume,
nutrition, etc.

and censored CDs.

Those, too, are clearly marked.

I have yet to verify personally these accusations

Yet you perpetuate them.

making workers work off-the-clock

Wrong.

Walmart ran afoul of wage and hour requirements YEARS ago when it was
revealed that SOME workers had worked off the clock. It is unclear
whether the workers were pressured by management to do so.

Today, the biggest rule, by far and away, is that one does NOT work off
the clock. Management is adamant about it. There are large (bilingual)
signs at each time clock forbidding working unless clocked-in.

and a majority of responses on WM's side appeared to me
to defend WM by "blaming the victims" as opposed to
claiming that WM did not do such.

Walmart is extremely accommodating with merchandise returns and other
customer concerns. Still, there will always be the customer that is
dissatisfied regardless of any outcome.

Remember, also, there are those that, not too much unlike shoplifters,
will intentionally take advantage of Walmart's liberal customer
satisfaction policies.

My wife was mistreated by a returns Associate as was my son-in-law - the
latter over a mere package of moldy pita bread. Much depends on the
Associate with whom the customer is dealing and how much experience and
training that Associate has had.

As in it's been quite a few years since
I bought anything from them.

That's too bad. It is a great place to work and shop.


JR
WM Associate

In article ,
Jim Redelfs wrote:


Walmart ran afoul of wage and hour requirements YEARS ago when it was
revealed that SOME workers had worked off the clock. It is unclear
whether the workers were pressured by management to do so.

Also hardly WM the only one trying to sneak by. I have worked at a
couple hospitals over the years where most of the nurses got a nice
"bonus" because we were expected to sign out on time yet also get our
work done.




Today, the biggest rule, by far and away, is that one does NOT work off
the clock. Management is adamant about it. There are large (bilingual)
signs at each time clock forbidding working unless clocked-in.

and a majority of responses on WM's side appeared to me
to defend WM by "blaming the victims" as opposed to
claiming that WM did not do such.

Walmart is extremely accommodating with merchandise returns and other
customer concerns. Still, there will always be the customer that is
dissatisfied regardless of any outcome.

Remember, also, there are those that, not too much unlike shoplifters,
will intentionally take advantage of Walmart's liberal customer
satisfaction policies.

My wife was mistreated by a returns Associate as was my son-in-law - the
latter over a mere package of moldy pita bread. Much depends on the
Associate with whom the customer is dealing and how much experience and
training that Associate has had.

As in it's been quite a few years since
I bought anything from them.

That's too bad. It is a great place to work and shop.


JR
WM Associate

In article
,
" wrote:

A high school buddy who is in management at a large food chain tells
me wallmart intentionally makes zero profit on groceries, they use it
as bait to get customers in the door to buy everything else.

This is false. Walmart gives NOTHING away.

They may occasionally employ the common retail "loss leader" practice on
select items, but they most certainly DO make profit on EVERYTHING else
they sell.

this makes them tough competition for food stores......

Sheer volume and customer satisfaction is their "edge" on competition.

certinally their grocery prices are low

....and just about everything else.


JR
Walmart stock holder

locally wall mart isnt welcome ross twp works hard to keep it out.
one ime buying a site and building a park just so wallmart couldnt
locate there

killbuck a nearby location had a terrible landslide during
construction. wallmart decided the site isnt suitable to build
anything, and sued the developers.

millions of tons of rock slid onto a major highway and rail line
blocking it for over a month. site still isnt stable. it should of
never been approved to stat with.

I shop at wallmart occasionally but they are far away, with the price
of gas its not worth it....

hope they build one close by.

but wouldnt buy their so called fresh meat. too much preseratives

Jim Redelfs wrote:
In article ,
(Don Klipstein) wrote:

Watch out for WM having WM-specific versions of merchandise, such as
lighter weight version of "personal size" frozen pizzas of a specific
brand

Such merchandise is clearly marketed under Walmart's "Great Value"
brand. All merchandise is presented in its original packaging, clearly
marked with all required labels such as content, weight, volume,
nutrition, etc.

and censored CDs.

Those, too, are clearly marked.

I have yet to verify personally these accusations

Yet you perpetuate them.

making workers work off-the-clock

Wrong.

Walmart ran afoul of wage and hour requirements YEARS ago when it was
revealed that SOME workers had worked off the clock. It is unclear
whether the workers were pressured by management to do so.

Today, the biggest rule, by far and away, is that one does NOT work off
the clock. Management is adamant about it. There are large (bilingual)
signs at each time clock forbidding working unless clocked-in.

So do the signs reach out and prevent this or are they there for show?


and a majority of responses on WM's side appeared to me
to defend WM by "blaming the victims" as opposed to
claiming that WM did not do such.

Walmart is extremely accommodating with merchandise returns and other
customer concerns.


For good reason, it costs them almost nothing. Ask any vendor how
returns are handled. Someone can purchase an item and literally destroy
it and haul it back to the store. Even though there were no defects
Walmart simply dings the vendor and makes them eat the cost.

Still, there will always be the customer that is
dissatisfied regardless of any outcome.

Remember, also, there are those that, not too much unlike shoplifters,
will intentionally take advantage of Walmart's liberal customer
satisfaction policies.

My wife was mistreated by a returns Associate as was my son-in-law - the
latter over a mere package of moldy pita bread. Much depends on the
Associate with whom the customer is dealing and how much experience and
training that Associate has had.

As in it's been quite a few years since
I bought anything from them.

That's too bad. It is a great place to work and shop.


JR
WM Associate

In article ,
George wrote:

we are now moving the third wally all of 1/8 of a mile.

Let me guess: They are closing an OLD store (no groceries) and opening
a MUCH larger "Supercenter".

We pretty much had to level a mountain for
them. All this because they "create jobs"...

It's true. If the arrangement was not beneficial to your area, one can
assume that the governing body(ies) would not OFFER special incentives
to get the store(s).

(Walmart gives instructions on how to sign up for welfare
and free medical)

Wrong. Prove it.

and he can't even get a reduced rate loan to help move to
a new building.

That shouldn't be too much of a hurdle for a business that is "growing
in leaps and bounds"

and is mostly constrained by funding.

Name a business that doesn't operate under such constraints.
--

JR

In article ,
"PanHandler" wrote:

All those jobs, all that tax base - gone. (Never was.) Too bad.

At minimum wage.

Wrong. Not even close.
--

JR

In article ,
"PanHandler" wrote:

You only get what you pay for.

This concept predates Walmart by a few, thousand years.

A great majority of Wal-Mart merchandise is built to a
price point, rather than a quality/feature level.

With the exception of "great majority", I agree with this, particularly
with the bicycles you cite. I believe it holds true with other,
so-called "durable" goods.
--

JR

Jim Redelfs wrote:
In article ,
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:

Actually, Walmarts don't contribute a lot in taxes

Wrong. They pay a LOT in taxes.

because they strategically plan so much of their floor space
to their grocery department, for which they pay no taxes.

Wrong.

The contemporary Supercenter dedicates about 1/3 of the store to its
grocery operation. Pre-packaged, consumable food is not subject to
SALES tax in many areas but virtually everything else is. Given they
are not a not-for-profit entity, they pay taxes on their profit. They
pay property tax.

Not in my state. When they want to build a store we obtain the site and
prepare it for them for free (corporate welfare by transferring wealth
from taxpayers) including the infrastructure such non-trivial costs as
utilities, highway interchanges etc and give them a nine year tax
exemption. They *explicitly* do not pay property taxes and they pay a
very reduced corporate franchise tax or whatever that tax is called to
the state. When the nine years is about to run out they move across the
street to restart the nine year clock. The third local walmart is about
to move across the street as I write this.

In article ,
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:

"The bitterness of low quality is remembered long after the sweetness of
low price is forgotten," -- John Wanamaker

That is an excellent, time-honored adage.

At least, that has been my experience with Walmart.

I'm not surprised. You get what you pay for.

When I worked in Electronics, I had more than a few customers come in
looking SPECIFICALLY the CHEAPEST DVD player. Warranty and brand name
were of NO concern - just that it was the cheapest.

Walmart accommodates that customer as well as the informed,
discriminating customer with a variety of products.

(No, I am not a Walmart "hack" or "plant". In fact, after this spate of
contribution, I wouldn't be surprised to get a "cease and desist" letter
from my employer.)
--

JR

In article 7,
Wayne Boatwright wrote:

"The bitterness of low quality is remembered long after
the sweetness of low price is forgotten," -- John Wanamaker

We are very careful to not be caught in thei trap.

It's not a "trap" and certainly not for YOU.

"Let the buyer beware" is another concept that predates Walmart by a
few, thousand years.
--

JR

In article ,
"HeyBub" wrote:

We men have it easier. We're just programmed to kill things.

Hehehehehehe!

George Carlin once said that if women ran things, we'd have NO wars!

....just INTENSE negotiations every 28 days!
--

JR

Given they
are not a not-for-profit entity, they pay taxes on their profit. They
pay property tax.
--

JR

Yes JR, they pay property tax and yes I have looked into how and
what they pay for my area. Because of the local school needs the
local property tax around here has almost doubled. Walmart has proudly
expressed how they pay the same percentage as everyone else. What they
didn't admit is that when their buildings are assessed, they send
lawyers
to the town, have a hearing an have the property assessment reduced
by 40%. Therefore, they don't pay the same as everyone else. Wouldn't
you
just love it if your property taxes were reduced by 40%. Go ahead and
challenge
it JR, it's public knowledge.
AS for generating jobs. Take the total amount of employees in a
walmart.
Now add up all the employees and business owners that lost thier job
from the
small busnesses that went belly up because of walmart. How many more
or less
jobs are in that town. You will be amazed.
Lou

In article
,
RickH wrote:

Go into any wall mart and 90 percent or more of the shoppers are
WOMEN, you are the exception.

So Samantha was right: She's NOT a woman? big grin

(Just making a joke using your semantics.)

In the Photo Center, those that stand (some for HOURS) at the kiosks,
ordering prints from digital media are, by far and away,
disproportionately women.

This disproportion is particularly obvious when it is a mother with one
or more preschooler in the shopping cart. Mom makes these unfortunate
babies and toddlers sit, sometimes for hours, while they ignore their
anguished cries of boredom while she orders photos prints. There ought
to be a law...
--

JR

In article , "h"
wrote:

I hate Walmart

Why?

but I need the lower prices.

Those lower prices must "trump" whatever reasons you have to "hate"
Walmart.

However, I'm VERY careful about what I buy.

Are you LESS careful when shopping elsewhere?
--

JR

Jim Redelfs wrote:

It's true. If the arrangement was not beneficial to your area, one can
assume that the governing body(ies) would not OFFER special incentives
to get the store(s).


Pork, my dear, pork. At the local government level, but pork nonetheless.

In article ,
Jim Redelfs wrote:

In article

They may occasionally employ the common retail "loss leader" practice on
select items, but they most certainly DO make profit on EVERYTHING else
they sell.


The price drops are a specific budget item in their marketing budget.

r

In article ,
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:

I am having a stressful week and when you said "tax base," I was
thinking sales tax. I know that the biggest complaint when they were
trying to put a Walmart in our community was that it would cause
increased traffic in an unincorporated area without the tax base to
support the improvements that Walmart didn't want to pay for, and the
proposal was rejected.

The City of Omaha quickly annexes any Walmart store originally built
outside of the city limits. This benefits Omaha's sales tax income
(handsomely) as well as the property taxes collected.

As for Walmart's "inner city" presence, Omaha is about to open its first
Walmart store on a site previously occupied by another building - a
bowling alley - and definitely INSIDE the city in a location that some
would argue qualifies as "inner city".

IIRC, it is to be the first TWO-STORY Supercenter. This I have to see.
--

JR

In article ,
George wrote:


Not in my state. When they want to build a store we obtain the site and
prepare it for them for free (corporate welfare by transferring wealth
from taxpayers) including the infrastructure such non-trivial costs as
utilities, highway interchanges etc
And of course building highways, running sewers, etc is not a
function of government in your area? Also, nobody ever builds anything
near a WalMart to use the infrastructure so it is only built for Walmart
and nobody else benefits and n0 other buildings are built so no other
tax money comes in. Cities and towns loss leader as much as any
retailer.

and give them a nine year tax
exemption. They *explicitly* do not pay property taxes and they pay a
very reduced corporate franchise tax or whatever that tax is called to
the state. When the nine years is about to run out they move across the
street to restart the nine year clock. The third local walmart is about
to move across the street as I write this.
Sounds like more of a problem with the local tax authority. WM is
pretty much required by its fudiciary responsibility to try and get the
most out anyone they are negotiating with.

On Aug 20, 8:42*am, Jim Redelfs wrote:
In article ,
(Don Klipstein) wrote:

* Watch out for WM having WM-specific versions of merchandise, such as
lighter weight version of "personal size" frozen pizzas of a specific
brand

Such merchandise is clearly marketed under Walmart's "Great Value"
brand. *All merchandise is presented in its original packaging, clearly
marked with all required labels such as content, weight, volume,
nutrition, etc.

and censored CDs.

You all talk about "censored" CDs like it's a bad thing. For many,
the fact the WM "forces" companies to come out with "censored" version
is a very, very good thing. Often, teens want to listen to music that
parents object to. Getting the "censored" music is, for many, a
reasonable compromise. It is like the old "radio version" of songs.

Re the bicycles previously mentioned. Yes, they are probably built
differently. But for many kids/parents, a $90 bike with rough welds
is better than NOT BUYING a $200 bike thats' really, really great.
It's a personal choice, any many people seem to be making it.


Those, too, are clearly marked.

I have yet to verify personally these accusations

Yet you perpetuate them.

making workers work off-the-clock

Wrong.

Walmart ran afoul of wage and hour requirements YEARS ago when it was
revealed that SOME workers had worked off the clock. *It is unclear
whether the workers were pressured by management to do so.

Today, the biggest rule, by far and away, is that one does NOT work off
the clock. *Management is adamant about it. *There are large (bilingual)
signs at each time clock forbidding working unless clocked-in.

and a majority of responses on WM's side appeared to me
to defend WM by "blaming the victims" as opposed to
claiming that WM did not do such.

Walmart is extremely accommodating with merchandise returns and other
customer concerns. *Still, there will always be the customer that is
dissatisfied regardless of any outcome.

Remember, also, there are those that, not too much unlike shoplifters,
will intentionally take advantage of Walmart's liberal customer
satisfaction policies.

My wife was mistreated by a returns Associate as was my son-in-law - the
latter over a mere package of moldy pita bread. *Much depends on the
Associate with whom the customer is dealing and how much experience and
training that Associate has had.

As in it's been quite a few years since
I bought anything from them.

That's too bad. *It is a great place to work and shop.

* * * * * * * * *
JR
WM Associate

There are also some major benefits that people overlook. For one, WM
is a very green company. Remember back in "the day" when toothpaste
came in boxes. Now it doesn't. WM put an end to the practice. They
didn't want to pay for the extra cardboard and the extra fuel to ship
it. It was a strickly economic decision, but it kepts tons and tons
of cardboard out of the supply-line. There are plenty of other
things, but often doing what is cheapest is doesn't want is best.

Now they are using more natural light in store -- particularly the
grocery section. Why? It increases sales. Side effect -- cuts down
on electrical usage.

When theres a economic incentive to "go green", that's when it makes
sense and it will work.

Don Klipstein wrote:

Watch out for WM having WM-specific versions of merchandise, such as
lighter weight version of "personal size" frozen pizzas of a specific
brand and censored CDs.

Don't know about that. But I do know Walmart has insisted that manufacturers
of some food products reduce the size of their packaging thereby reducing
costs. For example, a box of cereal that's half air with the explanation
"contents may have settled during shipment" crap. The reality is that the
cereal company found that people THOUGHT they were getting more with simply
a bigger box! Walmart cracked down on that and saved themselves enormous
sums in shipping air around the country.

Just look at the "X" ounce box of Kellog's Corn Flakes at Walmart and
compare the box to the same ounce-size at your local market.

Walmart also insists on reasonable packaging. Again, they've insisted that
packaging protect the contents, not serve as a vehicle for advertising. In
some cases, the overall weight of the product has been halved!

Kurt Ullman wrote:
In article ,
George wrote:

Not in my state. When they want to build a store we obtain the site and
prepare it for them for free (corporate welfare by transferring wealth
from taxpayers) including the infrastructure such non-trivial costs as
utilities, highway interchanges etc
And of course building highways, running sewers, etc is not a
function of government in your area?

Absolutely. But the government didn't pay for my lot and let me use it
for free or install my driveway or extend the mains just for me and
install the sewer lateral or water lines into the house.

Also, nobody ever builds anything
near a WalMart to use the infrastructure so it is only built for Walmart
and nobody else benefits and n0 other buildings are built so no other
tax money comes in.

Not in my area. So far the original Walmarts and the new sites we
prepared for or are preparing for them are occupied only by them. The
highway interchange, traffic signals etc are solely for their use. And
even if they were shared by others why would the taxpayers need to pay
for it? Let a developer buy and prepare the property and lease it to
their commercial customers or as in the case of some organizations that
have multiple properties have their property management division acquire
and prepare the site for their use.

Cities and towns loss leader as much as any
retailer.


and give them a nine year tax
exemption. They *explicitly* do not pay property taxes and they pay a
very reduced corporate franchise tax or whatever that tax is called to
the state. When the nine years is about to run out they move across the
street to restart the nine year clock. The third local walmart is about
to move across the street as I write this.
Sounds like more of a problem with the local tax authority. WM is
pretty much required by its fudiciary responsibility to try and get the
most out anyone they are negotiating with.

The program is run by the state and the locals have little to say. Sure,
everyone should negotiate for the best deal and then there is greed. I
don't see any particular other reason why Walmart needs to be a welfare
queen.

Bob wrote:
HeyBub wrote:

According to Walmart, only one store in Los Angeles:

http://www.walmart.com/storeLocator/...e=&x=29&y =10

Panorama City, Porter Ranch, and West Hills are politically within the
city limits of Los Angeles and are subject to its zoning and taxation
regulations.

Ah, okay. They are within the incorporated city limits of Los Angeles. As
for zoning, I see how Walmart was able to sneak in (at least to Panorama
City). Walmart's location was once a General Motors assembly plant. GM moved
out, leaving the area zoned for commercial enterprises, and Walmart moved in
before the Los Angeles zoning commission could blink. I guess.

I'm in a city only two down from LA in size (NY, LA, Chicago, Houston...),
but we don't have any zoning. So I'm not as familiar with how zoning
regulations work.

I can assure you the reason for the skylights is savings on the electrical
bill. It's not just a 'side effect'. It's the main reason. Natural
lighting could hardly increase sales. And it's used equally all across the
store, not just the food section.

s


"Pat" wrote in message
...

Now they are using more natural light in store -- particularly the
grocery section. Why? It increases sales. Side effect -- cuts down
on electrical usage.

In article ,
George wrote:


Absolutely. But the government didn't pay for my lot and let me use it
for free or install my driveway or extend the mains just for me and
install the sewer lateral or water lines into the house.

Which, of course they are also not doing solely for WalMart. Every WM
I have seen is surrounded by other buildings, many coming to the area
specifically for the traffic WM generates. I would find it hard to
beleive that the city buys the lots, too.


Also, nobody ever builds anything
near a WalMart to use the infrastructure so it is only built for Walmart
and nobody else benefits and n0 other buildings are built so no other
tax money comes in.

Not in my area. So far the original Walmarts and the new sites we
prepared for or are preparing for them are occupied only by them.
Well then your area is the only one in the known galaxy where that
has occurred. Heck the WMs LIKE to have other places around because it
also tends to drive even more traffic to them.
Also, are they really the only ones that the infrastructure goes to?
The roads just stop and there is absolutely nobody between where the
roads and sewers stopped before and where they go now? Nothing further
on? Again, outside normal.



The
highway interchange, traffic signals etc are solely for their use. And
even if they were shared by others why would the taxpayers need to pay
for it? Let a developer buy and prepare the property and lease it to
their commercial customers or as in the case of some organizations that
have multiple properties have their property management division acquire
and prepare the site for their use.


That is a good question, but I doubt it is a WM only question.
Manufacturers, wharehouses, other big boxes, heck even banks get the
same economic development incentives in our area and I would bet yours,
too.


Sounds like more of a problem with the local tax authority. WM is
pretty much required by its fudiciary responsibility to try and get the
most out anyone they are negotiating with.

The program is run by the state and the locals have little to say. Sure,
everyone should negotiate for the best deal and then there is greed. I
don't see any particular other reason why Walmart needs to be a welfare
queen.

Which of course boils down the entire discussion, to WM offends you
so you don't think they should get what many others of similar size get.

On Aug 18, 10:36*pm, Bob wrote:
Dave Bugg wrote:
Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to reply wrote:
Actually, Walmarts don't contribute a lot in taxes because they
strategically plan so much of their floor space to their grocery
department, for which they pay no taxes.

In which locale is that? You're saying that grocery stores don't pay
property taxes? Never heard that one before.

Most likely the OP was referring to sales tax which is not levied on
food in some states

And it has been pointed out several times that businesses do _not_ pay
sales tax ever, anywhere. The customer pays it.

Samantha's "theory" is bogus no matter how you look at it.

Harry K

On Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:01:40 -0400, George
wrote Re "We kept Wal-Mart out of our town!":

The contemporary Supercenter dedicates about 1/3 of the store to its
grocery operation. Pre-packaged, consumable food is not subject to
SALES tax in many areas but virtually everything else is. Given they
are not a not-for-profit entity, they pay taxes on their profit. They
pay property tax.

Not in my state. When they want to build a store we obtain the site and
prepare it for them for free (corporate welfare by transferring wealth
from taxpayers) including the infrastructure such non-trivial costs as
utilities, highway interchanges etc and give them a nine year tax
exemption. They *explicitly* do not pay property taxes and they pay a
very reduced corporate franchise tax or whatever that tax is called to
the state. When the nine years is about to run out they move across the
street to restart the nine year clock. The third local walmart is about
to move across the street as I write this.

Yep, same here. Corporate welfare.

The business entity gets the town to do the infrastructure improvement
($30 million on the last project here). The local politicos get the
tax revenue to shower on their favorite friends & projects, the
taxpayers get to pay the bill and the neighbors get to live with the
noise and congestion.

Works great for everyone except the tax payers and neighbors.

On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:21:19 -0400, mm
wrote:

On Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:58:16 -0700, Samantha Hill - remove TRASH to
reply wrote:


Actually, Walmarts don't contribute a lot in taxes because they
strategically plan so much of their floor space to their grocery
department, for which they pay no taxes.

I'm no fan of walmart, but that doesn't make sense.

I've been to Walmart, and plenty of their floorspace is NOT groceries.
70 or 80 percent, maybe more.


That sounds right, considering the Wal-Mart Supercenter here.


Whatever groceries people buy at walmart, if there were no walmart,
they'd buy it somewhere else. The total amount of groceries sold
doesn't vary that much in an area, because everyone eats.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word
in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."
--Bertrand Russell

On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 04:43:46 GMT, Wayne Boatwright
wrote:

On Mon 18 Aug 2008 09:29:11p, Marina told us...


[snip]


I can't afford to think "global ecomony" or even "local economy" when I
need to make every single penny count. Wal-Mart generally has the best
prices on almost anything I need to buy. I really can't afford to not shop
there. If I find good specials at other stores, then I go to those stores,
but inevitably I end up at Wal-Mart for a lot of my shopping.


I try to limit driving (to use less gas), and combine trips when
possible. I get groceries at whatever store I'm going to for something
else. I have different reasons for different stores, including:

Wal-Mart: lower prices, and sometimes the only place locally to get
some things. The lowest gasoline price ($3.49) in town yesterday.

Brookshire's: I get prescriptions filled there, and it's easy to get
groceries while waiting

Kroger: the only place in town to get out-of-town newspapers inside
the store. I really don't like newspaper vending machines

I agree with you about the typical customers. I make it a point to shop at
times where there is a minimum number of shoppers, either extremely early
or extremely late.

I like to go to Wal-Mart between 2 and 4 AM. There's few customers,
the traffic is light, and it's not so hot outside (I was in the middle
of the south central hot spot almost 3 weeks ago, but it's in the
seventies now).
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word
in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."
--Bertrand Russell

On Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:10:04 -0500, "PanHandler"
wrote:

[snip]

A great majority of Wal-Mart merchandise
is built to a price point, rather than a quality/feature level.


Including really thin plastic parts that break much too easily, making
the product useless.
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com

"So far as I can remember, there is not one word
in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."
--Bertrand Russell

Wayne Boatwright wrote:

I can't afford to think "global ecomony" or even "local economy" when I
need to make every single penny count. Wal-Mart generally has the best
prices on almost anything I need to buy. I really can't afford to not shop
there. If I find good specials at other stores, then I go to those stores,
but inevitably I end up at Wal-Mart for a lot of my shopping.

We have no Wal-Mart very close to us, but I find when traveling,
especially on vacations involving camping, they're very useful. Unlike
Target, they have an excellent sporting goods and camping department. I
also like Fred Meyer (Kroger owns them now) for that type of stuff when
up in Oregon.

The Wal-Marts closest to us have no grocery stores, so I can't comment
on them. But from what I've seen of them, they don't have a lot of what
I'd be buying anyway, Costco has much better quality stuff like meat,
fish, and produce.

What I like about Wal-Mart is that unlike stores like Safeway and Lucky,
they don't gouge on everything other than what's on sale that week. When
I "save" more than I spend at Safeway it means that everything I
purchased was less than half the regular price.