Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)

Sure Wal-Mart is everywhere especially it has populated small town America from coast to coast and just about everyone has fell in love with everyday low prices always low prices. Yet as this documentary proves it comes at a price! As Robert Greenwald exposes and shows the dirty side of a big corporate outfit that's dirty and they will do anything to make a profit. Yet still Wal-Mart claims to be champions of the community and fighters for the little people, but as you see example by example and step by step in this film low prices come at a high cost.Most telling is how low that Wal-Mart pays it's employees, as many can't even afford health insurance and disturbing is seeing how Wal-Mart only allows so many hours during a work week, and they will run short to finish jobs even making workers do overtime yet still the company will turn in false time to make a profit. It clearly does not live up to it's commercials Wal-Mart is not a great place to work.The biggest problem with Sam Walton's empire is how that when his stores move into little town U.S. they put out your local mom and dad stores that have tradition. As Wal-Mart offering everything at a lower price puts out the community special stores. Also of a note is how the building of new Wal-Marts destroy valuable and precious land of historical towns. And Wal-Mart doesn't seem to be worried about security as evidenced by it's history of crime on store property as the security cameras actually watch inside on the store employees who are trying to organize unions! That's another big negative with Wal-Mart they are so anti union and seeing the shocking footage of how their toys are made in China wakes a person up and it showcases that Wal-Mart is a business of corporate greed and dirty money they will expose a worker for profit. Yet as the film closes out their is hope many bigger towns are fighting to ban Wal-Marts from coming to their towns, by voting against the building of them at the ballot box. So I guess democracy still works. Overall this is a pretty eye opening film about Wal-Mart it will make you think before shopping with them again as low prices come at a high cost for most involved.

This really funny attempt at a documentary attempts to portray Americans as completely irresponsible.The business owners who claim that Wal-Mart drove them out of business... perhaps it had more to do with the fact that they didn't provide a product and a service that the market was willing to pay for.The employees who don't get paid enough, and don't work enough hours... perhaps they should get a second job, or (God-forbid) actually develop within themselves a marketable skill that someone else would pay them more money to do.The people that complained that their municipalities "subsidized" Wal-Mart's opening expenses... Perhaps you shouldn't vote for people that aren't going to do things that you don't agree with.This documentary made no attempt to present any other point of view, or suggest that everyone interviewed had a right to work somewhere else, shop somewhere else, or live somewhere else.In one memorable scene, a mother is be-moaning Wal-Mart's evilness because they don't provide affordable health care or pay enough... and in the background, her daughter (I'm assuming it was her daughter) is lying on the couch playing a Nintendo DS. Are you kidding me? You're too poor to afford health care, but you can buy a Nintendo DS?Another disgruntled employee bravely asserts "This isn't THEIR store. It's OUR store." I beg to differ Mr. Freaky Ear Pierced Guy. Did you raise the capital, create the business plan, or buy the land? or the building? IF that is YOUR store, then you should have no problem going out there with your friends that you were begging to vote yes to unionize and creating another store just like Wal-Mart. If you can do a better job, then do it. GO! You are free to do it! Quit groveling in your own ignorance. Nobody in the documentary asked him why he didn't just go get a better job, or learn how to do something that paid more.This documentary does a great job at forgetting that we are free to choose what we do, where we do it, and when we do it. It portrays corporate America as soul-less and evil, and that the people in this country are too stupid to figure out that they don't have to be victims of corporate America.

Wal Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) *** (out of 4) Interesting, if one sided, documentary about Wal Mart and how they're taking over the country. Like various Michael Moore documentaries, I think this thing would have been better with an unbias view and I wish the "other side" of things was shown. The documentary goes all out to paint an ugly picture and it does this wonderfully but there is another side that isn't being told. I was rather shocked at the benefit and hourly wages thing but a few other points I just didn't agree with, especially the "small company" going out of business deal. Hey, it is a marketplace. Why should I pay $25 to a mom and pop when I can get the item at say, Best Buy for $15? The opening story had the old man talking about all the poor in the city but was his store able to give them jobs? No but Wal Mart was able to. There are other questions I had about this matter but in the end I think this is a classic example of the rich versus the poor and as we know, nothing is going to change. The rich will continue to get rich while the poor continues to get poor. I think every company is guilty of this so it's not only this store that has things to change.

I don't and never have worked for Wal-Mart, but do enjoy the 20-30% savings per year by shopping there.If the unions of the U.S. didn't front the money for this "documentary", they should have. Show me any Company with 10% of Wal-Marts 2 million employees, I'll find you lots of disgruntled and dissatisfied ex-employees.When Wal-mart opens in a small town, or a populated area, other retailers are definitely hurt. Not just the Ma & Pa's, but Sears, K-Mart, successful grocery store chains, etc. It's not Wal-Marts fault! They're a business that has done business better than their competitors, big and small. It's why people shop there and make them the largest retailer in the world.When Wal-Mart stops doing it better than everyone else, their sales will drop, their stock will drop, they will lose money. When that day comes, Companies that take Wal-Marts business will grow quicker, have lot's of disgruntled employees, have many suits filed against them.This documentary is a slap in the face to the United States and what makes this country as great as we are. The United States is built on capitalism, we like to make money, we like to do things better than anyone else. Wal-Mart is a stock held publicly traded Company, with checks and balances, government regulation,etc. Watching this "documentary", you'd think Satin started and runs this Company.Obviously I'm in the great minority of posters on this "documentary", but someone had to say it.