Old abandoned Ford Tractor dealership

[clemsonfor]

The generic Wal-Marting of America. Notice now every shopping area of nearly every town has a WM, McDonalds, Staples, Applebees, Red Lobster and Lowes or Home Depot.

Franchise central. I would rather go back to how I grow up in the 60's and 70's with the little mom and pop stores.

Not saying i like it but cause of walmart and Lowes i am able to have and do more than i could with the local stores. Yes i miss the friendship and personal attention with these small stores. Im only 29 so im pretty much grew up in this generation.

But look at it this way i could have a sparsly furnished house with old fixtures and decorations or my self renovated (partially) home that i live in with good working things in it that are mostly new. A TV at walmart that is $150 will easily have to cost $200-250 at the local Hardware or electronics store. Shop at a small grocery store say IGA vs walmart you will spend $20-50more on each trip depending on what and how much you buy. Yes the meat and produce will be way better at the local grocer!

I went into the Local hardware store to buy pipe and fittings to fix a water line leak at my home. Came out with say 3-5 fittings 2 feet of pvc 3/4 inch pipe, and glue. I cant remember but i know i paid around $12 for this. Lowes would have been a few dollars cheaper, reason i went the hardware store was in town the lowes is 25 mins up the road. Many times building supplies are almost as cheap or cheaper at the local store if you shop them, but lowes is way cheaper on other things.

I dont like it eather, towns are drying up, but it allows us to have more on our modest salleries than we ever would. I can change my own oil with synthetic and a premium filter for what a cheap bulk oil job would cost because of walmarts low prices. It allows kids to have newer and more chloths when buying from walmart vs the corner dime or kids shop. I can go on and on.

 

[NorTracNY]

Not saying i like it but cause of walmart and Lowes i am able to have and do more than i could with the local stores. Yes i miss the friendship and personal attention with these small stores. Im only 29 so im pretty much grew up in this generation.

But look at it this way i could have a sparsly furnished house with old fixtures and decorations or my self renovated (partially) home that i live in with good working things in it that are mostly new. A TV at walmart that is $150 will easily have to cost $200-250 at the local Hardware or electronics store. Shop at a small grocery store say IGA vs walmart you will spend $20-50more on each trip depending on what and how much you buy. Yes the meat and produce will be way better at the local grocer!

I went into the Local hardware store to buy pipe and fittings to fix a water line leak at my home. Came out with say 3-5 fittings 2 feet of pvc 3/4 inch pipe, and glue. I cant remember but i know i paid around $12 for this. Lowes would have been a few dollars cheaper, reason i went the hardware store was in town the lowes is 25 mins up the road. Many times building supplies are almost as cheap or cheaper at the local store if you shop them, but lowes is way cheaper on other things.

I dont like it eather, towns are drying up, but it allows us to have more on our modest salleries than we ever would. I can change my own oil with synthetic and a premium filter for what a cheap bulk oil job would cost because of walmarts low prices. It allows kids to have newer and more chloths when buying from walmart vs the corner dime or kids shop. I can go on and on.

Please don't. I'm not that much older than you, but I recognize that the cheap prices come at a much greater cost in the years to come. I only shop at the big stores when their location is much better. We had a Wal Mart put in not to long ago. It already has killed several other local stores.

 

[clemsonfor]

Please don't. I'm not that much older than you, but I recognize that the cheap prices come at a much greater cost in the years to come. I only shop at the big stores when their location is much better. We had a Wal Mart put in not to long ago. It already has killed several other local stores.

Its progress. I dont like it either, china stuff made for the bottom dollar. Crazy thing is that the goods are the same weather you buy them at walmart or your local guy?

I was thinking of the dishwasher i bought at the big box store lowes. Its a frigidare was the cheapest or next cheapest, wife was incharge there. The frige and oven/stove were wirlpool and not the cheapes by anymeans. The dishwasher she wanted by wirlpool was not in black? So we got a similar blk frigdare. Fast foward 3.5 years that dishwasher crapped out. It still works but sometimes its like it forgets to wash and just sits there and does nothing then drains itself. It had a warrenty repair at like 10 months, the drain motor was almost burnt up. they only have a 12 month warrenty unless you buy the crazy extended warrenty for like 1/2-2/3 the price of a new one plus and visit copay or something so i did not buy any of those. Now its acting up. Im not gonna get it fixed cause i asked the repair guy how much the call would be and he said they just flat bill the company (third party repair service) but said it would run close to $200 for the job he did maybe more, i cant remember now. He did say its $100 visit fee though. So if i fixed it i would have $100 visit and say the part is just $50 then at least $50 labor so im up at $200. I can buy what looks like a decent 3-4 form the bottom price new one for around $300. Whats the point.

Anyway i say all that to say this. I bought at lowes, had i bought at the local guy i would have paid $50 more and it still would be torn up today? So in the long run i am better now!

 

[sweep]

Not saying i like it but cause of walmart and Lowes i am able to have and do more than i could with the local stores. Yes i miss the friendship and personal attention with these small stores. Im only 29 so im pretty much grew up in this generation.

But look at it this way i could have a sparsly furnished house with old fixtures and decorations or my self renovated (partially) home that i live in with good working things in it that are mostly new. A TV at walmart that is $150 will easily have to cost $200-250 at the local Hardware or electronics store. Shop at a small grocery store say IGA vs walmart you will spend $20-50more on each trip depending on what and how much you buy. Yes the meat and produce will be way better at the local grocer!

I went into the Local hardware store to buy pipe and fittings to fix a water line leak at my home. Came out with say 3-5 fittings 2 feet of pvc 3/4 inch pipe, and glue. I cant remember but i know i paid around $12 for this. Lowes would have been a few dollars cheaper, reason i went the hardware store was in town the lowes is 25 mins up the road. Many times building supplies are almost as cheap or cheaper at the local store if you shop them, but lowes is way cheaper on other things.

I dont like it eather, towns are drying up, but it allows us to have more on our modest salleries than we ever would. I can change my own oil with synthetic and a premium filter for what a cheap bulk oil job would cost because of walmarts low prices. It allows kids to have newer and more chloths when buying from walmart vs the corner dime or kids shop. I can go on and on.

Those cheaper goods have come at a price. Read the book "Free Lunch". It's not as simple as you suggest nor free.

Many of these big box stores get tax breaks and special infrastructure had to be built to their stores and many received free land etc. The problem is now you need extra road crews, police, fire to take care of those roads and with minimal taxes paid by them the local gov't have to raise property taxes to make up the differenceas the mom and pop stores txaes they pay is decreased or limited. In one Cabellas store in W.va it will take 52 years for the local and state gov't to break even to what they gave cabellas(free land, no taxes, built special road , built their store for free etc). So what happens is the local people got a tax hike on their property tax.

The big box stores is who pushed much of our manufacturing base offshore. That has come at a great cost-bigger than normal recession which appears it might go on for years. Manufacturing has always brought us out of past recessions. Also look for higher than normal unemployment probabaly for the rest of our lives due to sending our manufacturing and technological base off shore.


As a result, he price you save is eaten up by higher social cost-highest ever dependeancy on the gov't.

Also big box stores pushed for cheapness to get the very lowest cost. We were still using a 1970's Hoover vacuum cleaner until several years ago but the wife wanted something lighter. Bought a new Hoover and it last about 14 months before the drive gears ate through the plastic housing. Now we are back to using the early 70's Hoover.
Read the story on Snapper how Wal mart psushed them to make their product cheaper to get the price down and how Snapper declined.

 

[clemsonfor]

Those cheaper goods have come at a price. Read the book "Free Lunch". It's not as simple as you suggest nor free.

Many of these big box stores get tax breaks and special infrastructure had to be built to their stores and many received free land etc. The problem is now you need extra road crews, police, fire to take care of those roads and with minimal taxes paid by them the local gov't have to raise property taxes to make up the differenceas the mom and pop stores txaes they pay is decreased or limited. In one Cabellas store in W.va it will take 52 years for the local and state gov't to break even to what they gave cabellas(free land, no taxes, built special road , built their store for free etc). So what happens is the local people got a tax hike on their property tax.

The big box stores is who pushed much of our manufacturing base offshore. That has come at a great cost-bigger than normal recession which appears it might go on for years. Manufacturing has always brought us out of past recessions. Also look for higher than normal unemployment probabaly for the rest of our lives due to sending our manufacturing and technological base off shore.


As a result, he price you save is eaten up by higher social cost-highest ever dependeancy on the gov't.

Also big box stores pushed for cheapness to get the very lowest cost. We were still using a 1970's Hoover vacuum cleaner until several years ago but the wife wanted something lighter. Bought a new Hoover and it last about 14 months before the drive gears ate through the plastic housing. Now we are back to using the early 70's Hoover.
Read the story on Snapper how Wal mart psushed them to make their product cheaper to get the price down and how Snapper declined.

You have valid points. But what about the jobs created. sales staff, trucking support. The sales tax the store generates. Yes you could argue that 7 smaller stores covering the same things as walmart would generate the same revenue, but those folks will just go to the next town over. If my town 25 mins away did not have a walmart, i would just default and drive 45 mins to the next town to shop at walmart (which is in a different state, if i do this the state looses my taxes period!). I save literaly hundreds of dollars a year thanks to walmart. I have things i would never have.

I did not say that the big stores and incentives had no consequences, towns dry up small stores go under etc ect.

This is the reason i shop online now i can get it so much cheaper, harder to take it back but usually i buy stuff im pretty sure wont need to be returned. With fuel these days its cheaper to sit at the PC and have it shipped and picked up at my door vs driving all over looking for what i need and cant find it anyhow.

 

[RobertN]

All support jobs. That is not a really sustainable things. What made the US strong? We made things. Here. Sure, we have a strong military, but that is not what moves the economy. Making stuff does.

Getting most things from off-shore does nothing to build our(US) economy, and is not sustainable. It is good to be part of the global economy. But when we buy buy buy, and have a big trade deficit, that is not healthy or sustainable.

You have valid points. But what about the jobs created. sales staff, trucking support. The sales tax the store generates.

 

[clemsonfor]

All support jobs. That is not a really sustainable things. What made the US strong? We made things. Here. Sure, we have a strong military, but that is not what moves the economy. Making stuff does.

Getting most things from off-shore does nothing to build our(US) economy, and is not sustainable. It is good to be part of the global economy. But when we buy buy buy, and have a big trade deficit, that is not healthy or sustainable.

I agree, i dont know the answer. But we are no longer a manufacturing economy. We are a service economy. Most shoppers me included most of the time are price shoppers. If they can buy a china made widget for $75 why would they even look at the american made widget for $99. Even if the american one may last 5 yrs vs 3yrs on the china made one. Most dont think about that or even where its from, just price. Which basically means that the american widget company will go broke before there even established or heck even if they are an established widget company.