Wal-Mart and My Hometown
Store Wars
I live in the small, farmer's town of Danielson, Connecticut, in a region commonly referred to as the Quiet Corner. My first paying job was at a local, family-owned grocery chain which started in 1908. However, as two Super Wal-Marts were constructed two towns over in each direction, many local businesses (which once served the public with a consistent smile) were forced to strip their shelves and close their doors due to the turbulent economic time and the inability to compete with "everyday low-prices". The few still afloat over the waterline are now cowering in my hometown, as yet another tsunami Wal-Mart is opening in Brooklyn, a mere five miles from my place of residence. But, why in the world would anyone need three Wal-Marts within twenty minutes in all directions?
Wal-Mart began as a small business in 1962 in the southern United States. Beginning in the 1970's and into the 80's, Wal-Mart expanded drastically, establishing new superstores in small communities across the nation. Since this growth, communities and small business owners have contended vehemently that they "simply can't keep up with Wal-Mart's bargain pricing" (Wal-Mart Watch). Most communities fear that the superstore will leave their downtown shopping areas appearing more like ghost towns, economically pressuring small business owners to close. Although there is nothing illegal about Wal-Mart's practices and taking advantage of the capitalistic system, their business actions and strategies are arguably immoral.
Russell S. Sobel and Andrea M. Dean, economics professors at the University of West Virginia, presented the "first rigorous econometric investigation of how Wal-Mart actually impacts the small business sector" (1). Using the top five and bottom states with Wal-Mart superstores per 100,000 people (the top five consisting of southern states, and Connecticut and several northern states included in the bottom five), they determined that self-employment has been steadily growing in these states from 11% to 16% from 1985 to 2000, during the largest boom of Wal-Mart expansion, nearly a fifty percent increase (9). However, even though self-employment has not been hindered, the study shows that the amount of small businesses (those with one to four employees and five to nine employees) has stayed relatively the same since 1985, showing no growth (10). It is obvious that in these areas where Wal-Mart is the most and least prominent, the superstore has stunted the growth of small businesses, speaking volumes to the condition of a constantly expanding nation.
Some people argue that Wal-Mart, with their "everyday low prices", stimulates the overall economy by providing disposable income to their consumers, which can than be redistributed through other markets. However, businesses such as Caldors and Ames have had to file for bankruptcy and lay off their entire workforce as a result of direct competition with Wal-Mart's "everyday low prices". Sobel and Dean use an excerpt from a pro-Wal-Mart article which states "Wal-Mart has indeed set prices low enough to drive mom and pop stores out of business all over the country and kept the prices that low forever," and justifies its actions with "In a free market, large suppliers of nearly everything will drive most small suppliers out of business" (2). Many people falsely argue that Wal-Mart destroys all small businesses based upon statistics, including the state of Iowa, provided to the public. According to the Wal-Mart Watch claim, between 1983 and 1993, Wal-Mart's bargain pricing closed "555 grocery stores, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women's apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drug stores,
The all-American superstore has also reached outside of the continental United States, importing goods from China. However, "Wal-Mart is the single largest importer of Chinese goods, buying some $18 billion in merchandise in 2004", which is equivalent to "[...] nearly 10 percent of all Chinese goods sold in the United States" ("Paying"). The large sum of money spent by Wal-Mart is certainly widening the gap of the substantial trade deficit the United States currently has with China. "By supporting foreign-made goods on such a massive scale, the company that trumpets its All-American image is creating incentives for corporations to destroy good jobs in the United States" ("Paying"). If Wal-Mart continues their substantial business with China, their actions could have an adverse affect on the current global economic superiority of the United States over China and the rest of the world.
In today's society, Wal-Mart could not be considered the blood-thirsty corporation they appear to be solely based on their own immoral tactics. According to Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, "it would be more accurate to view Wal-Mart not as a bad apple, but as the crowning achievement of an economic and political system that has greatly enlarged the power of global corporations and trampled core American values - namely small business, community, local democracy and work" (1). The superstore that has come to define the American dream is merely a reflection of the culture that has created it.
The small southern business that rapidly grew to a monopolistic juggernaut and the image of American consumerism has destroyed the notion that the small business can compete. Although Wal-Mart has not violated any law or abridged the principles of capitalism, they have ransacked small communities, blatantly pushing out their competition by marking their products at or below the actual cost. But Wal-Mart has become purely a manifestation of an indulgent nation searching for the cheapest alternative (including importing millions for foreign-made goods from China) in quick, easily accessible superstores (including corporations as witnessed by several billion dollar mergers over the past several years) for their one-stop shopping needs.
Wal-Mart began as a small business in 1962 in the southern United States. Beginning in the 1970's and into the 80's, Wal-Mart expanded drastically, establishing new superstores in small communities across the nation. Since this growth, communities and small business owners have contended vehemently that they "simply can't keep up with Wal-Mart's bargain pricing" (Wal-Mart Watch). Most communities fear that the superstore will leave their downtown shopping areas appearing more like ghost towns, economically pressuring small business owners to close. Although there is nothing illegal about Wal-Mart's practices and taking advantage of the capitalistic system, their business actions and strategies are arguably immoral.
Russell S. Sobel and Andrea M. Dean, economics professors at the University of West Virginia, presented the "first rigorous econometric investigation of how Wal-Mart actually impacts the small business sector" (1). Using the top five and bottom states with Wal-Mart superstores per 100,000 people (the top five consisting of southern states, and Connecticut and several northern states included in the bottom five), they determined that self-employment has been steadily growing in these states from 11% to 16% from 1985 to 2000, during the largest boom of Wal-Mart expansion, nearly a fifty percent increase (9). However, even though self-employment has not been hindered, the study shows that the amount of small businesses (those with one to four employees and five to nine employees) has stayed relatively the same since 1985, showing no growth (10). It is obvious that in these areas where Wal-Mart is the most and least prominent, the superstore has stunted the growth of small businesses, speaking volumes to the condition of a constantly expanding nation.
Some people argue that Wal-Mart, with their "everyday low prices", stimulates the overall economy by providing disposable income to their consumers, which can than be redistributed through other markets. However, businesses such as Caldors and Ames have had to file for bankruptcy and lay off their entire workforce as a result of direct competition with Wal-Mart's "everyday low prices". Sobel and Dean use an excerpt from a pro-Wal-Mart article which states "Wal-Mart has indeed set prices low enough to drive mom and pop stores out of business all over the country and kept the prices that low forever," and justifies its actions with "In a free market, large suppliers of nearly everything will drive most small suppliers out of business" (2). Many people falsely argue that Wal-Mart destroys all small businesses based upon statistics, including the state of Iowa, provided to the public. According to the Wal-Mart Watch claim, between 1983 and 1993, Wal-Mart's bargain pricing closed "555 grocery stores, 298 hardware stores, 293 building supply stores, 161 variety stores, 158 women's apparel stores, 153 shoe stores, 116 drug stores,
The all-American superstore has also reached outside of the continental United States, importing goods from China. However, "Wal-Mart is the single largest importer of Chinese goods, buying some $18 billion in merchandise in 2004", which is equivalent to "[...] nearly 10 percent of all Chinese goods sold in the United States" ("Paying"). The large sum of money spent by Wal-Mart is certainly widening the gap of the substantial trade deficit the United States currently has with China. "By supporting foreign-made goods on such a massive scale, the company that trumpets its All-American image is creating incentives for corporations to destroy good jobs in the United States" ("Paying"). If Wal-Mart continues their substantial business with China, their actions could have an adverse affect on the current global economic superiority of the United States over China and the rest of the world.
In today's society, Wal-Mart could not be considered the blood-thirsty corporation they appear to be solely based on their own immoral tactics. According to Stacy Mitchell, a senior researcher at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, "it would be more accurate to view Wal-Mart not as a bad apple, but as the crowning achievement of an economic and political system that has greatly enlarged the power of global corporations and trampled core American values - namely small business, community, local democracy and work" (1). The superstore that has come to define the American dream is merely a reflection of the culture that has created it.
The small southern business that rapidly grew to a monopolistic juggernaut and the image of American consumerism has destroyed the notion that the small business can compete. Although Wal-Mart has not violated any law or abridged the principles of capitalism, they have ransacked small communities, blatantly pushing out their competition by marking their products at or below the actual cost. But Wal-Mart has become purely a manifestation of an indulgent nation searching for the cheapest alternative (including importing millions for foreign-made goods from China) in quick, easily accessible superstores (including corporations as witnessed by several billion dollar mergers over the past several years) for their one-stop shopping needs.
Works Cited
"Economic/Small Business". Wal-Mart Watch, 2007. 14 Mar. 2007. http://walmartwatch.com/battlemart/go/cat/economic_small_business.htm
Mitchell, Stacy. "What to Do About Wal-Mart". 5 Dec. 2005. 7 Mar. 2007.
Sobel, Russell S. and Dean, Andrea M.. "Has Wal-Mart Buried the Mom and Pop? The Impact of Wal-Mart on Self-Employment and Small Establishments in the United States". Morgantown: U of West Virginia Press, N.D.. 1-10.
"Paying the Price at Wal-Mart - Family Business Shut Their Doors When Wal-Mart Comes to Town". AFL-CIO, 2007. 14 Mar. 2007. http://www.afl-cio.org/corporatewatch/walmart/walmart_4.cfm>
Published by Christopher Butler
Christopher Butler is a twenty-something nobody shouting from the Quiet Corner of Connecticut, in the town of Danielson, where a serial killer is our most famous resident. View profile
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