Walmart - the Corporate Enemy

Wal-Mart – The Corporate Enemy

During the last 20 years, Wal-Mart has moved into many areas wiping out all the stores around causing people to loose jobs, slashing the tax base and causing many more disturbing problems to neighborhoods so people should stop supporting Wal-Mart for many of these reasons. Always low prices, does this sound familiar? Well this would be the slogan of the world’s most controlling company; Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart grew over the years into a 256 billion dollar company after making its name across the world in 1915. The major problem with Wal-Mart is that it maintains its own mini-economy. Some people believe Wal-Mart supports the American economy while most others hold that Wal-Mart’s global outsourcing will and has damaged the economy over time. When comparing these two opposite points, Wal-Mart has and is continuing to be more destructive than constructive to our economy. It has left employees with little to even no healthcare at all, destroyed more jobs then it has even created and it has also dishonored our environment. The second most common job, cashiers, are suppose to earn just about $7.92 per hour and work 29 hours a week which was said in a 2003 analysis. This only brings in yearly wages of only $11,948 (Wal-Mart Wages and Worker Rights 1). It is incredible that their employees can support themselves with making such low wages."With its low price focus, Wal-Mart may appear to help the U.S. economy. But, the reality is that with its poor wages and benefits, massive China sourcing and tax avoidance, Wal-Mart makes its workers and the communities where it operates poorer."-David Nassar.

Wal-Mart including around 3,400 stores has made some job opportunities but think of all the jobs lost because of putting out small local owned businesses and factory jobs out of business due to Wal-Mart’s low production demands. Wal-Mart’s variety of over 120,000 items, size and convenience makes it a severe competitor to any business. It’s unbeatable low prices are so unbearable even the social status of many cities or towns don’t matter and can’t even compete with Wal-Mart therefore they are forced to be terminated. This may be an example of “survival of the fittest” but this process is hurting the economy majorly and there needs to be something done about this.

Most of Wal-Mart’s suppliers are from China and that means less American made products and more foreign products going around. This lack of American production is what causes American factories to shut down, leaving the employees without jobs. Even if these employees decided to work with Wal-Mart, they would make around half of their normal salary with no health care or the job security benefits that have been the normal in factory work. “Wal-Mart wants high turnover, so people won't become attached to the company, and make demands on it."-Glen Ford.

"I worked at Wal-Mart for a few months when I was in college. You never hear about the brainwashing session you go through when you start working there - literally hours and hours of presentations and videotapes bashing messages like �unions are BAD’ into your brain. I felt like Alex in �A Clockwork Orange’ - doors are locked, get ready for the quiz. If I didn’t need the money at the time I would have quit on the spot.” –LizzyBeth. Most of Wal-Mart jobs have little or no health benefits at all. Therefore, Wal-Mart encourages its employees to find public help for their health care. For example, over the past two years, 13 states have disclosed employers that are main users of state provided health insurance programs which are targeted to low-income families. In all 13 states, Wal-Mart was found to be at the top of the list. At least 55,000 Wal-Mart employees, children, and spouses are supported by state health insurance programs which was combined results by all 13 states. Between these 13 states there are a total of 480,000 Wal-Mart employees. This means that on average for every nine Wal-Mart employees at least one Wal-Mart family member is receiving state provided health care. Wal-Mart’s carelessness to provide their employees with enough health insurance has led to an increasing trouble on health care programs across the United States, but it has also cost American’s more money. It was estimated that $2.5 billion dollars in federal assistance was offered for Wal-Mart employees in 2004. This means $2.5 billion more dollars to add to federal and state taxes. An average 200-employee Wal-Mart store may cost federal taxpayers $420,750 per year. This amount came from factors such as federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, low-income housing assistance, student programs, energy assistance and many other things (Major Users of State Provided Health Insurance Programs