Hilarious Jib Jab Parody of Wal-Mart (Must See)

[louis c]

In this animated feature, jib jab does in two and half minutes what Unions have been saying for years.

It would be funny, if it weren't so true.

Link on Big Box Mart on right

Link:
http://www.jibjab.com/home.aspx

[louis c]

1. The Link Takes About 30 Seconds to Complete

It's worth the wait

[ktowntennesseedem]

2. What a hoot!!!

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[cynatnite]

3. A must see! n/t

[Straight Shooter]

4. JibJab does it again.

LOL. This is a really good one, and it's the damn truth.

[chat_noir]

5. kick

:rofl:

a big :dem: to Wal-Mart

[louis c]

23. kick

[louis c]

27. kick again

[ellenfl]

6. thumbs up! eom

[MelissaB]

7. That was great!

:rofl:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

8. If Americans were given the choice:

You can buy this pair of shoes that are American made and employ fellow Americans for $24.00 or

you can buy that pair of shoes made in a sweat shop in China by Chinese convicts for $9.99

Most Americans would pick the 9.99 made by Chinese sweatshop laborers because they are cheaper in the short term.

They wouldn't be thinking about the fact that not only are the shoe factory employees being paid from the 24.99 shoes, but the American town the factory is located in is also thriving, as are the restaurants and hotels that are on the commercial strip of the town of the shoe factory.

This argument is a lost cause. You will NEVER convince Americans to buy the 24.99 dollar shoes because it is the patriotic thing to do.

We will never be a manufacturing economy again as long as others inthe world are willing to do the same work for cheaper.

I think if we are to be a service economy, we could at least be a service economy that makes sense. We could provide the best health care in the world and provide decent wages for health care workers if we would nationalize some kind of coherent health care system.

We could also focus on alternative energies as a product for the future. Aside from that, we are f@#$ed and only our hubris prevents us from seeing that. Our real wages are declining, our infant mortality is increasing, our math and science scores are declining and we are seen as a somnolent, corpulent tortoise that is about to be by-passed on the world scene by a bunch of hares (and they're not lazy, so the old fable does not apply).

[Vektor]

11. SO TRUE.

And isn't it funny how all those "patriotic" Repukes who think they are the only ones who "love America" wouldn't be caught dead spending one extra red cent on an item, even if it meant an American worker could make a living wage, and the American economy would improve?

It all really boils down to the almighty dollar, nothing more. That's the main motivation for a Repuke. Nothing else matters. They'd buy cheap crap made by Al-Qaeda if it meant they kept a few cents for themselves.

[phusion]

12. Sounds great...

but it goes against 20+ years of neoliberal policies.

:(

[calmblueocean]

14. Why I think you're wrong.

1. If the government did create an official, easily identifiable "American Made" symbol that could only be used by companies whose products lived up to a given standard, and then promoted that symbol as part of a larger "Buy American" campaign, I think you would see a significant number of people choosing those products over their foreign knockoffs.

America, in an economic sense, is a brand like any other. Branding is the most powerful economic force in existence. It's why people will pay $500 for a Prada purse that cost $5 to make, and why people pay twice as much for Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in the blue box as they would've paid if they'd bought generic macaroni and cheese. America the brand has been swept under the rug by Republicans, ignored and left to die. But is it revivable? Could we do it? Absolutely. Just get the right people on board. We're at war, for God's sakes... people ache to feel like they're doing something to help the country.

2. "We will never be a manufacturing economy again as long as others in the world are willing to do the same work for cheaper."

This is the same argument people used to make before unionization came along. There was always someone willing to do the job for cheaper, so no one could demand a fair wage. Until they organized.

Right now, the corporations have us at a disadvantage. They are allowed to exploit labor in other nations, but we aren't allowed to organize labor in other nations, or to demand national labor standards for goods imported and sold in American markets. Change that, and you change everything. Manufacturers will stay in America when we stop making it so damn easy for them to sell products made under a Communist dictatorship in American stores.


I do think you're dead on about focusing on alternative energy and green products as an engine of wealth creation for America.

[badger1080]

34. It's that easy

"Right now, the corporations have us at a disadvantage. They are allowed to exploit labor in other nations, but we aren't allowed to organize labor in other nations, or to demand national labor standards for goods imported and sold in American markets. Change that, and you change everything."

Just change that? You make it sound so easy. It's actually probably impossible.

[calmblueocean]

35. I never said it would be easy...

Obviously it will take effort. Just like unionizing did. But it's far from being impossible. One good candidate can ride these issues all the way into the White House. Americans are sick of losing their jobs, sick of training their own replacements, sick of feeling powerless. Using America's markets to negotiate for better opportunities for American workers is an idea that finds supporters not just on the right and the left, but in the mushy middle, from the folks who don't care about political philosophy but do care about saving their own skins.

The key now is to keep putting these ideas out into the public sphere. The more you talk about them, the more attention they get, until they seem self-evident. That's when things change.

[badger1080]

36. Fine from one perspective

" One good candidate can ride these issues all the way into the White House. Americans are sick of losing their jobs, sick of training their own replacements, sick of feeling powerless. Using America's markets to negotiate for better opportunities for American workers is an idea that finds supporters not just on the right and the left, but in the mushy middle, from the folks who don't care about political philosophy but do care about saving their own skins."

That's all good from the American side, but when you are talking abuot unionizing cross countries, what's the other side got to win. Unions could help in poor countries, but a union that had to serve both Americans and poor Chinese/Philipinos? I can't see it.

[calmblueocean]

38. Let me help you see it.

What does the other side have to win?

Let's start with the little things: Fire exits. Mandatory breaks. Sexual harrassment protection. Safe storage and handling of chemicals and other hazardous workplace materials, along with education about health risks. The right to fair grievance procedures. So many, many things we take for granted in the first world.

Workers in developing countries need the money, expertise, and power that unions in developed countries have to offer. Workers in developed countries need their overseas counterparts to have good salaries and benefits so that their own jobs stay secure. When unions work together, and don't let management pit them against each other, both win.

[SharonRB]

9. Jibjab nails it again.

It's been a long time since they've had a new one.

[Vektor]

10. The real Wal-Mart doesn't look nearly as nice.

The aisles are filthy and narrow.

The "BIG Box Mart" store in the parody looks a heck of a lot better than the reality.

Funny video, but sad and sickening at the same time, since it's so true.

[arikara]

13. It actually ties right in with this thread

And times they will be a-changin'...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x5063924

<snip>

Oil scarcity will prove that the power of global corporations has been exaggerated both by capitalists and anti-capitalists. Not that corporations don't wield great power, but their power is, at its base, fragile. They must play so many ends against so many middles at once that even a slight drop in profits throws them into confusion, and many are not flexible enough to sustain a deep, long-term drop. Their viability depends upon cheap transport. It doesn't matter how cheaply you produce in Asia if it's expensive to get your product to an Iowa mall. Outfits like Wal-Mart face a dim future. Wal-Mart posted lower-than-expected profits in August because people were driving less. Wal-Mart is made of plastic. Walk its aisles and all you see is plastic. When the price of plastic goes through the roof, in tandem with the price of transport (80% of Wal-Mart's goods are made in China), goodbye Wal-Mart. Many major corporations will find themselves in similar straits.

<snip>

[louis c]

15. kick in the morning

[louis c]

16. kick again

It's open

[lonestarnot]

17. Saw it already. Thanks for posting.

[DS1]

18. Finally. Some Jib Jab that isn't total crap

[AlCzervik]

19. That was spot, Wal-Mart reminds me of the miners company store

[lateo]

20. Wow...

That was very brutal. I wonder if the big media outlets will be going on and on about this one like they did the Kerry/Bush animation.

[louis c]

30. kick again

[Chi-Town Exile]

21. Someone should send this to Lou Dobbs! LOL nt

[louis c]

22. kick

[SW FL Dem]

24. Can anyone tell me what the last line is?

I tried to hear it several times but I can't make it out.

[louis c]

25. Here you go

my paycheck reminds me that your everyday low prices are a price they aren't free.

[SW FL Dem]

26. Thank you, I got the first part but the last few words

escaped me.

[latebloomer]

28. Funny and distressing!

Thanks for the link.

[louis c]

29. kick in the morning

[rbajai]

31. Last week the Tonight Show with Jay Leno

played this video. I didn't even crack a smile through the whole thing. I just shook my head in sadness and dismay as to what has happened to our country and what these corporations have been allowed to get away with.

The video was well-done and was an excellent summary of what WalMart is doing to this country and to our people. And they did a great job of showing the circuitious route that manufacturing employees have taken from having good manufacturing jobs here in the USA to working for the very same company (WalMart) that has replaced their jobs with overseas slave labor. This is partly because if you get laid off in a small town, where else to work but the local WalMart? But the irony is that WalMart is also the institution that was much to blame in your recent layoff from the factory.

Great video, but sad...very sad.

[louis c]

33. agreed

[mac56]

32. Has Wallyworld ever responded to this?

I'd be eager to see that.

[mn723]

37. I love JibJab

eom