Washblog

  My reply - of course there is something that can be done about it.  First take even the idea of shopping at Walmart off your radar screen then you will never have to be worrying about price comparisons and it won't even cross your mind to think you can get a better deal at Walmart than elsewhere.  Second, realize that the cost saved is multiplied by the hundreds and thousands in actual cost in jobs and manufacturing in this country; small business in communities; community infrastructure destroyed; your children and grandchildren and the erosion of their piece of the American dream; and exploitation of working people in another country.

  That is about where he interrupted me with some dismissive comment that would imply I am some sort of alien alone in the world of consumers.  I responded that if Americans would simply stop buying Walmart, it would throw a rather big cog into the works.  And then he really wanted to show the group what an idiot I was with such impossible thinking.  To which I replied, it might be useful to actually listen to another point of view rather than mocking it.

  My mother, living in University Place, next to Fircrest, has been keeping me apprised of the community effort of Fircrest to keep Walmart out.  Yesterday she told me that it was University Place that had a little something to do with the success of Fircrest keeping Walmart out, since University Place would not grant roadway access to the intended site.  

I liked this;

The original entry stated that "Wages at Wal-Mart are about 20% less than at other retail stores," citing the author Greg Palast as the source. The revised entry reads: "The average wage at Wal-Mart is almost double the federal minimum wage," and changes the attribution to Wal-Mart.

Thanks for posting the diary, Sarajane.  I think the saga of Walmart placements is highly relevant in WA state and that not a certain amount of politics is involved community to community.  Shifting from welcoming Walmarts for cheap prices, saving consumers $$ (and I do empathize with hard pressed economy and need to save cents and $$, we also have to work hard at doing exactly that), to the larger and real political costs to consumers, economy and consumers is an important discussion at Washblog - imo.  

On the Surge in Iraq "--we have set the bar so low it's buried in the sand at this point." - Barack Obama