>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.
That's very hard to do. People see the choice as between driving to the non-Wal-Mart or to the Wal-Mart, and choose the latter because they'll save 10%. What taxes subsidize Wal-Mart that wouldn't subsidize other stores? We'd have roads and traffic cops even if WMT didn't exist. Wal-Mart's secret is relentless exploitation at every level of the supply chain. How do you make that vivid?
Doug