July 25, 2005

WM Horror Stories Not True

The No Cleveland Wal-Mart folks won't like this article by Steve Maich:

Wal-Mart isn't engaged in a series of messy local zoning disputes. It's at war with a well-financed, well-organized opposition, determined to fight it on every front. From Los Angeles to the Saguenay, from Hartford, Conn., to Vancouver, a broad array of activist groups and unions have launched protests, lawsuits and ad campaigns, all aimed at discrediting Wal-Mart, halting its growth, and unionizing its workforce.

Like most wars, it's about money and power, and the first casualty is truth. Because even after all the scrutiny and analysis of the Wal-Mart phenomenon, most of what we've been told -- about worker abuse, destroyed small-town economies, crushed suppliers and greedy management -- is wrong.

And the UFCW spokesman is really classy:
"They just fuckin' destroy jobs, period, because they replace high-paying jobs with low-paying jobs."
A trifecta: Crude, internally inconsistent, and deviod of fact!

Steve Maich has politics that are hard to pin down, so he can't be accused of being a WM shill. You can read Steve Maich's blog All Business, and decide for yourself.

Posted by Kevin on July, 25 2005 at 11:02 AM

Comments & Trackbacks
George Nemeth wrote:

Kevin,

Why do you say we won't like it? Frankly, NoClevelandWalmart.org has little if nothing to do with the UFCW or the AFL-CIO. NCW is hardly a "well-financed, well-organized opposition".

In fact, I'm glad Maich did the article. He did a much better job then our local media did. But he missed quite a bit. The 2000 new jobs? That's a ridiculous figure being tossed about by an incubent mayor up for re-election. It similar to the multipler effect in the convention center study.

If anything, my aim is to raise the conversation about economic development. If the first casualty in this war was truth, I think you're going to have a hard time determining who landed the fatal blow. The Walmart PR blitzkreg has been going full bore for a while.

Anyway, thanks for the link and keep up the good work!

-- July 25, 2005 08:01 PM ∞

Kevin Brancato wrote:

George,

What I got from reading Maich's piece is that Steelyard Commons was a no-brainer opposed by special interests; I'm glad you've clarified your relationship to the other groups.

I'm opposed to "economic impact statements" (both pro and con development) for the very reason you cite -- the numbers are subjective, arbitrary, and political -- in a word, untrustworthy.

-- July 26, 2005 07:41 AM ∞