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RANT - Some people - Monroe WA

Started 12 months ago by 365Stairs
Latest reply from JoB

365Stairs
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Just heard reported on news - KOMO - that there is a group in Monroe that is opposing a WalMart built - because they believe the building's exterior appearance plans are not in keeping with the small town standards of Monroe and the available land could be better served in some other (TBD) capacity...

A very successful large business with affordable goods wants to build and bring potentially a hundred or more jobs to a small community...and folks want to protest this over appearance sake?

Can we please see the plans for Trader Joe's - I have second thoughts about them...(goodness...I'm joking)...

Glad to be in West Seattle!

Posted 12 months ago #
SarahScoot
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I would hope that West Seattleites would also vehemently oppose a Walmart! Good for Monroe, in this case. I hope there are people who oppose it for more than just appearance's sake: Walmart will drive out any privately-owned competition and any jobs that went with it. Then most likely, those employees will end up at Walmart. To put it bluntly, when Walmart moves into small towns, it effectively enslaves them.
Here's a documentary that gives a decent overview of the problems with Walmart: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473107/

Posted 12 months ago #
365Stairs
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SS - I acknowledge your post - "Big Box Stores" tend to give local private entities pause for consideration and, yes, there are examples of small businesses closing shop.

I suspect those small businesses, which require higher product margins to operate (and don't get the large tax relief), were not doing all that well and closures are/were inevitable.

That said..I know..as an incumbant local business consultant...with a flexible business plan, you can adjust to the insertion of bigger competition.

The point (that I took out of the story) - was not that there was a protest over the big scary business taking away our local private jobs ("Lions, Tiger, & Bears..Oh My"...it was they don't like how the building will look to fit the small community...

Posted 12 months ago #
flowerpetal
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Good for Monroe. Aesthetics are important. Ang agreed with SS, Walmart is bad fruit. Another Walmart equals more underpaid employees without benefits who will need public health care while the Walmart family heaps in millions upon millions of dollars.

Posted 12 months ago #
KBear
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What about the thousands of American jobs that are lost when Walmart's vendors are forced to outsource overseas in order to deliver ever-lower prices? Is it worth a few low-paying dead-end retail jobs?

Posted 12 months ago #
maplesyrup
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If they don't want a Wal-Mart for whatever reason, that's their choice. They are kind of ugly with those massive parking lots.

But if that's what they want to do, what do I care?

(BTW I have nothing against Wal-Mart.)

Posted 12 months ago #
Andy
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He's talking about the aesthetics, folks. Just the aesthetics. Pitchforks down, please.

I hear you, 365Stairs. And you are more right than you realize. One of the stories a while back about Trader Joe's here had a rendering, and there was at least one complaint about the look. Then the Wing Dome thing. Fuggeddaboutit.

But communities are concerned about the way things look, and rightly so. Which means the aesthetics are probably secondary to the "idea" of how a Wal-mart appears in public perception than anything else. All those awful trailer park, "people of Wal-Mart" connotations. Wal-Mart's a mighty popular - and fun - thing to hate these days.

Posted 12 months ago #
365Stairs
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It could have been any business(es) to buy that land and put up shop (although there are only a few that can afford it at this time)...the part that struck me as rant worthy is that the asthetics over real job creation (both to build it and to have some sustainable work) was the priority.

Jobs are jobs...they don't have to be a career ("dead end retail" "underpaid employees")...but Monroe - like many communities...has out of work people or teens / students just starting out that would take it...

Intertwined in this debate...(just not in the news I heard)..are the referenced WalMart politics that you folks mentioned... Any big national business is going to come with its share of controversy and both good / poor public opinion.

Posted 12 months ago #
maplesyrup
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I doubt the issue is really, or only, aesthetics.

Anyway I don't know if I agree with "jobs are jobs" because if those jobs come at the expense of locally-owned businesses, Monroe really isn't any better off in the long run. You replace higher-paying jobs that recirculate money into the local economy with lower-paying jobs that generate profits for shareholders in Arkansas, New York, and elsewhere.

Again, I have nothing against Wal-Mart, I used to work with them as a vendor and really like and respect them on many levels. But you have to try and look at these things objectively.

Posted 12 months ago #
DP
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Where were the aesthetics police when Frank Gehry and Paul Allen were hallucinating a new look for downtown Seattle?

Where where the aesthetics police when developers decided to turn California Ave SW into Condo Canyon?

But yeah . . . if you're going to build a Wal-Mart, you might as well try to make it elegant.

After all, it's gonna be there for a long, looooong time.

Posted 12 months ago #
anonyme
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One of my all-time favorite true stories of inspirational civil disobedience has to do with McDonald's forcing their way into rural France. The town (naturally) had a long history of creating artisanal foods and did not want a fast food joint eroding their traditions. The villagers protests fell on the deaf ears of well-paid lawyers and politicians, and the golden arches were built on the edge of town. The night before the doors were to open, the entire village descended on the place and carefully disassembled the entire structure - piece by gaudy piece.

You go, Monroe.

Posted 12 months ago #
dhg
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365stairs: The entire documentary is available for watching on youtbe. Greenwald's High Cost of Low Prices lays out exactly what is wrong with the Walmart model. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hftb_DVuelo

Posted 12 months ago #
waynster
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Wal marts are like a blood sucking leach. Only thing they do diffrent is they suck the life out of small businesses and leave empty shells. kinda of like developers did when they over built condos. I have to agree with the monroe issue wal marts bring in low paying jobs without any hope. Are the other box stores any better not really its just people fell better when they buy crappy made imports and they save a buck or two...and yes drive further to do so at 4 dollars a gallon....

Posted 12 months ago #
TDe
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I'm all for the people of Monroe. If the look of a place is important to them, then they get to protest when a big box store spoils their aesthetics. That community is a democracy after all and the will of people in that community should prevail.

Posted 11 months ago #
GenHillOne
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haha, has anyone here BEEN to Monroe? Which standards are they trying to uphold? It's basically a giant strip mall and a prison! That said, power to the people.

Posted 11 months ago #
jwws
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GenHillOne,

You said what I have been thinking all day - Monroe - after the high school and prison starts on HWY 2 with a Home Depot and then is strip mall city - "old" Monroe is off the beaten track and is little seen to people passing though - so it begs the question where was Wal-Mart going to build.

Posted 11 months ago #
HunterG
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WalMart is the devil. They don;t allow their workers to unionize, treat their workers like crap (I know people personally whom have worked there) and put small mom and pop shops and small businesses out of business.

Good for Monroe! I don;t think you are going to find many folks here on your side, 365Stairs.

Posted 11 months ago #
acemotel
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And in spite of the fact that 4 of the 25 riches people in the world are Waltons, they are conspicuously absent from the world of philanthropy.

Posted 11 months ago #
velo_nut
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I'm not a fan of Walmart but all of you who praise Trader Joes and despise Walmart should REALLY check into TJ. You'll be a little surprised!

Posted 11 months ago #
JoB
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velo-nut..
sadly.. i wouldn't be surprised about Trader Joes... or Costco for that matter...
but it's all relative these days. peek under the hood of Whole Foods at your peril.

365stairs

the fantasy that bringing another big box to town creates local construction jobs and local living wage jobs is just that.. a fantasy.. especially when that fantasy is Walmart

Posted 11 months ago #