The Walmart Effect
www.theatlantic.com
New research suggests that the company makes the communities it operates in poorer—even taking into account its famous low prices.

Summary

Two studies reveal that Walmart’s entry into communities lowers household incomes by 6% over 10 years and increases poverty by 8%, even when accounting for cost savings.

Its practices, such as undercutting competitors, suppressing wages, and squeezing suppliers, harm local economies by reducing employment and forcing smaller businesses to close.

Walmart’s “monopsony power” enables it to pay lower wages and dominate suppliers, compounding these effects.

The findings challenge the idea that low prices alone benefit communities, emphasizing long-term economic harm.

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Non-paywall link

    • Waraugh@lemmy.dbzer0.com
      1·
      26 minutes ago

      I get the sentiment but this guy is really naive for someone that’s been around so long:

      Glenn Schneider, the former Walmart maintenance worker who also serves as a Pana alderman, says he’ll be pushing to help revitalize downtown. And he has a suggestion for Walmart when it comes to making decisions for other places:

“Talk to the community, get their input, not just in the boardroom,” he said.

“If they’ve got a store that’s losing money, well they need to figure out what they can do, what the community can do.”