X really can't afford anything in Homewood...

In a recent conversation, Laura and I were talking about a report she had heard on NPR regarding China, Wal-Mart, and the practices to bring low prices to consumers (if anyone has a link to this, I’ll post it here). The fact of the matter is that the last time I went to Wal-Mart was probably the last time I’ll go to Wal-Mart in a long time (we’ll just say I got a free oil change out of the deal).

You see, it’s easy for me to say I won’t go to Wal-Mart. I’m not rich, but I can afford to shop somewhere else.

I raised this comment and question during our conversation: it’s easy for us (and many of our friends) to despise Wal-Mart and their practices, but what about the single mother with children who can’t afford to go anywhere else?

In fact, Wal-Mart and other big box stores allow people who have nothing to enjoy many of the luxuries that people with disposable incomes are allowed to enjoy. The general argument against Wal-Mart and their practices is not usually very comprehensive. This raises quite a dilemma since the problems of people aren’t necessarily met with a template answer.

One of the arguments against Wal-Mart is that they aggressively destroy the local competition in certain geographies. In retaliation, many set forth the somewhat popular mantra “Buy Local” (in our area, there are even billboards up that advocate purchasing from outlets that sale Alabama produce).

There’s a bit of a conundrum here – at least where I live.

Near where I live, there is a community (or municipality – they have a city hall) named Homewood. 18^th Street is filled with popular local shops, has a couple of local grocery stores, and quite a few local restaurants. 18th Street is considered local and it runs down the middle of Homewood. We like to shop here on occasion because it is a sort of unique place to go and it’s “quaint.”

An average person in our United States (especially in that impoverished state of Alabama) cannot walk into Cahaba Cycles (local bike shop) and buy a $500 Trek 18 speed Mountain bike. Your average Alabamian doesn’t have the disposable income to walk into Tria or Red Rain (local grocery stores) to buy fresh, organic, locally grown produce. It is certainly unreasonable for someone struggling to get by to walk into O’Henry’s (local Coffee Roaster) to purchase a pound of coffee for $12.

What makes Wal-Mart successful is that it takes what’s popular in food, clothing, sports, or electronics and makes it available to everyone…everyone.

Wal-Mart and other Big Box stores are the great equalizers of sorts in our economy.

The truth is that you can’t just eliminate Wal-Mart without also developing a solid plan to combat poverty in an area. Remember, Wal-Mart isn’t making places poor, they’re going to where the poor, or needy, or bargain savvy shoppers already are. What makes our argument so weak so often is the same argument levied against us (referring to myself and others like myself as Christians) in abortion – that is, we care for the unborn child until they are born.

Now, the problems are exponentially larger than first imagined. We aren’t only referring to temporary corrugated metal buildings raping the landscape and laying wasted to natural areas in their development of seas of concrete to accommodate the traffic in their respective stores, we’re also now speaking of bringing dignity, availability, and purchasing power to those who have none.

A further argument may be that purchasing power is a product of the consumer culture.

Again, the products I purchase from Tria in Homewood, or V. Richards in Forest Park are going to run me about 4 times what they would at Wal-Mart.

In this case, it is no longer about sustaining a consumer culture, but about providing food on the table. Unfortunately, your local produce or shop or restaurant probably cares nearly as much about the bottom line as Wal-Mart does – that’s the truth of business.

The argument is just too often simplified. There’s more to say on the matter, but it’s late and my wife is probably angry that I’m spending time on the computer rather than spending time with her.