"Wal-Mart Backs Main Street"

[One Sweet World]

Al Norman has a great column tearing apart Walmart for issuing a press release titled, "Wal-Mart Backs Main Street." Some Walmart PR hack must have thought, "'Main Street' is a great buzz word right now for suffering communities; let's say we support them."

The only problem is that Main Street is suffering BECAUSE of Walmart. Sure, the Bentonville behemoth might be saving consumers a couple of bucks on some Chinese-made plastic toy that is destined to break.

But, let's take a look at the high cost of those low prices.

Walmart has increasingly discarded American manufacturers in favor of shady Chinese companies who pollute at will and treat their employees like dogs. We're actually at the point where 70% of Walmart's goods are produced in communist China.

As Norman notes, "Many Wal-Mart shoppers are working less, thanks, in part, to Wal-Mart's lack of appetite for American products, and a relentless pursuit of cheap labor in Third World sweatshops."

Armed with its inventory of cheap goods, Walmart then steamrolls local communities and drowns out local economies – leaving Main Streets looking like ghost towns.

Walmart stock then soars as the American economy collapses. The Walton family basks in their billions and sits comfortably in their perch of Forbes' top ten richest Americans while Main Street feels the crunch and pressure of the Walmart economy.

I'm doing some work with WakeUpWalmart.com this holiday season so please excuse me if I'm being overly passionate on this issue. But if you want to seize the momentum we have in the progressive community right now, I urge you to join us and to save Main Street.

[onehandle]

1. "Wal-Mart Backs China and Destroys Main Street" nt

[Sherman A1]

2. Always enjoy some humor

Walmart Backs MainStreet :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

[Art_from_Ark]

5. I think they actually donated some money to dress up "Main Street"

(actually, "Walnut Street") in the town of their birth, Rogers, Arkansas. But, unlike 40+ years ago, when Walnut/Main Street had shops that sold virtually every kind of daily good and Wal-Mart was still a mom-and-pop operation, today's Walnut/Main Street is just a shadow of its former self, with mostly specialty shops that are quick to suffer from any downturn in the economy.

[Ezlivin]

3. "Backs Main Street" is right if you mean Wal-Mart is behind a decayed Main Street

My sister likes to shop at Wal-Mart because "it saves her money."

I asked her if she'd actually done comparison shopping to see if that was true.

After an uncomfortable pause she replied, "No...."

I've read that many items at Wal-Mart are actually more expensive than at other stores, but that people don't notice this because they only focus on the few items that are cheaper.

[One Sweet World]

6. Yes! Join WakeUpWalmart.com

If you're looking for a way to make a difference now that the election is over and the holiday season is approaching, I do some work with WakeUpWalmart.com and find it very rewarding.

[Andy823]

4. It's not just Walmart though.

No matter where I shop it's pretty much the same, nothing they sell seems to be made in the U.S. anymore. JC Penney, Target, Shopko, K-Mart, Sears, etc. all are importing the merchandise from overseas. When all the major companies go overseas in order to make "larger" profits by using "cheap" labor, then no matter what store buys the products they are all from the same sources! Sure Walmart is the biggest, but no matter where you shop, you are still supporting other countries and not the U.S. workers.

[Joanne98]

7. Main Street. In which country? Not this one for sure!