Wal Mart Movie Reviewed by Ebert & Roeper

[Kire]

"Wal Mart, on balance, is not good for America." -Roger Ebert

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

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Find a screening of the movie near you this week:
http://www.walmartmovie.com/find.php

[chat_noir]

1. Wal-Mart and you: How your tax dollars subsidize the world's largest

An article that cites "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price".

Wal-Mart and you: How your tax dollars subsidize the world's largest corporation

Wal-Mart, the Alpha Dog of discount stores, has also become the Alpha Hog at the public trough.

The phenomenal growth of the world's largest corporation has been supported by taxpayers in many states through economic development subsidies. A Wal-Mart official once stated that the company seeks subsidies in about a third of its stores, suggesting that more than 1,100 of its U.S. stores are subsidized. A national survey by Good Jobs First in 2004 looked at 160 stores and all of the company's distribution centers -- and found that more than 90 percent of them have been subsidized. Altogether, 244 subsidized facilities in 35 states received taxpayer deals of more than $1 billion.

The economic impact of these subsidies on small businesses is given a human face in one powerful segment of Robert Greenwald's new documentary, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price". The sweetheart deals given to two Wal-Mart Supercenters in Hamilton, Missouri undermined Red Esry's four family-owned grocery stores. Esry watched his sales plunge as soon as the Supercenters opened -- he couldn't compete with Wal-Mart's prices and lost almost half of his business virtually overnight.

In the film, Esry's wife ruefully recounts how her husband went to City Hall to ask for a property tax abatement to match Wal-Mart's subsidy, but was turned down. Esry cut costs, but refused to stop paying his employees a good wage and continued to provide them with full health-care benefits and a pension package. Red Esry's story is being played out in thousands of communities across America.

http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/34481.html

Comment to article:

By PC Chavez (Submitted: 11/03/2005 3:23 pm )
Wal-Mart is a big backer of Gov. Schwarzenegger giving about $1 million as he vetoed legislation aimed at the company.

Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill that would have forced the state to disclose names of companies whose workers get government health services meant for poor residents. That means you and I pay for it.

A second bill, he vetoed would have stopped employers from locking workers inside workplaces - a policy WalMart has when employees stock shelves and clean floors after closing hours. Something wrong with this picture?

The bills reflect issues creating a public relations nightmare for the USA's biggest private employer, with 1.3 million workers. Wal-Mart endangers workers by locking them in stores, and of reducing its health care costs at taxpayer expense (that's you and me).

Tens of thousands of Wal-Mart employees are on taxpayer-funded health care.

All because idiots think (I said "think") they can get a bottle of shampoo cheaper. Look at what it is really costing us.





http://www.walmartmovie.com/

[Kolesar]

2. Released just in time for the holiday shopping season

:thumbsup: to the producers

[xchrom]

4. mine the consumer for dollars and government

for give aways and subsidies.

[durablend]

9. That bottle of shampoo definitely NOT cheaper

Never mind the moral arguments against Smiley Mart, I don't really find them that much cheaper (assuming if they even ARE cheaper--definitely NOT in many cases) than whatever competition we have around here. I'm also calling bullshit against anyone who claims that they would pay $150 somewhere else for their weeks groceries and are only paying $50 at Mall Wart. Unless you're buying gourmet food at the local supermarket and comparing it to buying the generic Sam's Crap brand at that Smiley Place (an apples to orange comparison in itself), there's no way in hell you're saving that much.

[tblue37]

19. Actually, they have loss leaders

that are prominently displayed and noticeably cheaper.

Those items get folks into the store and make them think they are paying less all around, when in rality, prices of other commonly purchased items are the same or higher at Wal-mart.

[pstans]

3. Going to see the movie on Wed.

I haven't shopped at Wal Mart for almost a year and a half and I don't plan to anytime soon. My wife went there and spent $45 on stuff, so I went and donated to $45 to 2 local organizations (1 for Renewable Energy and 1 for Resonsible Land Use).

I know that my little protest doesn't make a big difference, but if more people stop shopping there and start supporting local business it could make a dent in that stupid smiley face.

[Beaverhausen]

5. I saw it last night...it was great

http://www.walmartmovie.com/

The producer/director spoke before the screening! He is so funny.

He talked about Wal MArt's attempt to smear him and the film...all of which is documented on the website:

http://www.walmartmovie.com/fear_and_smear.php

GO SEE IT!!!



Even if you think you know all about Wal Mart trust me, you don't know it all.

[Beaverhausen]

6. Kicking this...this is important folks. Please vote for this

get it on the greatest page. :hi:

[Cats Against Frist]

7. just curious

Back in the summer, I watched some kind of 2-hour documentary on a cable channel -- I would say it was either Starz or Trio, or something -- it spent a lot of time interviewing the CEO -- it was definitely anti-Wal-Mart, but presented a fairly even-handed survey of the situation.

My question: is this that same film? Or is this a different film? And, has anyone seen the one of which I'm speaking, or did I just dream it up?

I had the same thing with the "Not Without My Daughter," movie -- I swear I saw it as like an NBC Monday Night Movie, before it was in the theater...

[Beaverhausen]

8. I doubt it was the same film. There are clips of the CEO in this one...

...from what I presume is a yearly cheerleading rah-rah aren't we great stockholders meeting.

After he shows the CEO going on about how wonderful WALMART is, Greenwald, by way of interviews with former (and some current) employees, shows what the truth really is.

[jmowreader]

17. Oh, you don't know the HALF of it...

That "cheerleading rah-rah aren't we great"? That is the Wal-Mart Cheer, and they do it Every Fucking Day.

Worse, the employees are graded on how loud they yell when they do it. One of my favorite front-end people got canned from Wal-Mart for not doing the Wal-Mart Cheer--you can probably get away with it once or twice, but she wouldn't ever do it. Bye-bye, young lady, don't let the sliding door hit you in the ass.

[high density]

21. that sounds a bit like the CNBC piece

The reporter wasn't exactly glowing about Wal-Mart, which kind of surprised me for CNBC. I didn't see the entire thing, but he exposed how difficult they are with suppliers.

[Beaverhausen]

10. kicking and pleading for one more vote

this film is important...I want everyone to see it.

[young_at_heart]

11. The Walton family always makes the "Top 10 wealthiest people in the world"

There are five of them, I believe. It would be nice to see them off the list.

[Beaverhausen]

12. Oh yeah...that is included in this film. They donate little to charity

and are worth around $15 Billion each. :grr:

[roguevalley]

16. The nation wrote that they spent 6K on their employees welfare

last year so don't believe the commercials where they say they were helped. Its a ruse.

[brainshrub]

23. And they claim they have no control over the company.

Yeeeeeah, right. Yet they rake in gobs of money from the sweat of the poor... but they don't make any decisions.

Fuckers.

[SharonRB]

13. I'm going to see it tomorrow night.

[Touchdown]

14. I'm seeing it tonight.

Jobs for Justice, a local pro-labor group, endorsed by union locals bought out the theater and sold tickets for charity. It's starts at 7pm, Mountain time. I'll report back what I saw.

BTW: Haven't shopped there since 1989... except for 2002, where my Mom insisted that they have the cheapest paint (she was painting my condo). I said I'll be happy to go to ACE, but she insisted. I got my foot run over by some old bat's cart (she had 3 cases of "Sam's" water in it). OUCH, BITCH!

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. I saw that last night.

Ebert really slammed WalMart.

[LaPera]

18. Pulitzer prize winner Ebert is the absolute best! Fair, insightful and

articulate...Always great writing, and always with remakable & wonderful humor.

[Solon]

20. Going to see it thursday, can't wait!!!! n/t

[brainshrub]

22. I saw it two days ago, it's a great movie.

There is a scene where a black woman tells the camera what her boss said when he refused her a promotion. His comment made the entire theater gasp in disbelief!

I don't want to be a spoiler, but I will say that if there was a Wal-Mart executive in the audience that night, he would have tared & feathered.

[Beaverhausen]

24. Oh yeah...that part got the biggest response with the crowd I saw it with

really f*#ked up for that kind of thing to happen in 2005.