[pyuser583]

America's attitude towards the rich is heavily qualified gratitude. Rich people tend to create lots of wealth. It's hard to argue Microsoft hasn't made America better. Same with Google, FB, etc.

But the rich are most likely to support effective political solutions (and be politely ignored).

Rich people have, in general, made America a better country, and there's a certain deference because of that.

But this isn't blind stupidity. The Sackler family is as unloved as the Manson family. But even folks who built their wealth in questionable ways (the Kennedys) tend to make America a better place.

I saw a video on Youtube where an American asked a Belgian where the "new money" families lived. The Belgian said "what are you talking about, there is no new money." Most Americans react in horror to that idea.

[insane_dreamer]

> But even folks who built their wealth in questionable ways (the Kennedys) tend to make America a better place.

I dispute that strongly. How has the Walton family made America a better place? I'd say they've made it a much worse place. Similarly, Zuck hasn't "made America a better place". I'm not sure you can argue that Gates and Microsoft have.

This sounds like the same trickle down economics BS that we've been fed for decades now.

[nasmorn]

Walmart has arguable built the most efficient grocery logistic in existence giving the whole country access to cheap fresh food with minimal spoilage

[throaway54]

The only real benefit is to the owners of Walmart though. Their food is not healthier, and their business impact is not better for local economies than what came before.

[smsm42]

You can't have food that is at the same time cheap, healthy and at your doorstep. You can have two of them. Walmart gets you cheap and nearby. If you want healthy and nearby, go to Whole Foods and be prepared to stretch your wallet. Not everyone can afford it though.

[insane_dreamer]

You’re missing the point that Walmart destroyed all the other small local grocery options and other small stores that used to exist.

So yeah, TODAY all you have is Walmart garbage or expensive Whole Foods (in same places)

[smsm42]

I don't think the stores that used to exist had the same or superior choice of goods and the same prices as Walmart did. I mean there might be some that did, but they persist even in the presence of Walmart - I have several Walmarts within 15 min drive of me, and still know a bunch of local grocery stores and specialized shops that still do fine. But I am not sure why "local store" is inherently superior to Walmart unless it does something better, or how it will be able to deliver on the all three.

[kortilla]

Their food is absolutely cheaper for the same health value as comparable grocery stores. Walmart was amazing for low income families in small cities and rural areas.

[insane_dreamer]

> Walmart was amazing for low income families in small cities and rural areas.

stop drinking the corporate Kool-Aid, my friend

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/walmart-pr...

> In the 10 years after a Walmart Supercenter opened in a given community, the average household in that community experienced a 6 percent decline in yearly income—equivalent to about $5,000 a year in 2024 dollars—compared with households that didn’t have a Walmart open near them. Low-income, young, and less-educated workers suffered the largest losses.

> They calculate that poverty increases by about 8 percent in places where a Walmart opens relative to places without one even when factoring in the most optimistic cost-savings scenarios.

[kortilla]

All that research indicates is that Walmart isn’t a good place to work. It doesn’t say anything about how much is saves you by shopping there.

I saw this first hand when Walmart showed up in my small city in the 90s. Everyone saved enormous amounts of money, complained about shopping there, and avoided working there because the pay was shit.

If you were low income and had a job outside of Walmart retail competition space, Walmart was a godsend. Think teachers, construction workers, etc.

[insane_dreamer]

so what? it came at the expense of thousands of small businesses, destroyed hundreds of towns, and is one of the largest transfers of wealth in US history

all to serve us up cheap garbage

[kortilla]

You forget the massive benefit to everyone who shops there. It wrecked small businesses because the prices were lower for the same things.

[insane_dreamer]

So people were goi g hungry before Walmart came along? No, Walmart destroyed the local economies and so now people can only afford to shop at Walmart.

[kortilla]

Yes, people quite literally did go hungry or got far worse food.

The local economies were shit before Walmart. There just happened to be a handful of small business owners that did well squeezing their community.

If Walmart didn’t offer better product/price ratios, nobody would have shopped there.