Once Again, I'm All Riled Up
A WalMart commercial opens with a Hispanic woman smiling and talking about how she can get IRS checks, government checks and all other checks cashed at WalMart for only $3 each. Then her husband is shown sitting to her left, agreeing with her about how great it is, and how $3 is less than the $8 charged by other places.
He then magically has a calculator in his hands and shows how over the course of a year going to WalMart can save them $200 a year, which the couple agrees they can spend on other things, like flat-screen tvs or computers, which also magically appear in his hands.
Why am I riled up by this? Surely you can guess. I mean, I suppose there are some people whose finances are so screwed up that they can't even get a regular checking account at a bank right? Okay fine, so WalMart provides a check-cashing service. But it's pretty gross to market this service to minorities.
Also, it grosses me out that WalMart is encouraging people on government assistance to purchase even more non-necessities like flat-screen televisions. If you want to point out that you sell food or sundries or diapers or clothing? Fine. Those are all necessities. Nobody needs a flat-screen.
I'm not disappointed in WalMart for this, because I've had such a low opinion of them for so long. But it's become blatantly obvious that people truly do not understand how things like credit or mortgages work. Or maybe, it's that they don't want to.
If WalMart wanted to do something impressive, start offering a service instead of your sweat-shop-in-China cheap products. What kind of service? I'm so glad you asked! How about a class offered on how to manage finances responsibly? How to avoid buying a house for more money than a person/couple can truly afford?
He then magically has a calculator in his hands and shows how over the course of a year going to WalMart can save them $200 a year, which the couple agrees they can spend on other things, like flat-screen tvs or computers, which also magically appear in his hands.
Why am I riled up by this? Surely you can guess. I mean, I suppose there are some people whose finances are so screwed up that they can't even get a regular checking account at a bank right? Okay fine, so WalMart provides a check-cashing service. But it's pretty gross to market this service to minorities.
Also, it grosses me out that WalMart is encouraging people on government assistance to purchase even more non-necessities like flat-screen televisions. If you want to point out that you sell food or sundries or diapers or clothing? Fine. Those are all necessities. Nobody needs a flat-screen.
I'm not disappointed in WalMart for this, because I've had such a low opinion of them for so long. But it's become blatantly obvious that people truly do not understand how things like credit or mortgages work. Or maybe, it's that they don't want to.
If WalMart wanted to do something impressive, start offering a service instead of your sweat-shop-in-China cheap products. What kind of service? I'm so glad you asked! How about a class offered on how to manage finances responsibly? How to avoid buying a house for more money than a person/couple can truly afford?
Labels: Overthinking, Rage Against the Green, Shock and Awe, Shopping
posted by Green at 2/19/2010 01:40:00 AM
1 Comments:
I tend to agree, though I still think that even poor people sometimes want to treat themselves to little luxuries. Now, a 1500 flat screen might be too much, but if they want to go see a movie or buy themselves a new television one year I don't think I can get *too* angry. There are a lot of people who work and work and work but due to minimum wage jobs or other life circumstances they might be on public assistance. It doesn't mean they're lazy or stealing.
I do get riled up when I see all these services being targeted to minorities. Because every one knows all poor people are brown people (/sarcasm). It's offensive, to be honest.
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