04-09-2014, 10:07 PM
Recently, I've taken over straightening out the books for our local Chamber of Commerce after our staff bookkeeper decided he could make more money elsewhere. Looking through our records and files to find source documents and making sure they were entered correctly has provided some interesting tidbits. The most interesting one that I found lately concerned Walmart.
As I've said elsewhere, this is a mostly rural county where the biggest city has a population that only reaches around 20,000. I live in the middle of a cornfield and the county farmers produce some pretty awesome and award winning onion crops. Despite that, we do have some big corporations or franchises of same planted here. Amongst them are Walmart, T.J.Maxx, Ruby Tuesdays, J.C. Penney, GPC's NAPA stores, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, several other fast food places, National Grid, a Sunoco ethanol plant, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Pinnacle Foods is thinking of moving a plant here. Unfortunately, no Starbucks.
Walmart has taken a lot of heat, some of it justifiably so, about employment practices, shipping jobs overseas and not being a good corporate neighbor along with more spurious jabs. Yet I found, of all the big corporations and franchises mentioned above, the companies that chip in for community events and/or Chamber operations to benefit the local community with cash and goods only number a few. Walmart and National Grid lead the pack. Dunkin and Pennys are 3 & 4 and the rest don't contribute anything. Many cite the excuse that it's "corporate policy". I was shocked about Wally World's participation with all the bad press.
I now don't feel so guilty about what little I purchase there and may even consider them when I need something else where I could shop some of the other places I mentioned.
As I've said elsewhere, this is a mostly rural county where the biggest city has a population that only reaches around 20,000. I live in the middle of a cornfield and the county farmers produce some pretty awesome and award winning onion crops. Despite that, we do have some big corporations or franchises of same planted here. Amongst them are Walmart, T.J.Maxx, Ruby Tuesdays, J.C. Penney, GPC's NAPA stores, Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King, several other fast food places, National Grid, a Sunoco ethanol plant, Lowe's, Tractor Supply, Family Dollar, Dollar General and Pinnacle Foods is thinking of moving a plant here. Unfortunately, no Starbucks.
Walmart has taken a lot of heat, some of it justifiably so, about employment practices, shipping jobs overseas and not being a good corporate neighbor along with more spurious jabs. Yet I found, of all the big corporations and franchises mentioned above, the companies that chip in for community events and/or Chamber operations to benefit the local community with cash and goods only number a few. Walmart and National Grid lead the pack. Dunkin and Pennys are 3 & 4 and the rest don't contribute anything. Many cite the excuse that it's "corporate policy". I was shocked about Wally World's participation with all the bad press.
I now don't feel so guilty about what little I purchase there and may even consider them when I need something else where I could shop some of the other places I mentioned.
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“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan
“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan