07-12-2013, 09:10 AM
quote:
Originally posted by pander75
Seriously. Don't shop at Wal-Mart! All your hard earned $$ goes off-island. Yes I know it's cheap and we're all hurting for cash, but Wal-Mart is NOT. They paid their CEO's MILLIONS last year, while their employees make so little that many of them need food stamps.
For just a bit more money you could support local businesses that actually care about Hawaii. Costs a bit more, but personally I think it's worth it.
It's not going to help. Hawaii imports 92% of its goods and produce, meaning that much money leaves these islands, one way or the other, not just Walmart. Not only that, Walmart and Target have started selling local produce. Even then, quite a bit of produce doesn't grow here. Even in the farmers market, more and more of that produce is being brought in from Thailand and Indonesia. The primary reason is that farmers and farm help in southeast asia are getting paid a fraction of what even a subsistence farmer needs to live on here. That difference is paying for the shipping, which the Jones act doesn't apply, and still providing profits along the way. The snag on the Hawaii end is when the price of the oil the food is floating on starts going to the heavens.
"This island Hawaii on this island Earth"
*Japanese tourist on bus through Pahoa, "Is this still America?*