Spruce Juice Bruce Springsteen regrets WAmart deal,.

Springsteen calls Wal-Mart deal a mistake

01/31/2009 12:51 AM, AP
The Associated Press

The Boss is owning up to a mistake.

In an interview with The New York Times, Bruce Springsteen says he shouldn't have made a deal with Wal-Mart. This month, the store started exclusively selling a Springsteen greatest-hits CD.

Some fans were critical because Springsteen has been a longtime supporter of worker's rights, and Wal-Mart has faced criticism for its labor practices. Springsteen's team didn't vet the issue as closely as it should have, and that he "dropped the ball on it," he told the Times for a story to be published in Sunday editions and previewed on its Web site.

Springsteen went on to say: "It was a mistake. Our batting average is usually very good, but we missed that one. Fans will call you on that stuff, as it should be."

"Millions of Springsteen fans have counted on Wal-Mart over the years to deliver his music into their lives, and we will continue to offer those fans this 'Greatest Hits' exclusive and his other popular albums at unbeatable prices," Wal-Mart said in a statement, adding: "We are proud of the good jobs, benefits and career opportunities we provide to more than 1.4 million U.S. associates who choose to work at Wal-Mart and serve our customers every day."

Springsteen released his new CD "Working on a Dream" this week and is performing the halftime show at the Super Bowl.

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On the Net:

http://www.brucespringsteen.com

Went shopping this weekend!

Cool ice sculpture from winter festival...

Yeh...Despite the recession, I saw a lot of people at the new mall in Westchester, NY on the Bronx border, in Mt. Vernon. Many were flocking to the sales and regularly discounted items at stores like T J Maxx and Petco. I even joined the Pet pals club to save on food and toys and other necessities for my pets. I am glad that one can go to this mall in like 5 minutes from New Rochelle. Before this, we really didn't have any place to shop but dollar stores so we had to drive or hop on a bus or train to White Plains. This is so much more convenient, however; it was a pain leaving with the traffic as there is now urban sprawl! ugh! I still had a very nice time and day in general as my mom went back home after visiting for the holidays so I went down to my old stomping grounds where she lives, to return her!

I bought a nice pair of shoes for like $ 35, some socks,coffee from Hawaii,tea from London etc. I also went to a thrift store and bought some pet training books and some curtains for my new house. I would say that in this economy, these are the kind of places that are doing well..Yes, thrift stores and consignment shops and Walmart,Peter Harris and TJ Maxx, who sell designer clothes for less and Petco and Petsmart, where you can really save on pet supplies and even groom your pet while you are there. And yes.. they are pet friendly so by all means, bring Fido along!

Not easy being politically correct

these days as many companies out there own several companies that you don't even know you are patronizing. I learned this years ago in school when I heard some major corporations did some creepy things in third world countries while taking over the regions when thy opened their businesses there.

Is Walmart good for America or not? They provide alot of jobs and some do well working for them but I think they are the exception not the rule as many have low income dead end jobs with no benefits. They cater to people who have spouses or are retired and working with social security who have their own health insurance.

A client of mine is charging me over twice as much as the health store charges for soap retail and she supposedly gave me a wholesale rate as I sold my product to her before to her store with no sales tax also at wholesale rate. She claims that she supports fair trade. Since it is the same exact soap i think it makes no difference what she is doing as compared to the health store as it comes from the same place.

I plan to go back and return soap instead and save my money. I bought some other things from her on her terms so she should be ok with it. She charged me tax which noone does as I am a wholesaler and have a tax id.

What do you thin? Would you pay more if you knew the product was supporting people getting a fair wage as opposed to being made in China by children in a sweat shop for a dollar a day if they are lucky?

Can we afford to make these wise choices today in this economy?