Quote:
Originally Posted by BarbaraGordon
Right, this is exactly what I was wondering. I've noticed in the past that Wal-Mart is almost like a old-time company store. They set the standard for low wages in the area, then people go pick up their walmart paychecks, have no choice but to line up at wal-mart to buy all their stuff for the week, load it up on their Wal-mart credit card with their 5% employee discount, and support the very institution that's in part keeping them impoverished with substandard wages.
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I live in an town that has a large outlying area that is pretty rural and our super Walmart draws every single lower class country person of every race for miles and miles and miles. The vast majority of them don't work there. I think there is little question for them that cheaper groceries and other items are a net plus in their lives. My wife and I were snobby at first about shopping there until we were forced to one day and realized how much less expensive groceries are there (a lot less) and now that is where we go too.
I think it depends on where it is located. I can see how in a city or even a nice suburb those jobs are not very good. But in a small town with a lot of unskilled uneducated labor, that is actually a pretty good job for a lot of people. No question Walmart is a net plus in my small town, not least of all for the tax revenue it provides. Certainly it has hurt a few small store owners who it has put out of business.