Thus Spake Sam Walton

"If some community, for whatever reason, doesn’t want us in there, we aren’t interested in going in and creating a fuss,” wrote founder Sam Walton in his autobiography. A WalMart vice-president also recently lied "We have so many opportunities for building in communities that want Wal-Marts, it would be foolish of us to pursue construction in communities that don’t want us."

We see now that nothing could be further from the truth: Walmart will continue, as they've done in so many communities before, to eliminate dozens and sometimes hundreds of decently-paying jobs from the community, twist and pervert the character of the neighborhood they invade, and generally bulldoze right over anything else that stands in their way. Here in Sacramento, the local city council is desperately trying to fight a WalMart incursion into Downtown Plaza, an urban mall run by Westfield, who seem intent on backstabbing many of their own businesses as well as anyone else within a five-mile radius, all in the name of the dollar. As is business as usual with WalMart, the new store - if it is eventually built - will sell mostly products made in China, pay their workers well under the federal poverty line, and restrict hours to avoid paying benefits or overtime whenever possible. This is terrific for the Walmart investor, who will make money off the degradation of a community that he or she likely does not live in; it is not as terrific for the local business owners who are relegated to taking a minimum-wage job for 38 hours a week without benefits once their own shop is driven out of business or the customers who will have that much less choice of who to buy from.

This post edited for language, although I think the thousands of folks whose jobs have been lost or transferred to China as a result of WalMart might find the original language perfectly valid.

Comments

[Breakfast]

Try using some restraint the next time you feel like unleashing an anti Wal Mart diatribe. It looks completely out of place on Urban Cartography. Don't blow your credibility, k?

Also, did you notice the Wal Mart ads in the right column? Google's clever like that.

[DB]

I don't have a comment, but I couldn't find a contact e-mail address for this site and was hoping that somebody could send me one.

Thanks!

[Stewf]

Breakfast - If you don't think Wal-Mart's behavior has an effect on urban cartography you are sorely misinformed. I look forward to more opinions and less restraint on this blog.

On the same token, I'd honestly appreciate reading your own opinions on Wal-mart in a counter editorial. What say you, UC editors?

[Breakfast]

STEWF - The Sam Walton post you see now is not the one I was commenting on. I think the author went back and changed it after I made my initial comment. I believe the orginal post has been lost in the digital ether...

[gaela]

Even third parties can suffer:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/02/25/carollloyd.DTL

[Jon S.]

Although I note you have no moral difficulties linking to Amazon.com. Does you outrage not extend to locally-owned bookstores?

[gaela]

Jon, that is a wonderful idea. I would be interested in finding a way to do this. Our weblog is hosted by Typepad, and this feature (booklists linked to Amazon)is standard. Amazon links are helpful, in that one can find out about the book, get the ISBN and so forth, but I agree that linking to local bookstores would be great. However, my programming skills are somewhat limited, and my knowledge of local bookstores across the U.S. (and beyond) is also finite. If anyone out there has had success in this venture, write us!

[DirtGuy]

I agree with the article. Finally! Someone realizes the damage done by this retail giant. Communities invite WalMart in, until they realize way too late, the damage done to a community by this retail giant. Someday in the not too distant future, I predict there will be no other retailer but WalMart.