wal-mart

The Wal-Mart apologists like to point to the retailer's prices as an example of saving Americans money, but in reality, Wal-Mart is an emblem of the debt economy in the early 2000's. The company bought cheap Chinese crap and sold it to Americans on credit. It's a disgusting and unfortunate evolution of the American economy.

To make matters worse, Wal-Mart is now laying off 1,000's of employees, most recently in Columbus. Now I know that no retailer is immune from the recession, but the way in which Wal-Mart treats American workers is particularly disturbing. They streamroll local economies, force mom-and-pop out of business, bust unions and then fire workers at their whim.

Wal-Mart is a scourge on small towns and small business across America. If you haven't seen this frightening map yet, Wal-Mart has been invading communities nationwide for decades like a virus. But a new study out of Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business has some advice about how small businesses can cope.

I watched the great movie Wall-E last night. If you haven't seen it yet, fire up your Netflix or jot down a note to hit Blockbuster after work.

If you have seen it, you probably recognized the corporate behemoth of Buy-N-Large. We have a similar, sinister company down here on Earth called Wal-Mart.

In the movie, Buy-N-Large has gotten so gargantuan and out-of-control that it has taken on every aspect of society: It peddles every possible product at its Supercenters, it sells gas, it controls the banks -- and it has even taken on the role of a quasi-government.

This is an off the cuff post that is basically about a book I'm reading now called Big Box Swindle (www.BigBoxSwindle.com) by Stacy Mitchell.

I remember my father telling me three decades ago after returning from a business trip that they were moving textile finishing operations out of the country. He was flabbergasted that they could ship cut cloth off-shore, have it assembled, ship it back and make it cost less than doing all that here. As a Personnel Manager in the textile industry the implications for the people in the mills that he knew personally and cared about worried him. He didn't say that ... but I could see that worry on his face.

Yesterday's New York Times posted a misleading article that uses the relationship between SEIU President Andy Stern and Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott as evidence of a "slowing down" of the Wal-Mart campaigns. (NYT registration required-- it's also re-posted at
HuffPo.)

While we cannot speak for Wal-Mart Watch, everyone should know WakeUpWalMart.com has NO intention of letting Wal-Mart off the hook. None. Zero. Zilch.

Wake Up Walmart has released its first video of 2008. Walmart is a key issue for progressives to focus on- because of their awful health care benefits, North Carolina citizens are estimated to be paying $54,409,985 a year in taxes to cover poor Walmart employees and their families with health care- while Walmart is making huge profits.

In which humor asserts itself at the expense of a holiday.

Great news. Just read on the Wake Up Wal-Mart blog that after a six year battle, the residents of Union County have successfully deflected the attempts by Wal-Mart to build a new supercenter.