vision2020
Re: Fwd: Wal-Mart and the Strip-Mining of America, Corporate Watch
At 09:24 AM 11/13/98 -0800, you wrote:
>Are the employees of the Bon or
>Creightons or any downtown business really much better paid than Wal-Mart
>employees? How do we, enlightened citizens of the Palouse that we are,
>reconcile our distaste for a mega-predator like Wal-Mart with the clear need
>for affordable shopping for our students and so many others living on meagre
>salaries.
One of the main differences between WalMart and downtown businesses is that
most downtown businesses are locally owned. So even if the employees are
not paid high wages, there is a business proprietor in town who quite
probably pays taxes on a home (as well as his business), eats at local
restaurants, patronizes local businesses and social clubs, and, in word,
keeps community money in the community. For every dollar spent at WalMart,
perhaps two cents stays the community. For every dollar spent at Mikey's
or Peck's Shoe Repair, probably fifty cents stays in the community. These
numbers are somewhat speculative. They may be off ten or twenty cents in
any direction, but the numbers are certainly not reversed for WalMart vs.
locally owned businesses.
In terms of WalMart's prices being cheaper, this is not of singular
benefit, even to low wage earners. Low prices and variety of goods (as
provided by WalMart) result in the sacrifice of expertise. Shopkeepers who
must charge higher prices for fewer products will know the products better,
and be able to advise the customer (preventing an ignorant customer from
making the wrong purchase). Also, Mega-lo-Marts sacrifice quality in order
to keep prices low. I bought a stapler at Staples for around two dollars.
It cannot reliably staple two pages together. If I would walk into Ken's
Stationery and mention this story, they'd probably say, "That's what you
get for buying the cheapest thing you could find. You have to pay more for
our staplers, but you can be sure they would work trouble-free for
years...." What minimum wage worker is benefitted by purchasing defective
products at a low price?
Robert Hoffmann 115 N. Jackson St., Suite D
Alt-Escape Adventures Moscow, ID 83843 USA
http://www.alt-escape.com Phone: (208) 883-0642
Fax: (208) 883-8545
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