doing away with the big chain stores...

[miss_thenorth]

You know, if people don't like Walmart, they should make sure their City Council doesn't give them tax breaks to build stores. THAT'S where the problem starts! However, that is a mighty hard thing to do... influence city hall. Unless you ARE WalMart!

My parents live in a small town, pop 12,000. They had two grocery stores, a Zellers (cdn owned department store, Canadian Tire. And three pharmacies. Every thing a small town could want or need.

And all those businesses were thriving.

Well, here comes Walmart. No one in town wanted it. petitions were signed. Shop keepers made a big stinking protest.

Next thing you know, Zellers was being torn down, and Walmart went up. All businesses are having a tough time competing. ALL businesses.

Walmart makes sure their prices are lower than the local grocery stores, their pharmacy fees are cheaper, and there is no lother department store in town.

The people of the town, at first resisted, but then started shopping there. Because lowest price does make a difference.

It is sad really, that Walmart moves into a town where it is clearly not wanted, kowing that peole will not be able to boycott them.

I can't speak for Ontario, but in most U.S. states, governments are so eager to extend corporate welfare that it's just disgusting. The movement to even attempt to stop such things has to be overwhelming to get any traction at all.

I dont know much about the politics end of things, but I do knoww that the whole twon fought it, and they still came. I could get more details from my mom, but the bottom line is that they now have a Walmart superstore, when no one wanted it.

Now, Zellers is being bought out by Target. within years, all Zellers will be targets. I even heard a rumour that Canadian Tire is being bought out by an american company. My son's geography teacher told him. I haven't been able to find out if itis true or not.

My town has a Zellers, still canadian owned, where Ido tend to go to instead of walmart, but if it is going to change to Target, whats really the difference between going there or Walmart. I don't tend to shop in those types of stores very often, but still....

 

[Leta]

Yeah, that's the thing. I avoid Wallyworld like the plague. I hate Target, too. I can't find an f'in thing in either of those stores.

I shop at Lofaro's as much as I can. It is a truly independent family owned grocery store. They aren't even an IGA. And the thrift store and antique mall are my primary sources of durable goods.

But I shop at Family Dollar a lot. I shop at GFS about once a month. We go to TSC sometimes, too. If we need auto parts, it's either Advanced or AutoZone. These are all chains, albeit smaller ones.

 

[Veggie PAK]

WalMart came because the city council voted for tax breaks for them to come here/there! Believe me, WalMart is NOT going to just come into town on their own dollar. They get tax free breaks for as much as five or ten years, the city (YOU & ME!) picks up the tab for the roads and sewage systems and such. Then... just when the tax coffers will begin recouping some of those dollars, Walmart moves a mile or two down the road. Check it out! It's their industry standard. They're destroying America's small towns and cities!

I repeat. Get your hands on the WalMart DVD and watch it! Your jaw will drop! And it's our city councils that are voting for them over us!

If you get the DVD, you will see the WalMart family doomsday shelter, already built in the midwest. Barbed wire, currently with armed guards, and enough food underground to last them several lifetimes. Each of the WalMart family members has $18 million (I really think it was Billion with with a "B", but I'm not sure.) set aside for them in the event of a calamity.

City Council should have to answer for their actions in cases like this. They can't possibly say they're doing it for the good of the town. They are getting something in return for selling out their neighbors.

Buy all the goods you can from local farmers and merchants.

 

[moolie]

MTN, all Zellers stores have been purchased from HBC by Target, and will either become "Target Canada" stores (already happening here in Alberta) or be closed (the ones that are not profitable enough for Target's bottom line). HBC as a public company has been American-controlled since the late 90s.

Hubs used to work for Mark's, which is owned by Canadian Tire, and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon and are still totally Canadian-owned. They just bought the Forzani Group (Sport Chek, Running Room, Athlete's World, Coast Mtn Sports/Atmosphere, Nevada Bob's Golf, Hockey Experts etc.) Canadian Tire also owns PartsSource Automotive (we found this out on Saturday when we were trying to track down an electronic component for our Explorer).

 

[Marianne]

It's not just Wal-Mart that gets the big tax breaks to come into a new town. A lot of the big companies get 'em. Philips Lighting gets huge discounts on taxes every year as long as they create new jobs. Their way around that is to lay dozens off, give new job titles to the same jobs, and hire a few people back at lower wages - after making them re-apply for their old jobs. Gives them the ol' tax advantage when they're downsizing. What craaaaap. And of course, they got free land and no taxes right from the get go.

Out here, there are still signs that advertise free land for industry. Guess the city or county is looking for ways to employ people.

 

[Veggie PAK]

But what they're doing is making a few jobs for "out front" and behind the scenes they're destroying the economy of the cities and towns.

I would like for someone to show me in the rules and regulations, laws or whatever that is official, in ALL our government levels, what authorizes the politicians to take our tax money and give it away basically. Whatever happened to "misappropriation of funds"? Just because more than one votes for it makes it okay?

Even on a national level. What authorizes the politicians to collect taxes from the people and give those revenues away to other countries when the US can't balance it's own budget. It has to stop before it breaks us. Same with subsidies. With oil having record profits, we are STILL subsidizing them! That's insane!

 

[Marianne]

Oh, right. I wasn't referring to wally world when I made the comment about 'looking for ways to employ people'.

I agree, it's sad that it's gotten to this point, but the gov't has always had the right-hand-doesn't-know-what-the-left-hand-is-doing syndrome.

We now make less money, spend way less which = less taxes. But I do enjoy some of what my tax money goes for, like roads, public schools, etc.

And back on topic, I now choose the local guy over the big chains, but there were too many years when every cent mattered and I hit Wal-Mart on a regular basis.

 

[miss_thenorth]

MTN, all Zellers stores have been purchased from HBC by Target, and will either become "Target Canada" stores (already happening here in Alberta) or be closed (the ones that are not profitable enough for Target's bottom line). HBC as a public company has been American-controlled since the late 90s.

Hubs used to work for Mark's, which is owned by Canadian Tire, and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon and are still totally Canadian-owned. They just bought the Forzani Group (Sport Chek, Running Room, Athlete's World, Coast Mtn Sports/Atmosphere, Nevada Bob's Golf, Hockey Experts etc.) Canadian Tire also owns PartsSource Automotive (we found this out on Saturday when we were trying to track down an electronic component for our Explorer).

I'm not sure about that, as when I was listening to the news, it said our Zellers store would still be the same for I think 4 years, in which time it will become a Target. So, whether or not it ( The Chatham store and several others also specifically) has already been purchased, or will be by the end of the 4 years.. IDK.

As far as Canadian Tire, when ds came home and told me that I googled extensively, but couldn't find out anything, so I told him to not believe everything even if a teacher tells him.

 

[Leta]

I truly am not a cynic, but the reason we have so much corporate welfare is because corporations make campaign donations. Since Citizens United, it's just going to get worse. We have become a plutocracy- a plutarchy, really.

It's sad.

And now, I must admit, I went to Walmart today.

Our laundry area is in our old Michigan basement (so think cellar, and you've just about got it). All the bedrooms in our house are on the second story, and our house has no closets- it's old. So I decided to make a family closet in the basement, which has been FAB, it's cut my laundry time in half. Now that I know it's going to work, I needed to get some moth repellant, cedar disks, moisture absorbers, and one of those zippered closet deals for our nicer clothes. (We shop at the thrift store for 90% of our clothes, so laundry roulette is game we can afford to play.) I also wanted a three chambered hamper.

I went to all three hardware stores and two variety stores here in town looking for the stuff I needed, and nada. I had to go to campus today anyway, and Wallyworld was on the way. So I stopped, and not only did they have everything I needed, I spent $44 when I had budgeted (and completely expected to spend) $75.

Sigh. I feel like I need a shower now.

 

[moolie]

MTN, all Zellers stores have been purchased from HBC by Target, and will either become "Target Canada" stores (already happening here in Alberta) or be closed (the ones that are not profitable enough for Target's bottom line). HBC as a public company has been American-controlled since the late 90s.

Hubs used to work for Mark's, which is owned by Canadian Tire, and they aren't going anywhere anytime soon and are still totally Canadian-owned. They just bought the Forzani Group (Sport Chek, Running Room, Athlete's World, Coast Mtn Sports/Atmosphere, Nevada Bob's Golf, Hockey Experts etc.) Canadian Tire also owns PartsSource Automotive (we found this out on Saturday when we were trying to track down an electronic component for our Explorer).

I'm not sure about that, as when I was listening to the news, it said our Zellers store would still be the same for I think 4 years, in which time it will become a Target. So, whether or not it ( The Chatham store and several others also specifically) has already been purchased, or will be by the end of the 4 years.. IDK.

As far as Canadian Tire, when ds came home and told me that I googled extensively, but couldn't find out anything, so I told him to not believe everything even if a teacher tells him.

Yeah, they are switching to Targets slowly, but I betcha they will close the unprofitable ones asap. But all Zellers stores will be affected, Alberta just happens to be switching first.

The reason Forzani and Mark's went with Canuck Tire as a buyer is their stability as a company and good financial track record, plus they are totally Canadian.