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submitted 1 week ago by Yuritopiaposadism@hexbear.net to c/chapotraphouse@hexbear.net

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https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/walmart-prices-poverty-economy/681122/

Walmart’s many defenders argue that the company is a boon to poor and middle-class families, who save thousands of dollars every year shopping there.

Two new research papers challenge that view. Using creative new methods, they find that the costs Walmart imposes in the form of not only lower earnings but also higher unemployment in the wider community outweigh the savings it provides for shoppers.

I am shocked, shocked I tell ya.

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[-] prole@hexbear.net 25 points 1 week ago

The Bentonville, Ark., chain founded by billionaire Sam Walton got its start 28 years ago by opening stores in rural towns like the 5,600-population Hearne. The 1,485-store, 32-state chain is the fastest growing retailer in the USA. K mart is its chief rival.

But it also has a reputation for hurting small-town businesses that can't match the lower prices the chain can offer due to volume buying.

The Wal-Mart effect has been so huge it's spawned the formation of consulting firms that specialize in advising small-town businesses on handling the arrival of a Wal-Mart.

—Julie Morris, “Store shuts doors on Texas town,” USA Today, October 11, 1990

https://wordspy.com/words/wal-mart-effect/

[-] peeonyou@hexbear.net 21 points 1 week ago

The town I went to high school in resisted getting a walmart for many years but ultimately succumbed and it drove out so many local businesses just as everyone feared.