The War Against Wal-Mart - It's On

Opponents question the long-term impact of a Wal-Mart store. They quote numerous studies that claim to prove its deleterious effect. A report by the University of Illinois suggests the store on Chicago's west side would create 200 local jobs but lead to the loss of 265 jobs as smaller shops were forced to close. "Any city that allows a Wal-Mart in under the guise of creating jobs and economic development should be wary," says Nik Theodore, director at the university's centre for urban economic development. "A new store doesn't add new jobs - it is redistributing consumer spend and jobs from other local retailers." A recent report from the University of California claimed that the company's employees in the state received an annual $86m in public assistance including public health insurance and subsidised housing because they earned so little. "We keep telling people, 'You are getting cheap product but you are having to subsidise this enormously profitable company in other ways," says James Thindwa at Jobs for Justice in Chicago, a nationwide organisation that campaigns for workers rights. "There is a disconnect in people's minds." [more ]