A couple weeks ago, the Walmart Corporation announced the
closing of 154 stores in the U.S., 269 total worldwide.
That is less than 1% of their total square footage, so no
big deal, right?
But that includes a Walmart Neighborhood Market in a small
town in Texas.
A small town which now has no grocery store or pharmacy.
And not just in Texas, but in small towns all across the
nation.
The Neighborhood Market concept was launched in 2011. After
enticing residents and local officials of this small town with the promise of
lower prices, greater variety, and jobs, Walmart was given permission to open
up.
As the shopping habits of residents changed, the locally-owned
grocery store, which had served the community for decades, was driven out of
business. It just couldn’t compete with Walmart’s buying power.
But now, the result of an edict from on high – made by
people who have most likely never set foot in that small town – the Walmart
Neighborhood Market is closing, leaving the town without a grocery store. The
nearest grocer and pharmacy is in the neighboring town 20 minutes away.
To no one’s surprise, the former grocer has no interest or
intent of re-opening.
Now, it would be easy to fault the corporate giant, Walmart.
Many people in that small town in Texas do.
It’s easy to hate the Big Guy.
Research conducted at Iowa State University in the 1990’s
found that after Walmart opened in a small town, sales at specialty stores dropped
by 17% within 10 years. Even neighboring towns without a Walmart were affected,
at an even higher rate.
Essentially, the study proved that Walmart kills local
businesses.
We hate you, Walmart!
In addition, although they hire a large workforce, Walmart
keeps wages low, forcing employees to depend on state and federal welfare. In
short, taxpayers subsidize the Walmart Corporation – as much as $6.2 billion in
government assistance programs like SNAP/Food Stamp benefits.
We hate you, Walmart!
And Walmart has a history of leaving large, empty buildings
wherever they go.
We really hate you, Walmart!
In 2015 Walmart posted a gross profit of $130.24 billion.
As I said, it’s easy to hate them.
The folks at the corporate office insist they are just
“actively managing our portfolio of assets”.
As if it’s supposed to make us all feel better about these
store closings, Doug McMillon, president and CEO of Walmart, points out “It’s
important to remember that we’ll open well more than 300 stores around the
world next year.”
Tell that to the small town residents who now have to drive
to the next town over for groceries and medicine.
But lean in, mateys, for a little hard cold truth from the
Captain.
You might want to blame Walmart, but it’s your own damn
fault!
Lured by the siren call of lower prices, people in small
towns across America give in to the corporate giant, leaving their small-town
business owners to try to compete.
But the small business owner can’t compete with the buying
power of the corporate behemoth. The L.A. Times did an in-depth expose’ of
Walmart a few years ago, showing the extent to which the corporate giant will
go to save even a few pennies on the merchandise it sells.
The local merchant doesn’t have that ability.
And contrary to a recent Supreme Court ruling, corporations are NOT people.
They don't care about your small town.
They don't care about you.
Despite what they might say, they exist solely to make a profit. That is all.
The Captain used to scoff at the “Buy Local” crowd.
A few years back I wanted to have hats made up with our
church logo on them. I bought a $5 baseball cap at Walmart to create a sample.
As I proudly showed the prototype to a group of men, one flipped the cap over
and looked at the tag: “Made in China”. He threw it on the table with disgust;
others stared at it as if it contained the smallpox virus!
A hat made in China sells for $5. A similar hat made in the
USA sells for $8.
I was saving them money!
That extra $3 is significant. In so many ways.
And worth it!
I didn’t get it then. I do now.
CAPTAIN'S NOTE: Before signing off, I need to apologize to my faithful readers and shipmates. In my last blog I used a meme about Donald Trump that has been circulating the internet for quite some time. Normally vigilant, I did not check this one to see if Trump really said what it said he said - it sounded authentic! And it claimed as its source an interview in People magazine.
My fact-checkers called me on this yesterday. Your Captain most humbly apologizes and will strive to do better in the future.
That said, there is still NO WAY IN HELL the Captain would ever vote for Donald Trump for President!
And I hope you won't either.
