Tuesday, May 18, 2004
BIG BAD WAL-MART
I was really interested in the story in the Post and Courier that announced a possible new Wal-Mart superstore in Mount Pleasant. Again, journalists are mostly lazy and there are some corrections to make in the story (more on that below), but what caught my attention is an issue that I see developing among liberals. They used to be for the small-guy...
I believe a lot of the opposition to Wal-Mart is coming from a basic snobbery...the elitists among us (liberals) don't like you low-class family types with your sticky-faced kids and sweatpants invading their neighborhoods. They like the small eclectic little mom and pop places that force you to pay premium prices. Especially here in Charleston with our wonderful restaurants and fine dining...I would venture a guess that a lot of these same people wouldn't be caught dead in a supermarket, much less to purchase groceries...they have no need to. It might explain why local convenience stores stock small and extremely pricey dry goods you might need in a pinch.
As pointed out in a bunch of recent stories on the success of Wal-Mart, here are some collected facts about the "cavernous" stores that inspire such detest:
* Wal-Mart is the number 1 private employer in the United States, employing nearly 1.4-million workers. Government is #1 overall.
* Starting wages for Wal-Mart employees are higher than the federal minimum wage and higher than most state minimum wages.
* 2/3rds of Wal-Mart executives come from the ranks of hourly employees.
* Wal-Mart is the #1 seller in three major categories: furniture, groceries, and toys.
* More than 90-percent of employees have health insurance benefits.
* Wal-Mart faced more than 6,000 lawsuits in 2002 (I consider that good news because it must mean they're doing something liberals don't like)
Ever notice how concerned these liberal Saks-5th Avenue types always seem to have this great concern about the people working there, the mom and pops who have to close shop because of competition, the 'urban sprawl' they create, and a host of other weird opposition complaints...NEVER seem to mention the people who SHOP there? I wonder if it could be because they themselves go there too...and don't like admitting they get a darn good deal on darn good products. What's more American than that?
Now, to a few items in the Post and Courier story:
"...Last month, voters in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles, voted down a Wal-Mart Supercenter..."
If the journalist would have done his/her homework, they would have found this not to be true. They voted down a proposal to allow Wal-Mart to bypass the usual red tape involving the environmental and planning/zoning commission in Inglewood...they did not vote down the store. Few people do as evidenced by the number of people who shop there (and buy their stock).
The other problem I had with the story is the claim that, "...Wal-Mart, running into grass-roots opposition across the country in its quest to build supercenters, is experiencing the same resistance to plans for one of its giant-sized stores in Mount Pleasant..."
I read the whole story and darned if I could find anyone who I would consider to be 'grass roots' identified in the story. I see the Mayor, Harry Hallman...I see a college professor of career services...I see a member of the planning committee...BUT no one else.
Definition, Grassroots: People or society at a local level rather than at the center of major political activity. Population groups that are difficult to reach. Referring to activities or organizations started by average citizens at the community level.
Nope...none of them in this story...count them instead among the elite who just can't stand progress.
I was really interested in the story in the Post and Courier that announced a possible new Wal-Mart superstore in Mount Pleasant. Again, journalists are mostly lazy and there are some corrections to make in the story (more on that below), but what caught my attention is an issue that I see developing among liberals. They used to be for the small-guy...
I believe a lot of the opposition to Wal-Mart is coming from a basic snobbery...the elitists among us (liberals) don't like you low-class family types with your sticky-faced kids and sweatpants invading their neighborhoods. They like the small eclectic little mom and pop places that force you to pay premium prices. Especially here in Charleston with our wonderful restaurants and fine dining...I would venture a guess that a lot of these same people wouldn't be caught dead in a supermarket, much less to purchase groceries...they have no need to. It might explain why local convenience stores stock small and extremely pricey dry goods you might need in a pinch.
As pointed out in a bunch of recent stories on the success of Wal-Mart, here are some collected facts about the "cavernous" stores that inspire such detest:
* Wal-Mart is the number 1 private employer in the United States, employing nearly 1.4-million workers. Government is #1 overall.
* Starting wages for Wal-Mart employees are higher than the federal minimum wage and higher than most state minimum wages.
* 2/3rds of Wal-Mart executives come from the ranks of hourly employees.
* Wal-Mart is the #1 seller in three major categories: furniture, groceries, and toys.
* More than 90-percent of employees have health insurance benefits.
* Wal-Mart faced more than 6,000 lawsuits in 2002 (I consider that good news because it must mean they're doing something liberals don't like)
Ever notice how concerned these liberal Saks-5th Avenue types always seem to have this great concern about the people working there, the mom and pops who have to close shop because of competition, the 'urban sprawl' they create, and a host of other weird opposition complaints...NEVER seem to mention the people who SHOP there? I wonder if it could be because they themselves go there too...and don't like admitting they get a darn good deal on darn good products. What's more American than that?
Now, to a few items in the Post and Courier story:
"...Last month, voters in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles, voted down a Wal-Mart Supercenter..."
If the journalist would have done his/her homework, they would have found this not to be true. They voted down a proposal to allow Wal-Mart to bypass the usual red tape involving the environmental and planning/zoning commission in Inglewood...they did not vote down the store. Few people do as evidenced by the number of people who shop there (and buy their stock).
The other problem I had with the story is the claim that, "...Wal-Mart, running into grass-roots opposition across the country in its quest to build supercenters, is experiencing the same resistance to plans for one of its giant-sized stores in Mount Pleasant..."
I read the whole story and darned if I could find anyone who I would consider to be 'grass roots' identified in the story. I see the Mayor, Harry Hallman...I see a college professor of career services...I see a member of the planning committee...BUT no one else.
Definition, Grassroots: People or society at a local level rather than at the center of major political activity. Population groups that are difficult to reach. Referring to activities or organizations started by average citizens at the community level.
Nope...none of them in this story...count them instead among the elite who just can't stand progress.
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