If a small town has few jobs and low income, would Walmart be a bad or good thing ? At the moment, people drive 1 hour to the closest Walmart and there are no discount " big box " stores .
2007-07-07 12:37:49 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Help. Wal-Mart provides a lot of jobs. Sure, they're mostly crappy jobs, but it's not like businesses are clamoring to offer high-paying jobs in tiny towns. Also, these people usually aren't very wealthy, and Wal-Mart offers very affordable and varied products. A budget stretches much further at Wal-Mart than at an expensive "home grown" store.
I think it's easy for people who live in big cities who earn high incomes to criticize Wal-Mart, but for individuals who live in smaller towns and who don't have access to a wide variety of shops, Wal-Mart is a great option.
2007-07-07 12:42:50 · answer #1 · answered by TheOrange Evil 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Technically it would be a good thing, because it would bring in consumers from surrounding towns, and provide locals with jobs... given todays "small towns" little to nothing is locally produced. so there is little walmart could takeaway.
plus the people out whos stores closed because of walmart could just buy shares in the company.
also if this small town doesnt allow walmart, then the nexttown over would and this town would loose...
2007-07-07 19:44:05 · answer #2 · answered by iceblendedmochajavo 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Countless small towns have been damaged by the introduction of a Wal-Mart. The first thing Wal-Mart does is target small, locally owned businesses. For example, they will lower prices on sporting goods, making it impossible for the local sports store to compete. If that strategy isn't successful, they will put pressure on suppliers. Once the local store goes under, they raise the prices and target another local business, repeating the process until they have driven out any legitimate competition.
In many cases, once local competitors have been eliminated, they will close all the stores in the region except one, leaving consumers no option but to travel long distances to shop for even basic necessities. This practice also places an enormous burden on municipalities and counties that have invested heavily in the infrastructure required to support the introduction of the store which had been allowed considerable tax concessions. Those stores that do stay place a heavy load on local government services, resulting in a higher tax burden.
As for employment, few new jobs are created in comparison to the loss of jobs from the closure of local businesses. These jobs consistantly result in lower wages and a lower level (if any) of benefits that must be compensated for in increased, publicly funded, services.
It has been estimated that every $100 spent at Wal-Mart results in an approximate $1.20 in additional expendature of public funds (state, county and local) that must be made up in increased taxes and fees.
2007-07-07 20:10:48 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
I recently moved but I lived for 5 years in a small rural town in Oklahoma, Where there was no real discount shopping and not many choices on where you could buy groceries or anything else. I had to drive 30 miles to shop at Wal-Mart but I felt it was worth it. Our town had nothing and the small town grocers in the towns around us was expensive to shop at, I say yes it is a good thing, It gave us a place to buy food at a reasonable prices and created jobs for the local residents.
2007-07-07 19:45:47 · answer #4 · answered by Robin L 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
If people are driving one hour to shop at a walmart now, I would think that it would be a good thing for
a small town to have its own walmart and reap the
benefits of the jobs it would bring, the taxes it would get and the community spirit that walmart
brings.
2007-07-07 19:43:38 · answer #5 · answered by Blessed 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Good and bad!
Having a walmart would help in that the big chain can supply many new jobs for people and can offer lower prices as they buy in mega-bulk. But the chain can also be harmful to a small town as the small mom and pop chains can't compete with the lower prices.
2007-07-07 19:47:23 · answer #6 · answered by TJ 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
depends on what town you are in where the walmart is placed
here in Columbia mo we have 2 new walmart new business's are being built new job opportunity's are open and the town is getting bigger
2007-07-07 19:45:27 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
help our small town is getting one too and we drive 45 min to the other closest one and stupid people are fighting it now for 3 years they should just let them build it
2007-07-07 19:46:24 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
very helpful this a focus of a recent NBC news report.
Amazing how beneficial this store is to a local economy
2007-07-07 19:45:59 · answer #9 · answered by Michael M 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It would help. Look at the number of jobs it would provide.
2007-07-07 19:43:43 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋