They seem to spring up everywhere like dandelions in an unkempt garden. Seemingly endless isles of designer clothing, toys, Rubbermaid containers that come in three different color schemes, fifteen models of universal remotes, wall mounted basketball polishers, and of course…the ever popular, fully automated, electronic garbage bin with fake chrome finishing. In some of the higher end outlets, one might find machines that pick out ceiling fan models based on one’s cholesterol level and necktie patterns.
Retail America isn’t just coming to a town near you. It’s coming to your town as well as every other town within a seventy mile radius of your home. Last year, several miles in one direction from my home, a Wal-Mart popped up in our town. About four to five miles just past the town line on the same road lies another Wal-Mart identical to ours. Hmm? That’s odd. I suppose all towns need to be stocked with Wal-Marts like hotel rooms with there complementary soaps and hand lotions. It doesn’t end there however. Several miles in the other direction from my home lies another superstore giant known as K-Mart. About a mile down the same road in the next town lies? No not a Howard Johnson’s you fool! Yet another lovely Wal-Mart. Now from what I’ve been saying you probably think it’s obvious that I detest Wal-Marts and giant superstores. My fellow bloggers; you judge far too brusquely to be accurate. Superstores are wonderful conveniences that make life a tad easier. It is just when they are within such a proximity to one another, it does get a bit annoying. I really don’t think ordinary people would be horribly disgruntled if there were a few less "buy everything under the sun here including your next husband or wife" superstores. The land could set aside for more useful purposes such as a public park, a student recreational center, or perhaps another library. While they do that, they can let some of the small to medium-sized businesses continue existing.
The money spent to build a Wal-Mart could be used for more helpful purposes. Whose stopping them from donating the money back into towns or to schools to keep facilities updated and efficient. There’s always charity as well. The moral of this blog is that moderation in retail construction is an important factor in life. After all, we have no intention of living in a Wal-Mart…even if it does stand on the property where your home once stood.
Wal-Mart really has become a one stop shop for everything. I've even written a blog about how people will be able to got to Wal-Mart for health care:
http://www.progressiveu.org/123822-go-see-your-doctor-wal-mart
You have a good point. I don't particulary like having so many superstores, but superstores like Wal-mart bring a lot of jobs to people that really need them. Even if they aren't high-paying jobs, they could be saving someone's kids from hunger.
Don't get me wrong though. I'm an avid reader and I enjoy the outdoors. I think libraries and parks are wonderful. I'm just giving an example of a way communities might benefit from these stores.
This superstore may provide jobs for people, but so do locally owned stores. Wal-Mart is screwy and deceiving because it advertises itself as concerned about the community, but the truth of the matter is, it sucks all the money from a small town and puts it into its large monopoly. Communities benefit most from having stores own by people within the community who can keep the economy healthy by localizing the income and output. When you buy from Wal-Mart, the people who work there benefit very little, and community benefits even less. With money leaving the community and very little coming in, eventually the communities begin to lose their once self-sustainability and rely too heavily on monopolies such as Wal-Mart.
How can we avoid this??
Buy as much locally farmed food products as possible.
Since many big businesses are monopolies and community money suckers, try to get involved with a co-op. REI has a great co-op plan, and they use a lot of energy-efficient methods, and they have a great history of giving back to local communities. This is big-business success. If you live in a downtown area, there are usually farmer's markets and co-op grocery stores somewhere nearby.
Don't be fooled by Wal-Mart's smiley face!!!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/kariskoett
"All things appear and disappear because of the concurrence of causes and conditions. Nothing ever exists entirely alone; everything is in relation to everything else."
-Buddha
Wal-Marts do create jobs. That can't be argued. What can however, is how beneficial these jobs are to the town in which the Wal-Mart is situated. All these jobs...who takes them? The majority of the positions are filled by people from other towns. (Usually towns that are less wealthy than the one the Wal-Mart is located.) This really isn't beneficial to the micro-economy of the town itself. If anything it reduces the personal revenue of individuals who are in need of jobs in the town. Superstores also force smaller businesses to close which in turn reduces the number of available jobs.
:) you couldn't have put your point across better