Consider these facts about Walmart.....

1. Americans spend $36,000,000 at Wal-Mart every hour of every day.

2. This works out to $20,928 profit every minute!

3. Wal-Mart will sell more from January 1 to St. Patrick's Day (March 17th) than Target sells all year.

4. Wal-Mart is bigger than Home Depot + Kroger + Target + Sears + Costco + K-Mart combined.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.

6. Wal-Mart is the largest company in the history of the World.

7.. Wal-Mart now sells more food than Kroger & Safeway combined, and keep in mind they did this in only 15 years.

8. During this same period, 31 Supermarket Chains sought bankruptcy.

9. Wal-Mart now sells more food than any other store in the world.

10. Wal-Mart has approx 3,900 stores in the USA of which 1,906 are Super Centers; this is 1,000 more than it had 5 Years ago.

11. This year 7.2 billion different purchasing experiences will occur At a Wal-Mart store. (Earth's population is approximately 6.5 Billion.)

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.

You may think that I am going to complain about something, but I am really laying the ground work for suggesting that.....

MAYBE we should of Elected the guys who runs Wal-Mart to fix our economy instead of Obama.

Ok I did take a shot at Obama.

The history of that company is interesting as well. Hard to believe that it was just one store and Sam Walton grew from that.

We have one of the 20 walmarts in the county (from what i have been told) and its been here for a very long time and they keep expanding it....its rediculous. But this one is at school.

The one by house in St.Louis was ranked #12 for the nicest walmarts in the county. Carrying high end products and things of that sort because of the wealthy subdivision nearby....crazyness.

I hate shopping there but I still do it...

Luckily for me, the Wal Mart by me, the average income for the locals in low, so prices are dirt cheap.

5. Wal-Mart employs 1.6 million people and is the largest private Employer, and most speak English.

this wasnt the case when they opened the super center in my hometown. but it has now since turned around.

12. 90% of all Americans live within 15 miles of a Wal-Mart.

there is 4 walmarts within a 30min radius of my house.

Looks good on paper but Wal-Mart has shut down several hundred American companies and/or forced them to outsource soooooooo in favor of GM and me wanting them to stick around, Wal-Mart = an even hypothetical no lol. My .02 cents

walmart has monopolized the area i live in. like i said there is 4 walmarts within a 30 min radius of my house and while i dislike walmart its the only place around where you can buy the stuff you typically buy at a place like walmart.

i really hate going to walmart. it usually turns into a huge chore either because im lucky enough to pick the time where all the people with the IQ of a handball decide to shop or the cashiers that are on at that time are no smarter that the box of rocks out back.

Who is really to blame? Is it the company, the consumer, or the competition for their growth and monopoly.

Like every company wants to make money, expand, and do well.

The consumer says we want it cheaper, someone makes it cheaper, and the cycle keeps repeating it self.

The competition that does not keep up with the pace then they are going to get squashed. I am not taking about the local buisnesses but the larger competitors that did not survive. The local buisnesses blame Walmart totally for their downfall but is it partially theirs to blame as that buisiness was built around zero competition. Some of the local buisnesses here are actually doing very well with Walmart here. Most of the buisnesses had to shift their focus slightly but were able to adapt. This is not true for everyone but a large number of them. My father in-laws is one of them.

Personally I do not mind the stores but I cannot stand the customers. Screaming kids are almost as bad as having my toe nails ripped out. I usually shop rediculously early (6am -8 am) or at night 10 AM or later.

Nearest wal-mart to my house is about 20 minuets away. 15 if you take the highway.

And i live in the middle of Detroit. We have had wal-mart try and come in and buy out stores in big crossroads and been turned away.

We do not want them here.

wow I never thought my joke would spark such a debate.

Personally I do not mind the stores but I cannot stand the customers. Screaming kids are almost as bad as having my toe nails ripped out. I usually shop rediculously early (6am -8 am) or at night 10 AM or later.

i dont mind the store itself. actually getting most of what i need in one spot with minimal running around is good. wasting time driving around from one side of town to other pisses me off.

agreed about the customers. i try to keep the walmart shopping to the middle of the day. its usually mostly old people which are relatively harmless, but sometimes i strike out and get hit with the morons.

Good book about this: The Wal-Mart Effect. It neither praises nor condemns Wal-Mart, it's just a really objective look and the benefits and downfalls of the way this company operates. Very enlightening.

vote president of wal-mart for US president!!!