In Defense of WalMart - Well, to a Degree

I have many friends who won't shop at a WalMart.  Their reasons are two-fold.  On the one hand my more liberal friends who can afford a conscience in matters such as these would contend that WalMart is a bloated corporate entity that hurts mom and pop businesses, pays sub-living wages, and tries to bust unions.  My wealthier and more conservative friends just don't like shopping with the riff raff.  WalMart to them is a place where the poor people shop and it's below their station.

I get both sides.  I don't like the union busting and, as broke as I am, I feel even poorer when shopping at WalMart.

But let me just touch on some issues.  For me, being broke most of the time, WalMart is a savior.  I could go to one of the other grocery stores in my area:  Winn Dixie, Publix, Piggly Wiggly.  I could save money if I were to buy something at one of these stores when there was a good sale going on.  But groceries at WalMart are almost always cheaper.  How they get there is of little consequence when it's saving me money.  And over the past several years the Great Value branded food items have gotten really good.  They are almost always equal to whatever brand name they are trying to duplicate.

In short, I would guess that over the course of a year I literally save hundreds of dollars by shopping for my groceries there.  Ditto on other items like my awesome 100% cotton Misfits t-shirt.

I was just denied a job at WalMart due to a very old felony conviction.   That hurt.  I would be a stellar employee for the company and would stand out enough to be in a management position in no time.  The argument that WalMart doesn't pay a living wage and kills mom and pop shops needs to be addressed though.  I don't know how many mom and pop shops have been driven out of business by WalMart.  But I have given thought to it and I am trying to imagine what those stores would have looked like.

WalMart sells just about everything from hunting and fishing supplies, clothes, batteries which I just realized I forgot to buy at WalMart earlier, there's a pharmacy, vision center, cell phone store, electronics, well you know what all they have.  Perhaps some mom and pop pharmacies may have gone out of business but I wouldn't blame that on WalMart.  I could stand in the WalMart parking lot and spit on a CVS, Rite-Aid, and Wallgreens.

Everything that was in Foley, Alabama prior to the opening of the WalMart super center is still there.  The old Rexall's drug store with soda fountain still intact, still there.  There are new businesses.  Across the street from the WalMart automotive center there is now an O'Reilly's, a Pep Boys, and two quicky lube places within one block.  There's a huge Ace Hardware and down the street a Lowe's and a Home Depot.

In fact the only things that disappeared are the Movie Gallery and the Blockbuster and there are Red Boxes everywhere you look.  Both of those movie rental businesses employed maybe twenty people.  There's probably one guy who maintains all the Red Boxes.

To all appearances the WalMart super center has caused businesses to spring up around it.  Businesses that hire people and provide services.  But the big question is regarding all of the people employed at that WalMart.  I don't have a number but I would guess it's in the 300+ range?  If that store wasn't there where would these people be working?  Foley is an economically depressed area.  I honestly can't think of an answer to that question.  If the WalMart wasn't there I would guess that at least 75% of those employees wouldn't have jobs.

Let's face it, if you've been to a WalMart you know what kind of employees we're talking about.  You can try but it's hard to imagine some of these people being able to work anywhere else.  I'm not trying to make a joke.  I mean a good percentage of these people really aren't qualified to do anything.

Before the felony thing caught up with me the job I was being offered would pay $8.80 an hour.  That's $1.55 over the minimum wage.  The last mom and pop restaurant job I had paid $9.00 an hour with no option for any benefits whatsoever.  After working for a period at WalMart you are eligible for health care benefits.  Advancement at mom and pop stores is usually limited because management is mom or pop or family.  The guy who interviewed me at WalMart had been there for three years.  He got his start unloading trucks.  Now he is the manager of the lawn and garden center and makes $40,000 a year.

That kind of salary in Foley is unheard of.  The possibility of advancing to that kind of salary in a mom and pop business is maybe impossible.  Mom and pop may not even be pulling in $40,000 a year running their own business.

Another argument against WalMart is the made in USA vs. made in China thing.  Yes, WalMart is full of made in China items.  They do make an effort to carry items made in this country but obviously, if you want to help people save money it's hard.  If you want a profit margin it's hard.

It is lost in the argument that mom and pop retailers these days also carry mostly made in China items.  It's the nature of globalization.  But there are still many businesses that carry higher end, made in USA items and do well.  For example, in Foley where hunting and fishing are a big deal, there are several stores that carry more expensive gear that WalMart doesn't carry.  There are expensive clothing stores and sunglasses and jewelry stores.  Most are franchises but they are frequently owned by mom and pop types.  The businesses that don't seem to make it are the ubiquitous ladies' consignment shops that every housewife with money seems determined to open.

A lot has been made this week since a story has emerged about a WalMart in Canton, Ohio that had some bins in the back of the store where employees could make donations of canned goods to other employees who could use the help.  I just honestly say so what?  Maybe the employees need help because they had a spouse who got laid off?  Maybe there was a storm that affected a lot of employees?  Whatever the case, those employees in need, where would they have been working if not for WalMart?  Well odds are at another job paying the same wages and offering the same hours.  We're not talking about skilled workers here.

So I guess my point is that the arguments against WalMart kind of turn to dust when held up to the light.  If I had the money I would most likely do my grocery shopping at Publix.  It's so clean and organized.  The carts literally feel like they're levitating as you push them down the gleaming aisles.  The courteous check out people offer to carry your groceries out to your car for you.  It's literally like grocery heaven.

Maybe someday.  But for now I'm too poor to be politically conscious enough to pay more for groceries.  There's a larger argument to be made here regarding raising the minimum wage but this isn't the space for that.  In my world it seems like WalMart is only a positive.