Sadly Sam Walton originally BRAGGED about goods made in America .

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Where are the parents who buy and use all kinds of surveillance gadgets to keep track of their kids? Doesn't it scare them that all this plastic junk from Walmart has proven to be dangerous. Not something that MIGHT happen. It's going on right now. It's a no brainer. Don't buy the stuff. Or, we should have an official day when everyone returns junk to Walmart. Just think, crowds of people cluttering up the place demanding their money back. Thanks, ANNA

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If you can, don't buy anything made in China. This can be very difficult. Wal-Mart, Hallmark, Yankee Candle to name a few, plus most clothing in almost all department type stores, carry a preponderance of goods made in China. Buy a candle made in the USA, but tell the clerk you're not buying the cutesy ceramic thingee (which costs 10 or 20 times what the candle costs) because it's Made In China! Enough of this and perhaps textiles, finished clothing, gizmoes and thingees will be again produced in the US without poison, without using energy to transport across the oceans, with US labor getting US wages and paying US taxes and buying US produced goods with those wages. What don't we, as a nation, get about buying our own goods and insisting that what we buy is made or grown here. Buy apple juice? Comes from China most likely. Buy vitamin C - yup, most comes from China. What the fuck?

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Isn't WalMart capitalism at its best. What happened to The one who builds a better mouse trap wins??? Isn't that what we have been taught??? It seems reasonable to believe that the company which outsources its manufacturing to China or where-ever should be the one RESPONSIBLE for it's products! It should be no different than if it were made in the U.S.

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We can always depend on Alternet to attack Wal-Mart, George Bush, and the religious right. No matter what is wrong with the world, one of these three is responsible. Liberal, academic types don't shop at Wal-Mart. But poor people do (along with a lot of the middle-class). We once were unhappy with Japan for flooding the US market with inferior goods. Now they dominate the automobile industry. From the humanitarian (and Christian) point of view we should be glad when any country begins to rise out of poverty. If we can help China do this that is to be encouraged. But China needs to be responsible in the goods they produce. Wal-Mart has some responsibility for that, as does our government, and all of us as private citizens. My point is that it is elitist snobs who want to take down Wal-Mart, not common ordinary people.

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When Walmart comes into town, they undercut all competition in the area, and the idiots in this country buy in droves. After Sam & Company have put all the major competition out of business, they raise prices. Studies have also shown that eventually Walmart becomes a liability to the area, because they do not provide any benefits for their workers-who must depend on public assistance of some kind to exist-and drain the surrounding environment needed to support their megastore. Of course profits go up, but at what expense? And at whose benefit for the long run?

Get informed, Underledge-and don't shop at Walmart.

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I agree with Ellie1...
My personal observation and opinion is that Americans are soft in the head due to downright laziness. "Ignore it and it will go away" seems to be the adage these days...and ignore is a byproduct of ignorance. rcase pointed out AlterNet's views which he/she considers bias...but proves a lack of understanding; Wal-Mart and others like it are assisting in the destruction of our economy. Capitalism? Sure...but without regulation big business will eventually kill us. Look at our history for clues; does anyone remember child coal miners? No, most Americans are self-centered; as long as they, the individual, can get something they desire for a very low cost they will simply ignore the truth...or are ignorant of it.

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I trying to figure something out..I'm not pro-WalMart or capitalism in particular but WalMart or chain stores aren't new right? Look at past chain stores, WoolWorth, Two Guys, Sears & Roebucks, A&P...they've been around since the 19th century and a few still exist. did the country fall to shit? The chain store dominated the urban landscapes of N. America, with government assistance mind you. Did these chain stores procure and sell American only products? Hell no. So what is the issue? WalMart and the like only thrive because people patronize them..that's it.

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That's all you need to do.

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This mess did not start and does not end with WalMart. It is the responsibility of our do-nothing government. Ever since the Reagan Administration and especially the past 12 years, our so-called "leaders" have systematically done away with nearly ALL regulations and let corporations do whatever they liked. They have destroyed our industrial base, sent our jobs to other countries and done away with nearly all inspectors. The trade agreements they keep passing always favor the other countries over the US and they REFUSE to fix it. If the regulations had been in place, this couldn't have happened. Now with almost NOTHING produced in the US anymore, we are all at the mercy of China and shoddy goods from everywhere else. But that's OK. The CEOs of all those companies will still get their millions even if the companies go bankrupt. The only ones who will pay are the children who die from the poisoned toys and bibs and shoddy cribs etc. and the people and pets who eat the poisoned food.
You can't just put the blame on WalMart or any other company who buys the stuff. I don't know of a single one who doesn't, from food stores, to dollar stores to home improvement and electronics stores.

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I once worked as head of advertising for a quite large importer of giftwares,whose owner used to brag about how he'd beat those Chinese down in price,and he was always brimming w/delight,of course what came in those shipping containers was pure shit,but he didn't care because shit sells,..I do not buy from stores like wallmart because of things like this ,if i like something i see that i can't afford i either save or forget about it,and I make a desent,income I get by if I'm smart ,too many people buy cheaply made products and what they end up with 6 months later is cheap shit!

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A much worse threat than cosmetics, perfume, furniture, toys and even food, may be Chinese cookware.
For some time, I have been puzzled as to why all my Chinese made stainless steel and cast iron cookware behaves differently from any other. Heat distribution is uneven, burning and sticking is infuriatingly common. Cleaning is often difficult.
A stainless steel frypan developed a pin-hole leak over an electric hotplate, fortunately when full of water not grease.
Today, when my cast iron frypan suddenly cracked apart, I realized what the problem is.
The Chinese manufacturers cheat on the metallurgical mix.
As, it seems, most of China's manufacturers cheat on anything they can get away with.
You can't see what a pot is actually made of. Now I suspect that the metal mix in stainless steel ware is bulked out with zinc, and in cast iron ware with lead.
If so, these inclusions through their low melting points, continuously provide me with a sizeable dose of highly toxic heavy metal poison with every meal.

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13 years ago I bought a push lawnmower from Quality Farm and Fleet(since out of business with Wal-marts help I'd bet). I used it for 8 years and wore the handle out just a few weeks prior to my sons graduation open house. Getting desperate, I bit the bullet and bought what looked like an identical model at Wal-mart, same Briggs and Stratton engine. Well, I get it home and the first thing I notice is that the gas tank is significantly smaller. My old mower would do the whole yard in one tank. The next thing I noticed was that it didn't run as well as my old mower, even though it was brand new. Well, I gotta say that it did not survive the summer. I ended up taking the handle from the new mower and putting it on my old one. I have not set foot in Wal-mart since.

Mike

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Again, it's the fault of big business, capitalism, government, Bush, anyone, everyone, just never mine. I drive past 2 Walmarts ever day heading to and from work, and guess what, the parking lots are always packed. Every day, 7 days a week, all the time, people in there, buying more and more. And there's 4 of these things within a 30 mile stretch. It doesn't take a PHD to see what makes Walmart the largest retailer and importer. Not the government, not Bush, not even Clinton who signed the Chinese free trade agreement. Next time you're walking toward the door, smile for the camera.
It reminds me of 30 years ago when I lived in the Lehigh Valley of PA. I used to drive by the Bethlehem Steel parking lots and see the Datsun's and other little Japanese cars with the bumper stickers "Foreign steel steals US jobs" Imagine, where did they think the steel for their Japanese car came from. Then I worked for a large textile manufacturer in SC, and in meetings I'd hear management whine all the time about imports and how we needed protection, yet you'd look out the window and see the Mercedes and Volvo and other foreign cars. Hippocrits, they're everywhere, talk, talk, talk about what everyone else should be doing, never walking the walk. Look in the mirror, there's why all our jobs and manufacturing are overseas and why Walmart is king of the retail heap right now.

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