daveedailey (anonymous) says...

What heart?

May 31, 2007 at 3:50 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

johncanyon (anonymous) says...

I was just wondering, why don't the business owners downtown, clean up in front fo their own stores? Why does there have to be clean up volunteers? I own a business here in town, although its not "down town" and I have to do all my own cleaning of the sidewalks, windows and parking lot. I don't have anyone volunteering to clean up my business front.

May 31, 2007 at 4:07 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

daveedailey (anonymous) says...

Is there even a down town anymore? The stores seem to be diminishing more and more each day. Besides, the main street association is just another form of a small tsar government.

June 1, 2007 at 9:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

dayjob55 (anonymous) says...

I'd love to shop downtown Emporia - if there was much of anything to shop for downtown. Our wonderful city fathers allowed WalMart in & they have managed to drive out most of the small businesses that used to be downtown. Wal Mart is famous for driving the small business person out of business so it's no wonder that downtown is starting to look like a ghost town. Of course you can save money by shopping at WalMart but look at the quality (or lack thereof) of the things that you get there. You want quality clothes? You want quality household accessories? You want quality floral arrangements? Sure, you pay a little more for them but you have local people employed at those small businesses & you get something that is going to last longer than 2 weeks & you're not ashamed to show it off to others. But because we were so excited to have a big company like Wal Mart come to town with their big multi-faceted store we are now paying a huge price that few probably ever thought about. It's probably too late to save downtown Emporia now. Thanks Wal Mart. You did it again! There are even some Wal Marts that are starting to put in medical clinics so people with low incomes & no insurance can see a medical professional & get their medications filled out at the same place. The logic behind those clinics is that it will save the local emergency rooms from being used as primary care clinics & also save local health departments money. Yeah, right. While people are at the clinic Wal Mart is hoping they will spend more money on other things as well. What's next - a funeral parlor in the parking lot with a cemetary out back? Watch out local doc's. You may be next on Wal Mart list to be replaced.

June 1, 2007 at 9:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

daveedailey (anonymous) says...

That is wm's whole intent in all towns that it goes to.We should admire the people on the east side of Wichita that would not let wm come there. Yes, it is the reason so many have gone out of business. Now, you have to also look at the quality of people we have here and how they can afford to shop. I miss the old downtown, the drug store with the soda fountain, Haynes hardware, Newmen department store, etc. I do not have a lot of money to spend but I try very hard to not let wm get any of it.

June 1, 2007 at 10:01 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

MelissaE (anonymous) says...

From "Wake Up WalMart". The site is located here: http://www.wakeupwalmart.com/facts/

Wal-Mart’s growth negatively impact worker’s wages

The most comprehensive study of Wal-Mart’s impact showed that the stores reduced earnings per person by 5 percent. This 2005 study...found that the average Wal-Mart store reduces earnings per person by 5 percent in the county in which it operates.

The Cost of Wal-Mart’s entry into a community can be significant

According to a 2003 estimate, the influx of big-box stores into San Diego would result in an annual decline in wages and benefits which could cost the area up to $221 million

Lower wages mean less money for communities

When an employer pays low wages to its employees, the employees have less money to spend on goods and services in the community, which in turn reduces the income and spending of others in the community...in 1999, Southern California municipalities estimated that for every dollar decrease in wages in the southern California economy, $2.08 in spending was lost-- the $1 decrease plus another $1.08 in indirect multiplier impacts.

Wal-Mart hurts other businesses when it comes to town.

In Maine, existing businesses lost over 10 percent of their market in 80 percent of the towns where Wal-Mart opened stores.
Food stores in Mississippi lost 17 percent of their sales by the fifth year after a Wal-Mart Supercenter had come into their county, and retail stores lost 9 percent of their sales.
Over the course of [a few years after Wal-Mart entered a community], retailers' sales of apparel dropped 28% on average, hardware sales fell by 20%, and sales of specialty stores fell by 17%.
In towns without Wal-Marts that are close to towns with Wal-Marts, sales in general merchandise declined immediately after Wal-Mart stores opened. After ten years, sales declined by a cumulative 34%.

*************************************

Just some interesting facts.....there are a lot more on the site, itself.

M

June 1, 2007 at 10:17 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

MelissaE (anonymous) says...

I had to remove the actual citations due to space. 3000 character limit.....but everything is cited on the website.

M

June 1, 2007 at 10:18 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

daveedailey (anonymous) says...

WM also keeps as many people part time as possible to keep from paying benefits. The only ones I know that get benefits are department managers and of course the big wigs. Again, Emporia, WAKE UP. Their corporate heads do not live here either.

June 1, 2007 at 10:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

daveedailey (anonymous) says...

I apologize, but I need to add that America needs to wake up to the fact, that eventually we will be a country of Corporates. One corporate bank, one corporate grocery strore, one corporate period.

June 1, 2007 at 10:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )

blulitespecial (anonymous) says...

Chinamart doesn't put a store anywhere unless they can get 12 million in sales pronto.Would we like a 12 million infusion of sales a year to locally owned businesses?.

June 2, 2007 at 3:08 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )