Is Wal-Mart good for America?

H. Humanities

June 1, 2011

Is Wal-Mart Good for America?

Wal-Mart, the multi-billion dollar company, fifth largest trading partner in the world, and largest mass distributor in America today has over 4,721 corporate stores spread within the 3,537,436 sq miles of our country at this very moment. A large yellow smiley face is the symbol for this dominating company along with “Save money. Live better” as the marketing slogan. There is a multitude of reasons why this company has climbed to the top of the extremely competitive industrial ladder, some favorable, and others not so much.

Contrary to accusations made against this globally-known company, there are still facts in support of Wal-Mart. The amount of jobs available will increase along with the opening of these stores. As one could tell from above, there are plenty of stores sitting on American soil, which means that there are also numerous amounts of jobs available growing daily. Those interested in opening a company are given the opportunity to do so by Wal-Mart, which is the reason why the number of jobs goes up so constantly. The employees working inside the industry are given health care and other benefits after two years of working.

One could also argue that these dramatically low prices offered at Wal-Mart serve as a sort of cushioning for the families in suffering from the economic debt. Instead of paying $12.99 for jeans at target, people can go to Wal-Mart and buy the exact same pair for $10.97 (according to cockeyed.com). This $2.02 could be spent on food for the fridge, and who can’t agree with that? Another people pleaser in the Wal-Mart industry is the fact that one can buy these jeans along with a container of Nutella, or a shovel in one trip. This department store sells a wide variety of merchandise all under the same roof, making the three trips necessary in order to buy

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jeans, Nutella and a shovel into one. This reduces the amount of time and gas used, running such errands.

Wal-Mart doesn’t use all of its riches on the staff. The company plans on donating roughly two billion dollars and $1.75 billion worth of food to charity within the next five years. It has been labeled the largest donating company in the U.S.A., according to the Associated Press, since 2006. The industry works with the Salvation Army, Red Cross and other agencies to help support soldiers serving for our country and those in need of money for medical reasons. People who have visited a Wal-Mart store have probably noticed examples of how exactly they get their customers to donate to these causes. During the holidays, people volunteer their time to Wal-Mart by jingling bells next to bright red buckets, which raise money for the Salvation Army. They also supply large cardboard boxes so the customers can donate material items to those who cannot afford to buy Christmas presents. If a customer standing in line at the cash registers were to look up, there’s a good chance that they will see papers hung on a wire showing how much people have donated to a certain cause. The multiple donations may be the most desirable part of Wal-Mart.

Now for the bad news… these stores have many strong affects on their surrounding communities. According to the “Zogby poll”, 56% of Americans believe that this store is bad for their country. There must be a reason why so many have turned to this opinion. First of all, these 1,079 stores push small family-owed stores deeper into the dark economic ditch than they were already suffering from. Many have probably seen examples of this happening near where you live, as it is quite common nowadays. The state of the economy paired with the opening of Wal-Mart stores are too much to handle for many small retail outlets, and they are forced to shut down. The reason why this store dominates over many is for largely one reason: cheap prices. In fact, the incredibly cheap prices are so low, that they violate the federal Robinson-Patman Act

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which limits how low companies can set their prices so this very thing doesn’t happen. Carl E. Person, attorney at law, believes that every day people hoping for good merchandise deals do not realize that paying less for their goods are actually reducing their wages along with business opportunities among other things. Individual communities also suffer from increased welfare costs and hurt tax bases when the stores are introduced nearby.

The store can arguably be bad for the employees as well, take the cash register people for example. Wal-Mart supposedly violates the Taft-Hartley Labor Relations Act by preventing its workers from creating unions. It is said to limit its employees’ natural rights by “Harassing union organizers, discriminating against long-term staff and indoctrinating employees with misleading propaganda.”, said by Andrew Clark in New Yorks’ in The Guardian. The low wages barely above minimum wage keep the employees on edge. They seldom escape the choking grasps of poverty when working here, and according to DRG (Hubpages), “Most employees spend their checks minutes after cashing it right at their job”. The working conditions at Wal-Mart aren’t much of a charmer either, unfortunately. Many are flabbergasted by the health plan offered at this store, covering a mere 45% of its employees. The limited benefit plan is, like stated earlier, activated after two years of service.

The facts are alarming in the least, and my thoughts of working for Wal-Mart as a summer job have been put off. Hopefully, eyes have been opened for at least one person after

reading this much about Wal-Mart. It is a challenge to sort through what is bias, and what is fact as views can be very deceiving. But in the end, Wal-Mart is not good for America. The effects it has on its community and employees are far from right, and sadly the cons blatantly outweigh the pros. Save money, Live better? I don’t think so.

Works Cited

Springer, John. Supermarket News. 3 June, 2011. Wal-Mart.com. Web. 5 June, 2011.

Preston, Caroline. Philanthropy. 12 May, 2010. The Chronicle of Philanthropy. 5 June, 2011.

Person, Carl. Lawmall. Posted date unknown. Carl E. Person. 5 June, 2011

DRG Da Real Grinc. Hubpages. April, 2010. Lee Scott. 5 June, 2011.

Kirklin, Paul. Mises Daily. Wednesday 28 June, 2006. Ludwig Van Mises Institute. 5 June, 2011.

Wikipedia. 1 June, 2011. Wal-Mart corporate site. 5 June, 2011.