WalMart is one company people are just too stupid to stop shopping at. They rely on stupidity, complacence and ignorance to keep them in business... and business is booming.
If people actually stopped shopping there, a few things would happen:
1 - WalMart would lay people off and blame whatever laws, law makers and politicians for driving them to it.
2 - Assuming the workers, although now unemployed, would still not shop at WlalMart, WalMart would have to start downsizing their presence in areas.
3 - Mega-Box-Stores that close would create a vacuum that would allow smaller retailers and local stores to re-open, siphoning more money back into the local economies WalMart bled dry (since their store profits go to the Walton family, not the store managers and sure as hell not the cashiers or stock people).
4 - Thriving local economy creates more jobs for the recently unemployed WalMart casualties.
5 - The space the store used could be converted for community space - civic centers, libraries, homeless shelters, etc. - at a steeply discounted price.
Those are all great points. Unfortunately, no one who is currently in power has the will or the gall to go up against a company like Wal-Mart - they could tie them up in court for years if not decades.
It’s going to have to start with the ground up…and that is getting the word out not only that they shouldn’t shop there, but why they shouldn’t and what is a good alternative like Winco Foods (employee owned, prices are often the same if not cheaper than Wal-Mart).
At least to me (and I will always put violence last in order of things that should be done ((and we are not there yet besides)) it will eventually lead to some sort of violence either through people protesting them or their own employees protesting for employee rights.
That whole fight has been fought again and again, and some may had thought the working/middle class had at least won some provisions and rules in their favor…all thoe fights will have to be re-fought.
I think most people now see the word “union” and think of it in negative context…and certainly their demise was self-perpetuated.
It was once okay for kids to work on machinery that could kill or rip an arm or two off…it was once okay or the factory owners to work their employees for hours much longer than we are used to today…until the people got tired of it.
People are getting tired of it now too…but I don’t think we will reach that breaking point…now just yet.
They are STILL trying to bust the unions…and the unions got too power hungry and destroyed themselves too.
People need a living wage…people need affordable healthcare…they need an affordable education…they need some semblance of job security…what about benefits? What about pensions and retirements? Those used to be fully funded.
People got greedy…who gives a fuck that grandma will die in a sad urine-smelling nursing home instead of the one she and her now deceased husband saved for.
Bankers did that to people in 09 when they collapsed he economy…people lost huge chunks and in some cases most of or all their savings to live on until they died.
Social Security? Haahaha! SS was supposed to have funds that remained UNTOUCHED by the government…did they keep their fat sweaty hands off it - absolutely not.
Now they want to complete Bush’s plan to privatize SS…this is bad for everyone in so many ways.
We effectively dissolve SS if we let them do that….and they always do shit like that without having a back-up for those who slip between the cracks.
I agree with your five points vehemently.
