Wal-Mart Moms Could Vote to Change Wal-Mart

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via CommonDreams:



Published on Tuesday, October 7, 2008 by The Huffington Post
Wal-Mart Moms Could Vote to Change Wal-Mart

by David Nassar


"Wal-Mart Moms" or "Wal-Mart Women" are the new "it" demographic this election cycle. That may be good news for Wal-Mart shoppers, but it is not good news for Wal-Mart.

Like soccer moms and security moms in prior elections, pollsters believe that Wal-Mart Moms will play a key role in choosing the next President. Wal-Mart executives have promoted this idea, even releasing their own poll about "Wal-Mart Moms." Led by Leslie Dach, executive vice president for corporate affairs and government relations and a former Democratic strategist, the company wants to believe that the courting of Wal-Mart Moms by the presidential candidates places Wal-Mart on an untouchable political pedestal. This is foolish thinking on Wal-Mart's part.

The values of an average Wal-Mart Mom are not Wal-Mart's values. In fact, their values are in direct conflict. The more Wal-Mart encourages Wal-Mart Moms to vote, the more it endangers the "values" that the company depends on for its business model to succeed. An organized voting bloc of Wal-Mart Women may very well demand change, but it will not be the change that Wal-Mart wants.

Wal-Mart Moms have already been defined in a multitude of ways. Wal-Mart Moms or Wal-Mart Women tend to be more suburban and rural, typically white, less formally educated, lower income and shop at Wal-Mart because they are feeling financially squeezed. These women have basic economic concerns - adequate income to support their families and pay equity in the workplace, affordable health care to take care of their children and ailing parents; and accessible education to provide future opportunities for their children.

Since 2005, Wal-Mart's wages (using their own figures) have gone down when accounted for inflation. As the nation's largest private employer (1.4 million U.S. workers), Wal-Mart has a disproportionately large impact on hourly wages overall in the low-wage workforce. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/10/07-8