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Arkansas has been good to Walmart, and Walmart has been VERY good for Arkansas.

Please don’t take my subsequent rant as personal criticism because it is not intended that way.

But has Walmart been good for America? Since I live in America and not Arkansas that’s always been my first concern? The Clinton’s gave China most favored nation status and you think that had nothing to do with their Arkansas and Walmart ties? We have a Congress and government of traitors.

I don’t buy commie made crap unless I have to and if I shop Walmart that’s what I’m forced to buy, so I don’t shop there. They’ve bought off our all politicians.

Sorry but there’s something about corporations that profit from Communism, and nations like China that steal and exclude US products, and have harmed the USA that irks me. The patriotism of USA first still remains with some of us old farts. The military has way of doing that to you and since only a small % of the USA ever serves that has had an effect.

And I'm a beg defender of Wal-Mart. They are not the only company that sells Chinese. Just about every retail store does these days. I know how to read labels. If I don't want to buy Chinese, I don't. WM sells groceries cheaper than other grocers. The groceries are name brands, so the only difference between buying cheaper at WM and other markets is the lower price at WM.

Other positives for WM are the way they revitalize small towns. I hear people moaning about how they kill the mom & pop stores. That is not true across the board. Just in our immediate area I've seen two towns brought back to life by WM. Instead of two dead towns we now have two vital growing towns. And...you wouldn't believe the amount of contributions those stores make to causes in the communities. Just about all you have to do is go to them with a need and they pay out for it. I've done it myself. They contributed to an Arts Council I started in order to purchase an old theater for the local acting group. Also, they are a good employer because they hire people who can't get a job anyplace else. The older worker, the beginning worker, the second income worker. They do not need to have to pay union dues and sue for larger wages and insurance. They just need to have a job. Managers do have insurance coverage and they should. Most of them worked up through the ranks.

I have no patience for Wal-Mart bashing.

It's no surprise that Walmart buys a lot of stuff from China. So does everyone else. It's called "Capitolism", whoever brings the best goods, at the lowest price, wins. Now, you are free to shop wherever you will, and buy American if/when you can; it's your choice. I tend to avoid American made products, because by and large they are crap. I'll put up a random Japanese car against any cherry picked American car, of any year, at any price point. We can look at their reliability ratings in Consumer Reports together - and it won't be pretty, it won't be close. American TV's are gone - for a very good reason. They were horrible. RCA, Motorola, Motorola by Magnavox, Quasar by Magnavox - I could go on.

Walmart went up against JC Penny, Sears, K-Mart and the other big boys, and gutted them. Why? Did anyone put a gun to your head and make you go in? Nope. You went in, because they had 'x' at a price you couldn't find elsewhere.

So, instead of blaming Walmart for being so super-successful, ask yourself HOW they did it. I'll give you a hint; Walmart lead the way in introducing technology into the way they do business. They were the first to impliment GPS tracking into their trucks, so they could intercept trucks running between stores and have them move goods that weren't selling in one store, to another store that was running out. They were the first to have a centrally managed logicistics, so they knew what was selling in individual markets, when it was selling and used technology to leverage this to their benefit.

Bentonville had trial runs with computerized shopping carts. You could type in what you were looking for, and a GPS-like guide would take you to the aisle and tell you within a matter of a foot or two, where that item was. You also were informed of sale items in aisles as you shopped. You could enter a shopping list, and the cart would guide you the shortest route to get your items. You even had a games screen pop up while you were waiting at checkout. This was an experiment, to see how well people liked it. It wasn't especially popular, so it wasn't deployed beyond a handfull of stores. Who else has even tried something like that? Even at this late stage in the game, while other companies are still drooling in their oatmeal, Walmart is investing $Billion$ in new data centers, such as Area 71. Do you know why? Becuause *if* there is a nuclear war; Walmarts are the best means we have of distributing goods, food, water, clothes to the population. If 'it' hit's the fan; Walmart will be ready to save your backside. Who else has a bunker, .... just in case? Who else has the distribution system already set up and in place across America?

K-Mart, Sears, JC Penny, Woolworth's had the market sewn up; but due to over-paid, incompetent management, they are now relagated to history. Technology disrupters force change, and you either adapt, or go under. If you are smart, you can use Walmart to your advantage and do very well.

For example, if you were to visit Arkansas you won't find any Costco stores; people like Walmart/Sam's (lotsa those everywhere). But, you will find hunting stores galore. Why? Because Walmart sells cheap guns - there is still a demand for the mid-range, high end and custom guns. Walmart sells cheap bikes, but there are bike stores that carry Giant, Specialized and others. Walmart excells at driving the prices on commodity prices low; and leaves the mid-range and custom markets to the others.