Wal-Mart: Oppressing The Poor or Liberating Them?

This is another post I've had on the back burner.

But going into the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping craziness, now seems like a good time to discuss this.

Wal-Mart gets constant criticism for underpaying their workers, and killing the small businessman.

But is that true?















If a small, let's say, electronics business operates just down the street, yeah, they're probably sunk.

They better figure out a way to find a niche, i.e. better service, home installation, whatever, there are ways to survive.

But let me ask you, how much do you think that electronics store employee would be making?

Not much or any more than a Wal-Mart employee, and he would never have access to any kind of health-care, discounted or otherwise.

This was a pretty good article on the subject.

Wal-Mart: Greedy Villain or a Shopper's Best Friend?

Wal-Mart is the biggest employer of American workers, but some say they are oppressed workers.

Robert Greenwald's new documentary, "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," depicts the retail giant as a greedy beast grabbing everything in its path.

I know nothing of Greenwald's documentary, but I bet it leaves this out...

Wal-Mart Boosts American Wages?

Brink Lindsey, an economist with the Libertarian Cato Institute, said consumers may be saving as much as $100 billion a year because of Wal-Mart's success in keeping its prices low.

"This translates really into a wage increase that Wal-Mart is offering to all Americans that shop there," said Lindsey.

"Would it be nice if Wal-Mart workers all made $100,000 a year? Sure. It would also be nice if the rivers were filled with lemonade and every kid had a puppy dog and a lollipop," said Lindsey. "In reality, we have trade-offs … It's easy for people who have plenty to say 'oh, I'd be willing to pay a few cents more,' but for people who are struggling to make ends meet, Wal-Mart is their best friend."

Please, sit back, absorb that fact.

Wal-Mart makes American's wages go farther, to the tune of $100 b-b-b-billion, per year!

I for one don't shop at Wal-Mart, not because I don't like them, but because there is a Target so much closer to my house. I make a pretty good living, and the extra time it would take me to drive to the nearest Wal-Mart would cost me more in time than I would save by going to Wal-Mart.

I am single, with no kids..But, if I wasn't, and I could save $15-$20 a week by buying my essensials there, that could mean one extra meal on my families table each week. That would make me reconsider!

Wal-Mart is not the enemy.

Just ask this Wal-Mart employee...

Take Sha-ron Reese. Before she was hired at Wal-Mart she was on welfare, had lost custody of her kids and was living out of her car.

She had no references, work experience or employment history.

"I was raw," said Reese.

Today she has two people working for her. She has regained custody of two of her kids, and has her own apartment .

"I've actually furnished it with Wal-Mart," said Reese.

If that is oppression, so be it.