A few of the complaints that interested me the most are as follows and below each quote I've added my thoughts on each issue.
"If Wal-Mart moves in then it kills off the little guy."
-Sure, if a new company moves into town then it does make for more competition. In competition someone does loose, but why take aim at the winner? Don't forget, Wal-Mart started out as the little guy.
"Wal-Mart doesn't pay their employees enough to live on."
-If your job isn't paying enough for you to survive on then ask for a raise or find a different job. The documentary even shows that Wal-Mart offers the standard pay rate that any other retail store would offer.
"Wal-Mart is killing the American economy by selling product made from foreign factories by people who are basically treated like slaves."
-Tell me what major company that's in business that doesn't sell foreign made products? As for the workers in the factories, the documentary shows that Wal-Mart is pushing and expecting better working environments for those employees. And don't forget that those factories are not owned by Wal-Mart. They are owned by those that sell merchandise to Wal-Mart. It should be the governments of those countries that should do a better job of enforcing the labor laws. Yet, Wal-Mart is using some of its major power to work toward reform in that matter. Should it be done faster or better? Whose to say, but at least they are doing something about it.
"Employees wanting Wal-Mart to unionize."
-This is very interesting because an amount of Wal-Mart employees are wanting to bring the union in for better pay and benefits. I guess the union is good and does work for the people, but what if Wal-Mart then decides to just move all of its stores out of the United States? Where would our economy be then? The documentary shows that Wal-Mart is now thriving world wide and at some point will have more stores in China then they do here in the states. If Wal-Mart left the USA because of the union then would those mom and pop stores be able to provide enough income and benefits for a family to survive?
All in all I thought the program was very interesting and worth my time. I've realized that Wal-Mart can and is a hot topic with a lot of people. The worlds largest retailer is providing jobs for about 250 people per store if I remember correctly. Wal-Mart has over 4,000 stores nationwide; that's a lot of jobs. Like it or not, Wal-Mart is a major force in our economy. I don't or have ever worked for Wal-Mart, but I do know people that have or do. It's basically like anything else, some like it while others don't. My family does and will continue to shop there, after all it's a one stop shopping trip. We need stuff, they provide it and at usually a low price. It's simple supply and demand.
In Christ Alone,
Mr. V.
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