Back-to-School? Classrooms by Walmart?: Feel Guilty About Shopping at Walmart
Honestly, I felt guilty on the rare occasion that I shopped at Walmart. Yes I have shopped at Walmart. I didn’t want to, but sometimes at midnight I had no other choice when I needed emergency water for my Discus aquarium and spaghetti sauce. Walmart politics are of course objectionable to me, but they litter the Texas landscape— they are inescapable. One of the surprises about my move to California is that I haven’t even seen a Walmart in Sacramento yet. Of course they exist, but in Texas you can’t spit without hitting a Walmart.
Walmart’s issues have been well documented. For example, the PBS documentary Store Wars included the following:
Wal-Mart employs more people than any other company in the United States outside of the Federal government, yet the majority of its employees with children live below the poverty line. “Buy American” banners are prominently placed throughout its stores; however, the majority of its goods are made outside the U.S. and often in sweatshops.The sentiment behind Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton’s promise of a “better life for all” belies questionable business practices – many that have been challenged by employees, unions, environmentalists, recording artists and human rights organizations.Forbes magazine, polling business executives (not employees) has ranked Wal-Mart among the best 100 corporations to work for. Yet the employees on average take home pay of under $250 a week. The salary for full-time employees (called “associates”) is $6 to $7.50 an hour for 28-40 hours a week, which is typical in the discount retail industry. This pay scale places employees with families below the poverty line, with the majority of employees’ children qualifying for free lunch at school. When closelyBack-to-School? Classrooms by Walmart?: Feel Guilty About Shopping at Walmart | Cloaking Inequity:
