Little Love For Wal-Mart
Mar 14, 2007
Debbie Brinkman didn’t plan on being an anti-Wal-Mart activist. In fact, as a Republican, she felt it was “kind of against my politics to be fighting this.”
But when the Littleton, Colo., resident heard there were plans to build a Wal-Mart Supercenter across from a large and popular park — and within sight of her own front door — she felt she had little choice but to get involved.
NIMBY to the max.
The reasons behind the efforts vary widely. Some activists, like Brinkman, say they don’t oppose Wal-Mart in general — they just don’t think Wal-Mart belongs in that particular spot in their community. Others, like Carole Heerman of Woodland, Wash., worry that a Wal-Mart will hurt the town’s other businesses, including her own. Still others, like Michael Funke of Bend, Ore., oppose Wal-Mart because they think its workers should get better wages and benefits.
The opposition boils down to:
- Again, NIMBY.
- Some people are afraid of competition. "Hey, the town folks ought to pay high prices to keep me in business!"
- They don't like the pay of Wal-Mart workers. Why anyone would care what one employer pays to its employees is beyond me. A company can pay either the minimum wage, minimum wage times a million or anything in between. If these people really care about the suffering Wal-Mart workers, then perhaps they can donate some of their own hard earned money to them. No-one is standing in their way.
Later:
Some community organizers have accepted money from union labor groups and other anti-Wal-Mart interests, such as grocers who stand to lose business from Wal-Mart competition.
Shocking!
“Costco has been an example for us of what we would like Wal-Mart to do,” said Funke, of Bend.
Funke, my man, if you don't like Wal-Mart, then don't shop there. Why are you trying to take that option away from the rest of society?
In Woodland:
[...] others complained that they currently have to drive as far as 20 miles to get things like kids’ sports uniforms, and said their cash-strapped families could use the bargain prices.
“Why not let Wal-Mart come in, and those who don’t want to shop there can go somewhere else that they like?” resident Shirley James asked.
Yes!
Wal-Marts tend to pay higher than minimum wage which is another reason why people with small town monopolies hate Wal-Marts - they end up hiring and retaining the employees who can give even moderately decent work and leave the real bozos for the minimum wage payers.
Though, that is not to say that Wal-Mart does not need to employ a few low-brows. They need to be available to serve the customers with really bad luck.
Posted by: Saul | Mar 14, 2007 at 11:41 PM
I think NIMBY is a legitimate concern. (Which is not to say they should win.) External economies are real.
Posted by: David Boxenhorn | Mar 15, 2007 at 06:42 AM
You know, I grew up in Regina Sask., and when I was a kid retail was a very good job.
Store were only only open during daylight hours, they were closed on Sunday and Monday, and the markup on retail items approached 50%. So a retail store only needed enough employees for one shift a day, with no fill in for the weekend, and people made very good money.
Now that the chain stores came in, some, like SuperStore, so heavily funded that they don't have to make a profit for a decade - there are no good jobs in retail.
Yes of course things are much better for the consumer. There are more products to choose from, stores are open all of the time, and prices are half what they were.
But it's sad to see the economy change so that there are fewer and fewer jobs that aren't long hours for very low pay.
I'm not going to try to pick which is better in this particular case but I don't want to forget the principle that society is made of human beings and the shape of our lives (such as how long we work and how much we make) are important. The price isn't the whole picture.
Posted by: Josh Scholar | Mar 16, 2007 at 02:18 PM
Ok, I'll admit that the current situation is more good for more people... But still this reminds me that, at least in the US and in the increadibly overpriced Bay Area where I live (but may not be able to contine to afford living), the job market gets ever worse. Every job requires ever longer hours.
My point was that the effect on the job market is an effect on people too. We're not JUST consumers.
Posted by: Josh Scholar | Mar 16, 2007 at 02:39 PM