Reply #173: You are right - BUT

[conflictgirl]

If you look at other stores, many of them are going to the same model. In an area that has a Walmart, Kroger, Safeway, Meijer, or some combination of major corporate grocery stores, I honestly don't believe any one company has significantly better business practices than another.

I avoid Walmart on principle, though I do go there about twice a year to get coconut oil that I use for soapmaking. I make the soap for my family to use. We are not making a lot of money. I can get the coconut oil at Walmart for $3, or I can order it online for $12 plus $6 shipping. So yes, there IS a significant cost difference.

I had an absolute hard-line stance against Walmart and for many years I never stepped foot in one. I think the last time I went to one was February to get the coconut oil. I still don't shop there for my regular purchases and I don't support the company at all. I don't disagree with anything you said about what Walmart does to a community. But I would still argue that poor people don't have the choices you believe they do.

One of the characteristics of being poor is that you often can't make better choices in the short term, even when you know what the long-term "big picture" impact of your choice will be. Yes, the poor person who feels they have no alternative to shopping at Walmart is destroying the future of their wages and their community. But, poor people have to make similar choices on a regular basis. How many uninsured low-income people have to ignore that nagging pain that's an early sign of cancer or heart disease? How many people have to drive cars that will break down every two weeks? Those cars are horrible short-term choices and having been in that position, I can say that people know when they're making that choice that it's a poor short-term solution. But if you need transportation and you don't have good credit or a large amount of cash, you can't buy a reliable 5-year old Honda for $8000. You can buy a 12-year-old Ford Escort for $500 cash when you get a tax refund that you know will break down a couple weeks later. You just hope against hope that when the problems finally catch up with you later, they won't be that major. Sometimes you're wrong.

Do I really think I'm doing anything to stop Walmart by not shopping there? Not really, because there aren't alternatives in my area that really do business any differently than Walmart. I shop at Meijer because it's at least union, but other than that they're virtually indistinguishable from Walmart. Many communities don't even HAVE stores that are significantly different from Walmart anymore. And what alternatives there are, are often very expensive in many areas. The only independent store in my area is the health food store (and I happen to know that the owners donate to neocons). I tried doing all my shopping there once - except for fresh produce which they don't have - it cost me $100 more per week. If I shop at a place that costs almost $5000 more per year, damn right I'm going to feel that on my low-income budget. The more expensive place is a business I don't want to support anyway, so how would shopping be there represent taking the higher ground?