“They’re like locusts. They’re moving from planet to planet, their whole civilization. After they’ve consumed every natural resource they move on.””And we’re next.”When President Whitmore’s (Bill Pullman) mind is ensnared by the alien kept hostage at Area 51 in the movie “Independence Day,” he is informed of the alien plot to take over and destroy the planet.The movement he describes above could just as easily be applied to Wal-Mart.On the one hand, Wal-Mart provides the lowest prices on so many goods to the point of giving customers a one-stop shopping experience, with everything they need from bullets and rifles to frozen turkeys.On other hand, Wal-Mart sucks the life out of local communities. People routinely avoid their local small business in favor of the conglomerate’s low prices.It’s bad enough only half of Wal-Mart’s employees have health insurance, let alone earn enough wages to support a two-person family.It’s bad enough Wal-Mart is routinely investigated for, among other things, violating child labor laws, prohibiting the organization of unions and locations so close to national monuments you’d think they were their own emblem of the history and culture of an area.But where else is one to go for affordable boxer briefs?The largest private employer in the world was founded in 1962 by Sam Walton, who originally opened his store under the moniker “Walton’s Five and Dime.” He achieved early success by slowing his rate of price markup, routinely offering lower prices on goods and services than his neighborhood counterparts.As Wal-Mart’s business model became overwhemingly profitable, so spread the building of Supercenters nationwide and around the world. In 2006, The Wall Street Journal estimated Wal-Mart attracts more than 100 million customers a week in the U.S.Nearly a third of the U.S. population shops at Wal-Mart each week.Criticism of Wal-Mart is not in short supply. In fact, the phrase “Criticism of Wal-Mart” has its own separate page on Wikipedia. Also, no shortage of documentaries, books and exposés exist on the subject.PBS created its own debate about Wal-Mart in the 2007 documentary “Store Wars: When Wal-Mart Comes to Town,” in which they expose the retailer’s employee wage shortfalls. In the U.S., only the Federal government employs more people, yet the majority of Wal-Mart employees with children live under the poverty line.
Wal-Mart has been sued repeatedly for “predatory pricing,” or intentionally selling their products at lower costs to drive competitors out of the market. A lawsuit in Arkansas, centering on Wal-Mart’s use of “loss leaders” — when a company encourages business by selling products at lower cost than their value — was settled by the Arkansas Supreme Court, who ruled in favor of the retailer, denying claims of predatory pricing.Similar lawsuits in Oklahoma and Wisconsin were settled out of court, with no admission of wrongdoing by Wal-Mart.During 2008, as many companies experienced lethal layoffs and abysmal losses, Wal-Mart was — for the time being — one of the few profitable companies in the world.Fast forward to Jan. 7, when evidence of Wal-Mart’s influence on the entire world market inspired the Associated Press’s headline, “World stocks tumble on Wal-Mart’s profit warning.”Wal-Mart slashed its fourth quarter earnings estimates after December sales rose only 1.7 per cent after fuel costs, much worse than forecasters initially predicted.With the economy as bad as it is, many people last year turned to Wal-Mart for all of their low cost needs. Inside their halls, customers were treated to disingenuous signs like “Buy American.”Considering Wal-Mart imports more than 80 percent of its goods from overseas — many produced in third-world sweatshops — it forces one to call shenanigans.But the biggest problem with Wal-Mart isn’t the lawsuits, the allegations or even the price control.Its biggest problem is guilt.Even the most avid anti-Wal-Mart activists have to make signs and banners for their protests to continue the cause. Unfortunately, Wal-Mart provides the cheapest prices for markers, wood, paper and plastic.Where do you think protestors go to purchase their anti-corporate materials? The place with the cheapest price, affording them more signs.It’s tough to know the allegations against Wal-Mart and still utilize their low prices, contradicting everything they stand for. The feeling of shame associated with saving money regardless of moral and ethical dilemmas can drive people to the brink of insanity.Instead, a solution to this problem was afforded by our reliable President Whitmore, saving us the time and energy of lobbying and protesting the corporate behemoth.”Nuke ‘em. Let’s nuke the bastards.”It didn’t work in the movie, but I can’t think of an alternative.—-