What Americans Say about Mega Stores

There is a lot of speculation about Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in India. The government has snuffed out the opposition through moves most of us don't really understand and opened its doors.

For India it isn't such a brand new concept as we already shop in mega malls. But each of those shops are independently owned. We are, to date, a country with variety. We don't yet have the same shops in every shopping mall. That has its pluses and minuses. The definite plus is that we know what to expect by way of quality. The definite minus - having the same shops in every mall is incredibly boring. Seen one mall and we've seen them all.

Another point - we don't quite know how to react to having everything - from edibles to a carpenter's tools sold by the same company. For that we have to turn to the seasoned American consumer.

This is what they've said about one mega store, Walmart.

• They cut hours all the time when I quit I was working 16.5 hours a week. It cost more in gas to drive there.
• Walmart has caused many independent and small chains to go out of business...yes, that can be considered progress. 
• However, the wages of these big-box stores are so low they are not what can be considered a "living wage"---also, most of the jobs offered by Wal-mart, etc, are very low to no skill types of jobs, with little to no opportunity for advancement. 
• Walmarts, etc. will open a store within just miles of another and then cut down the workforce to a bare-bones crew so one will stand in line longer. 
• Some facts this story left out is if you read the ingredients of nearly every food item on Wal-Mart shelves, soy is in there. I stopped shopping at Wal-Mart to eat healthy raw veggies and fruit from local farmers who do not use pesticides. Meat in stores are full of antibiotics and growth hormones which contribute to unhealthy sick families. Which in turn raises your health care bills. So by buying cheap mostly processed food and meat full of junk, you are spending more money for doctors and prescriptions. 
• You might drive 10 miles to Wal-Mart and only need a few things, but the store is so big you will spend 4 times as much time and buy more things than you need. You can buy everything cheaper on-line. 
• I never appreciated Wal-Mart with their predatory price-fixing purposes. 
• So many people I run into every day charge up credit cards on cheap Chinese made goods that are low-quality. 
• The fact that our politicians are financed by these corporations and can dupe and prejudice their way into office is beyond maddening and despicable, it's unpatriotic to say the least. 
• I purposefully go out of my way to find products I need, yet for me, must be U.S.A. sourced, otherwise I DO NOT touch it, especially clothing.

So now we have it from the horse's mouth. (The comments section has over 300 comments. These are just a few.)

Yet, if our government is wise they'll ensure there are clauses in place to ensure our farmers and other tradespeople not only improve the quality of their product (for which they need at least the basics like water, electricity and roads) but also have no middle men to deliver their product to the mega stores. 

Perhaps our farmers could form co-operatives to eliminate the middle men. It shouldn't be their hard work and someone else's massive cut from the fruits of their labour. 

It would reduce India's and Walmart's carbon footprint to buy local and sell local. The Americans in the US lost out because their labour isn't cheap. We don't have that "problem".

I wonder how it will all pan out. The Walmarts and their shareholders have a goldmine within their grasp. They will (and should) look out for their bottomline. 

If, what one of the Americans above said is true, that, 

The fact that our politicians are financed by these corporations and can dupe and prejudice their way into office is beyond maddening and despicable, it's unpatriotic to say the least.
politicians are all set to benefit unless we have a vigilant public. 

With the reaction of some to what the AAP's suggested, that there should be a referendum - I can safely conclude a huge number of people aren't interested in discussing the issue much less policing the government. Hope they at least understand and appreciate how much Arvind Kejriwal and their team have taken on. It isn't only the monolithic government with huge funds to do with as they please, it isn't just land grabs for personal gain in the name of the country, it isn't just the rape of a four year old girl, it isn't just crores of rupees worth of scams where money has gone into individual politician's pockets, nor is it just the pricing of goods or irrigation scams or the state of our roads or the garbage piled two storeys high that is dangerous for the health of our young, it is also the apathy, indifference and cynicism of some of our ordinary citizens.

But that is by the way. If - the biggest IF - the benefits of FDI trickle down to our farmers and other trades people it will be a win-win-win all around.