> However, their lower per-item cost does not necessarily translate into a
> lower total cots, as they often impose cost on the entire community e.g.
> job displacement, tax breaks, etc.
It would really help those of us activists in the trenches if we had easier access to stats and analysis about what the big stores do to communities. I mean, people really think they are saving significant money when they shop at Wal-Mart. They never factor in taxes that subsidize the Wal-Mart, or all of their personal costs involved in living in an area where you have to have a car to go shopping. They don't factor in car repairs into the cost of shopping at Wal-Mart.
I just did something very unusual here in the Kansas City burbs. I walked over to the Hy-Vee grocery store and carried my groceries home. My parents live about 10 minutes away from this store, but in many of the subdivisions around here, it would take you at least 30 minutes to walk to the nearest grocery store (or any store for that matter). Of course, when you have access to a car, there is tons of shopping around here.
The lack of public transportation here in Leawood has already caused me a few dilemmas. I want to go to an activist meeting tomorrow night (for the KC Indymedia project), but if I can't borrow a car, I can't go. The nearest public transportation is a 30 minute walk from here. Ironically, my father used to be the director of planning for the Kansas City bus service.
Chuck0