>X-POP3-Rcpt: ppalmer@grouper
>From: SMITHEA@PLU.edu
>Date: Wed, 26 Jul 1995 07:48:04 -0800 (PST)
>Subject: superstores & democracy (fwd)
>To: Pam Palmer <ppalmer@moscow.com>
>MIME-version: 1.0
>---------- Forwarded message ----------
>Date: Tue, 25 Jul 1995 21:44:22 +0000 (GMT)
>From: Dale Wharton <dale@dale.CAM.ORG>
>To: Multiple recipients of list ACTIV-L <ACTIV-L@MIZZOU1.missouri.edu>
>Subject: superstores & democracy
>
>The following appeared in Usenet newsgroup alt.politics.greens thanks
>to R. R. Gilman <rrgilman@aol.com>.
>-- _
>Dale Wharton dale@dale.cam.org M O N T R E A L Te souviens-tu?
>
>8<--------------------------- couper ici --------------------------->8
>
>David Morris, in CO-OP AMERICA QUARTERLY, Summer, 1995:
>
>A most remarkable exercise in democracy is taking place in America.
>Not in Washington but on Main Street. The issue isn't welfare reform
>or taxes but rather bigness and diversity. Or, more accurately, the
>role of superstores in our future local economies.
>
>Retail superstores are washing over us like a planetary tsunami. Wal-
>Mart alone has over 2,200 large stores and over $80 billion in annual
>sales and is adding more than 125 new stores a year. Some superstores
>have as much space under one roof as entire downtown business
>sections. Several studies show that superstores undermine the existing
>local economy. Sales to local businesses drop and more money that used
>to stay in the community is siphoned off to remote corporate
>headquarters.
>
>Is it any wonder that main street businesses are scared and citizens
>are angry?
>
>Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton once insisted, "If some community, for
>whatever reason, doesn't want us in there, we aren't interested in
>going in and creating a fuss." Under new management, Wal-Mart won't
>take "no" or even "maybe" for an answer.
>
>The citizens of Sturbridge MA, in a nonbinding referendum, voted 600
>to 100 against a proposed superstore. Wal-Mart decided to press ahead
>anyway. Three out of four residents of East Aurora NY signed petitions
>opposing a change in the zoning law that would have permitted a Wal-
>Mart. The developer continues to seek the change.
>
>After a bitter controversy, East Lampeter Township PA agreed to a
>compromise. It would allow Wal-Mart to build but only if the company
>paid the cost of widening the necessary roads. The retailing giant
>refused and is now arguing in court that state law prohibits a
>municipality from forcing a developer to make offsite improvements.
>
>The debate about superstores exemplified democracy at its finest. In
>many cases citizens are voting directly on the issues. Even when local
>planning agencies or city councils make the ultimate decision, average
>citizens have significant participation. They don't have to travel to
>Washington and do battle with well-funded lobbying groups. They are
>not learning about the issues from 20-second sound bites on TV, but
>engage in debates face-to-face, on the local radio, or through letters
>to the editor.
>
>No matter what the outcome, the process itself is empowering. It
>brings down to the local level the national debate about our rights
>and responsibilities as citizens and as consumers.
>
>As consumers we like the idea of saving a few bucks a month by
>shopping at Wal-Mart. As citizens we look beyond immediate pocketbook
>gratification and consider the impact on the local economy. Do we vote
>to save a few dollars in the short run or to preserve the long-term
>economic health and character of the place where we live? ###
>