It’s our fault–it’s that simple
Posted on June 9, 2006 - Filed Under Uncategorized
Many people in our lives wonder why Erin and I refuse to shop at Wal-Mart or Sam’s Club. There are many reasons; so many, in fact, that I won’t bore you with the list here. What I will do, however, is refer you to a DVD we just watched. Is Wal-Mart Good For America? is an episode of the PBS program Frontline which has been distributed on DVD. I am deadly serious when I say this: If you are concerned for the future of this country, if you give a damn about where we are headed, if you value your standard of living, if you want your children and grandchildren to enjoy their lives as members of a free and democratic society, you WILL find a way to watch this video. It’s only an hour long and not difficult to watch. If you are indeed interested and cannot get your hands on it, let me know and I will ensure you do.
While I won’t go into it in length, I do want to tell you what the basic problem is. Wal-Mart grew to the size it is today by responding the American desire for goods at the lowest possible price. You may ask, what is wrong with that? The problem can be explained using a dramatic metaphor: In America, we are our own gods, consumption is our worship, and (Wal-Mart) stores are the alter. Knowing this and being driven by profit above all else, Wal-Mart strove to find the cheapest way of meeting the demand. This came in the form of overseas production. American companies cannot compete, mostly because we don’t know how to live simply and not demand high wages and a wealth of benefits. So, the natural process took over and American companies began going out of business. Not only does this hurt us individually, it has also backed us into a corner internationally in the form of a huge trade deficit with China, a nation that is quickly becoming a major international power, both economically and militarily.
What it comes down is this: In order to make a dollar (actually, more dollars than any company has ever made), Wal-Mart gets its inventory mostly from China, thereby weakening our country and strengthening the other. By supporting Wal-Mart, we are contributors to this process. I just hope we’re all mature enough to accept responsibility for the eventual outcome, however dreadful it might be.
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3 Responses to “It’s our fault–it’s that simple”
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It is so true that Walmart will take over our country. Peaple certainly know the that the company uses poor wages to make the goods cheap. Shoppers do not have the willpower to boycott or shop at mom and pop stores that were the backbone of the country.
We will now have a Huge Walmart Superstor 6 miles from us. Much bigger than the Palm Coast or Ormond Beach superstore. Aren`t we lucky.
wow i did not realize this i would like to see the dvd where can i find it what happened to the good old days of the five and ten cents store asa was given a gift card from work for a safety award we will use it up today but i think i will start going somewhere else now thank you for waking me up to this walmart is certainly a monopoly but how are we going to stop it
I will get you a copy; apparently, Wal-Mart has been successful in persuading Blockbuster to not carry it. As far as stopping it, it will require a revolution, a revolution in the minds of Americans. That revolution will have to consist of people 1. really evaluating whether they need this new thing they’re thinking of buying…I might not even need the item or I could find it used somewhere (http://www.freecycle.org/ is a great resource in trying to do this) and 2. deciding they will buy the things they really do need from a store with some ethical standards.