11.29.04
shopping season
I’d like to share something that Jen and I are doing this year. I probably should’ve posted something about this prior to the biggest shopping day of the year (a holiday that I consider purely evil) the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Not that it’s evil to shop. Far from it. Many people do it quite wisely. They spend their money on reputable businesses that give back to the community. And then there are people like most of my family, in-laws and blood alike. They probably went out to Walmart this past weekend and spent a wad of money on things. All to a corporation that will not give back to the community and will only reward its workers with slave wages and deplorable conditions. I love my family. I do…it’s just that they–like MANY others don’t really think about consumerism as it relates to sin.
I love my wife. There are lots of reasons, but this time I have one reason in particular. In the car, on the way up north this past Friday (we were driving rather than shopping on the devil’s holiday,) Jen had a marvelous idea.
Rather than getting people more new ’stuff’ that we don’t really have the money for, we’ll be raiding our closets, attic, and entertainment center this year. Sure, you can call us cheap, but regifting that all that ’stuff’ we have that just sits around collecting dust seems like stewardship to me. Rather than going to the store and buying whatever crap we can afford–which on a grad student salary ain’t much–didn’t seem wise when we have nice things at home that habitually go unused.
This year we’re regifting or making gifts. I mean, we’ve got two VCR/DVD combination players. There’s no reason we need two. We’ve got a nice digital answering machine…but no phone service (we use cell phones.) So instead of taking a home equity line of credit to do Christmas this year, we’re giving away some stuff that is really nice…it’s just that we don’t use it.
We’ll probably make some little gift tags that explain why the gifts we give aren’t packaged like you’d find them at the store…because we’ve recycled the original boxes in most cases. The gifts we’ll give this year have stories attached to each of them. Stories we’ll be able to share with their new owners. Hopefully, those new owners will be able to write stories with those gifts, too. And, when they, like we, feel that the item has outgrown its usefulness we give it away, rather than letting it collect dust.
Really, that’s my hope for all of you, too. I hope I’ve caught you before your mad rush to sacrifice your credit card on the Walmart altar. At least think about regifting. Give gifts with history, gifts with love. Most of all, think before you buy, “Do I have anything better at home that I could give, instead of blowing my money on another gift.”
Don’t be fooled. We’ll likely make it to the store this year and purchase some gifts. But, in truth, those aren’t the ones we’re excited about. We’re excited about those gifts that lie unused in our basement junk-rooms. Gifts that will hopefully find use again.
Elise said,
November 29, 2004 at 12:46 pm
That sounds like a wonderful idea. You’ve inspired me. Might I remind everyone to look out for those less fortunate this season? It’s a cold winter and they will need everyone’s help!
Adam said,
November 29, 2004 at 1:33 pm
Brandon,
I know that everyone thinks that Wal-Mart is an antichrist and I want to agree with them. Its just that I don’t think that I have ever heard any real information about what evil they are causing. I actually met a woman the other day there that loves her job. When I was in there not to long ago they had all kinds of signs and figures about how they in general and their store in particular have given back to the community. Now I realize that this is a lot of smoke and mirrors but I was wondering if you could provide any sort of hard info as to why Wal-Mart is such a horrible place.
I love the idea of re-gifting though (despite seeing old school). It is much easier on my wallet (as if there weren’t twenty better reasons for it).
Brandon said,
November 29, 2004 at 3:25 pm
A fair question, Adam. Walmart has routinely maintained a ‘glass ceiling’ practice as far as the advancement of women (if not a glass ceiling policy.) Walmart pays their employees the worst of wages. Walmart actually has forced migrant cleaners to work late into the evenings (not that this is an atrocity) but in order to keep them there…they’ve locked the doors to keep them inside.
I feel, and many others agree, that this is reason enough to view the retail giant as undeservant of business. Others of you likely have far more examples of what’s wrong with Walmart. But, as for why I don’t like them, that’s my list. They offer cheap prices…but at whose cost?
James said,
November 29, 2004 at 3:36 pm
Walmart certainly have become the poster children for the ‘evil megacorp’ title, but it’s not without good reason. There are plenty of documented cases of them refusing to give employees jobs with enough hours to count as ‘full-time’, thereby denying them benefits, of engaging in union-busting activities, and all sorts of related shenanigans. They are also particularly guilty of engagement in sweatshop promotion.
Alternet does a decent job of documenting things: http://www.alternet.org/search.php?term=walmart
On top of the clear ills, there is simply the immense power a company like walmart has to impose a monoculture. Their huge resources allow them to undertake store development projects that no-one else could afford, sustaining stores while they drive local competition out of business. These sorts of box stores routinely strip communities of small, locally owned business. When they start they bring new jobs, but when their competitors close there is usually a net loss of jobs and a major hit on local economies. While they employ local people in many positions, so much of their operation is outsourced that there are limited opportunities for skilled jobs outside of a small number of locales.
It all goes to show that the concept of ‘cost’ is a lot more than simply the price on the shelf, but that’s sadly something that the operation of markets isn’t so adept at handling.
artmomz said,
November 29, 2004 at 5:27 pm
I’ve known several “part-time” employees, from different stores and towns, who’ve found themselves scheduled just enough hours, week after week, to keep them from getting health benefits. “Bitter” doesn’t even begin to describe the emotions I see on their faces. If they’re lucky, they have a partner who works outside of Wal-mart…single parents or couples who work at Wal-mart are screwed.
Just Pat said,
November 29, 2004 at 5:35 pm
My mom works at Walmart. She likes her job. She has a hard time getting vacation time when she wants it, but she gets benefits, regular raises, and enjoys meeting the public. I don’t love Walmart, but I love my mom. She’s the reason I’ll shop at the Walmart in Petoskey, MI. Call me a bad christian…
Brandon, I love yours and Jen’s plan to keep it simple and practical this year. I’ve been making gifts at Christmas for about 10 years now. It’s more satisfying to me and doesn’t waste precious HELOC $$ needed for my little project.
kate said,
November 30, 2004 at 10:30 am
James listed some good resources. There are more along those lines at the Cultivate Three Rivers Initiative, headed up by the good people of Catapult Magazine, who decided they didn’t want a Wal Mart near their small Michigan town. In addition to chrnonicling a community’s efforts to keep the Wal Mart behemoth at bay, there’re lots of interesting links and reading listed there. (Click on “FAQ,” “Get Involved,” and “Resources,” for instance.)
sara said,
December 2, 2004 at 2:59 pm
I do love the re-gifting. Last year, I swiped a pair of my now-husband’s more threadbare jeans, and patched them up and decorated them with nifty patches and embroidery and gave them back to him. The fact that he liked getting his own pants back was another tally in the ‘right guy for me’ column.
I’m making a lot of gifts this year, but given my yarn addiction issues, I’m not sure if I’m actually saving money. But my hands are busy, at least!
James said,
December 16, 2004 at 3:43 pm
To pick up an old thread…
David Batstone had some good words on Walmart in today’s special edition of sojomail. The article is also available at worthwhile magazine’s blog.
Uncle Sam said,
November 20, 2005 at 10:28 pm
People point to Walmart and cry “anti-union”.
Unions enable disfavored people to live satisfactorly without addressing their disfavor. This way their family’s problems are never resolved. Without the union they would have to accept the heirarchy, their own inferiority.
Unions serve to empower.
Walmart is anti-union because they are good. They try to help people address and resolve their problems by creating an enviornment where there are fewer hurdles.
Media ridicule and lawsuits are creations to reinforce people’s belief that Walmart is evil in a subsegment of the industry dominated by the middle and lower classes.
Low-cost disfavored Chinese labor is utilized by corporate america to maximize margins. They all do it. Only WalMart gets fingered because they are the ones who help, and those who seek to create confusion in the marketplace want to eliminate the vast middle class who have a real chance and instead stick with lower classes who may not work otherwise. So they dirty him up while allowing the others to appear clean.
The coining of the term “Uncle Sam” was a clue alluding to this::Sam Walton’s WalMart is one of few saviors of the peasant class.
dufflehead said,
November 21, 2005 at 2:02 pm
a debate about walmart
James said,
November 21, 2005 at 6:02 pm
Uncle Sam - lol! (that was a joke, right?)
Walmart are serial abusers of their monopoly powers. Like numerous other organizations their size they’re able to use their immense capitalization to undercut competitors and their enormous clout to force unrealistic deals out of their suppliers. Once they have a stranglehold on a local economy, they are able to control prices and wages. Empowerment is the last thing on their agenda.
They contribute to the environmental degradation that is an essential part of suburban sprawl with their enormous yet transient buildings (often only intended to stand for less than a decade). I could go on…
Unions, by contrast are a means of exercising the checks and balances that are an essential part of democracy. Democracy is entirely reliant on collective action, and a union is merely an instrument of collective action on the part of workers in a particular corporation/industry/sector.
Empowerment is not a product of undermining communities, cutting out checks and balances, and centralized decision making. It grows from ensuring people have ways to negotiate and inform the power structures around them.
dufflehead said,
November 21, 2005 at 6:07 pm
a debate about walmart
did it work this time?
dufflehead said,
November 21, 2005 at 6:08 pm
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/18/1535212
the spam filter must be stopping me . . .
here’s the link.
dufflehead said,
November 21, 2005 at 6:11 pm
maybe next time i’ll read the small print at the bottom of this here little box
JF said,
November 21, 2005 at 10:52 pm
Unions are a failure- They were originally a success for the reason they were created. But today the unions are bad. I have friends who work for SEPTA. That is Mass Transit for those not in PA. They have mechanics who make an average of $27/hour and almost full healthcare coverage. The way that they work is un heard of in non-union shops. They have a quota to meet and once they meet that quota they just sit around and do nothing all the while getting paid. Most of hte night shift in some of SEPTAs garages sleep on creepers under buses. That is just one example. IN another Union machine shop.. my boss (when he worked for them) was told that if he didn’t slow down, they would break his arm. >>>> Now Walmart on the other hand.. I love them. If people are willing to work for them, and they are not being forced to do hard labor for little pay.. I don’t see the problem. They are huge, they deserve to get deals by buying huge amounts of products. Who doenst like to get deals at walmart?? Most of us dont make enough money that we would opt to buy something for more money just so we dont support Mr. Walton.
Jacke said,
November 22, 2005 at 6:07 am
Paul Jacob has an article on townhall.com titled “The freedom to hate Walmart,” an exerpt:
“Critics have every right to criticize, but no right whatsoever to interfere in the rights of Wal-Mart, its employees, or customers to make their lives better through trade.
But interfere they do. Unions and Wal-Mart’s competitors are pushing a bill in Maryland that would require businesses with over 10,000 employees to provide health benefits to every employee. The only company affected? Wal-Mart.
All over the country Wal-Mart is being attacked and blocked by a cabal of union bosses and corporate competitors teamed up with politicians. And when Wal-Mart is forced to defend itself, they charge the company with throwing its weight around. Still, despite all the roadblocks and attacks, Wal-Mart’s basic business model continues to win in the marketplace.
What about the charge that Wal-Mart puts lots of mom-and-pop stores out of business? While there is evidence that Wal-Mart creates more jobs than are lost by its competition, that’s beside the point. If mom-and-pop stores cannot win enough customers, what are we to do, force citizens to shop where they would prefer not to?
And there seems to be an assumption that these mom-and-pops pay lavish salaries and benefits. That’s just not the case.”