WalMart High Cost of Low Prices: Super Retail and the Fall of Small Business

I put this business plan together with the help of different hardware organizations and people. I went to several different banks to check on some funding and when I got an appraisal on the business and the buildings… the appraiser actually came in an devalued the building. Here I figured it’d be appreciating after like 10 years and he came in with a lower value. I questioned him…I said how can this be? With inflation and..the economy’s not great, but it at least should holding its value. He said no..anytime a Wal-Mart’s coming in to town they knock the values down because sooner or later there’s going to be a bunch of empty buildings and none of them are going to be able to sell.

I remember that like it was yesterday. To hell with it Wal-Mart will buy the damn town. We’ll shut them down. And we used to drive through towns going 6 months, 3 months, 6 months is when they’ll be closing.

Why is it that a corporation that in 2003 had an outstanding $240 billion in sales will not provide a livable wage and affordable health care for their employees? There’s no where around that there’s a company that makes this much money and still turns around and makes their associates go to the state for aid.

Wal-Mart Workers on Public Assistance:

Alabama: 3,864 children of Wal-Mart employees are enrolled in Medicaid.
Arizona: 2,700 workers on Medicaid.
Arkansas: 3,971 Wal-Mart workers on public assistance.
Connecticut: 824 Wal-Mart workers have children in a state health care program.
Florida: 12,300 Wal-Mart workers and their dependents on Medicaid.
Georgia: 10,261 children of Wal-Mart employees are enrolled in PeachCare for kids.
Massachusetts: 4,172 Wal-Mart workers and dependents on state health care.
Tennessee: 9,617 Wal-Mart workers on TennCare.
Texas: 4,363 children of Wal-Mart employees on CHIP.
Wisconsin: 1,252 Wal-Mart employees and dependents on Badgercare.

Wal-Mart costs taxpayers $1,557,000,000 to support its employees.

They taught me how to profile people. Of course I didn’t know that was the term then. And it was identifying people that were the strongest representator?s or a petition to organize or at least get a vote. You walk up to a couple of associates, they’re both talking, and they walk away from each other…they gotta’ go. They’re conspiring to do something.