Sunday Morning Blog

September 13, 2005

WalMart Uses Katrina Response to Sway Public Opinion

Did anyone catch the article in the Boston Herald chastising U.S. Rep. Mike Capuano (D-Somerville) for urging parents not to do their back-to-school shopping at WalMart? It seems the article's author was swept away by WalMart's generosity in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

Opening stores to provide rescue workers with changes of clothes, a place to sleep and shoes that weren't sopping wet was unbelievable. Allowing customers to come in, 20 at a time, to pick up food and water, diapers and other basic supplies and sending 100 truckloads of basic goods to the area within days was both generous and kind.

I will not argue that WalMart hasn't been helpful after this hurricane, but was it just a public relations move in an attempt to mop up from the storm of controversy over their treatment of employees? Regardless of WalMart's response, you can't ignore the way they mistreat people. There is fair and there is unfair, and I feel the way WalMart plays its suppliers, its employees and us, the taxpayers, is flagrantly abusive. I have never been a fan of the big box stores; I prefer giving the small, local guy my business when possible, but that is my choice. As long as they don't abuse their power, I have no beef with their business. When they start taking advantage of people and my tax dollars, I draw the line.

Feel free to check out the pdf report on WalMart prepared by the staff of Rep. George Miller (Calif.), the House Education and Workforce Committee's senior Democrat.

http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/WALMARTREPORT.pdf

Posted by capecodcyclist at September 13, 2005 10:47 AM