Buy at Walmart

I have not been a friend to Walmart. It has been my feeling that they disrupt the fabric of the local commercial community. This may be true.

I have never denied that Walmart has the lowest prices, on virtually any merchandise they sell, of any retailer in the American marketplace today. My main objection to them is that besides discouraging the growth of small business, they pay shitty wages and offer no benefits to their employees.

You know what? It is incumbent upon small business to provide goods and services not otherwise offered by large retailers or by offering a price point or level of service that they do not. Walmart may not offer good wages or benefits to its employees but neither does small business and in the end, Walmart is going to be more receptive to unionization and collective bargaining than small business.

I believe now that the benefits of Walmart outweigh its liabilities. I will no longer refrain from making my few purchases at Walmart.

Take just one aspect of Walmart's mercantile policies and how they affect the local community. Walmart will sell you a 90 day supply of almost any generic prescription medication for a flat rate of just a few dollars. If you require several medications, that could cost you hundreds of dollars at your corner drug store. For people who are dependent on family for their care and livelihood, there is a choice to be made between getting the medicines you need and the family having to do without the basics of a good life.