Recommended reading: The article on Walmart in this month's Harper's Magazine. We already knew that Walmart pushes local businesses out and has a horrible record on employee relations, but I was not aware that they now control such a large part of the economy, and make up such a large part of most corporations' revenue, that they now actually control those business, from Coca Cola to Gillette. If those suppliers don't agree to price points and terms that Walmart sets, they are basically destroyed through some vicious business moves on the part of Walmart. And if they do agree (and they all agree, since Walmart represents a large portion of their profit base), the only way they can absorb the loss is to lay off their workers. Look at it like the mafia on a grand scale: Big Wally will "protect" you as long as you give him the payoff he's asking for, and if you don't, well, there's just no saying what'll happen to yous' bidness and family. So now the job market is affected not just for Walmart employees, but for ALL the companies that supply Walmart (which is most of our economy). As Walmart gains a larger and larger percentage of economic control in the country, then, wages will drop lower and lower, and they will have a monopoly on all markets, from soap to potato chips. Very scary. Seriously. I know it's a vague, ungraspable concept at the moment, but the article illustrates that it is very real, and already in motion. So please, DO NOT SHOP AT WALMART. Ever. Period. It's selling your soul to the devil and short-sighted, since the dollar saved now will be a very very expensive lesson down the road. I think the only thing that can stop it is the consumer, since this administration has turned a blind eye, even though Walmart has already well surpassed percentages of market control where anti-monopoly laws for government intervention are supposed to kick in (that's how serious this is for the economy- they have laws that recognize the danger).

 

What did you think of this article?

Liked
Disliked
No Opinion