Last night CNBC ran a lengthy investigative report on Walmart. Reporters related how the company does business, how it is attacked by labor unions trying to get a foothold, the connections with shoe and apparel factories in china, and Walmart's corporate image with it's own employees. Nothing has substantially changed since the 2005 debut of the documentary film "WalMart: The high cost of low prices" that successfully opened many eyes by featuring interviews with Walmart employees who had been among the many associates who lived, ate and,drank the Walmart culture rather than the typical "expert talking heads" one usually sees in these documentary films.
Coincidentally, a local meeting was held last night in Astoria at the Red Building organized by Ted Thomas (famous for organizing the Richard Lee recall) and Lori Durheim who is often in the news expressing her opposition to LNG, amongst other things.
I decided after seeing the CNBC report that I would go to the local meeting to get a feel for this group and who might be involved. There was one guy who admitted to actually living in Warrenton but the rest were apparently Astorians. It was Sara Meyer who pointed out that if they were going to have any hope of stopping the WalMart here it would have to be organized in Warrenton with residents of that city fully involved.
The response to outreach to Warrenton residents and businesses was not terribly successful and was met largely with indifference.
It was interesting to note that some of those in attendance clearly felt that this should be a county-wide outcry. I got the impression that most were there for the same reason I showed up; a need for more information combined with a concern over the direction this group might take.
It will be interesting to watch how a group of Astorians can manage to affect what is clearly a Warrenton decision without significant Warrenton support. So far.
Want to get some perspective on the scale of what's coming to Warrenton?
ReplyDeleteWhen you are stopped at the light at the intersection of where you turn to go to Home Depot or to the new Costco, just take a good look at the scale of those two buildings and ask yourself where is the demand for these things as big as they are and there's a new Wal-Mart coming?
What is it we don't know that somebody else does that can assure survival and a market for these new schemes without huge impact to exsiting area businesses?
Or don't stop if it scares you but, we need to think this thing out and by "We" I mean exaclty that, "The Community".
As a Warrenton resident I resent the implied threats that were evident in the KAST broadcast from the anti WalMart informational meeting held last evening. They took to task the Warrenton City Council, mayor, property owners, planning department, fire and police departments and Chamber of Commerce. They gave a gentle suggestion that they need to hold a meeting in our community to set us straight. I suggest to you Ms.Durheim and Mr. Thomas, having caused enough grief in the past and present with your recalls and anti business stances that you stay out of our business. You are nothing but a bunch of petulant acting people.
ReplyDeleteIt appears McGee and gang are not satisified being against everything in the unincorporated county and Astoria. Now they want to stop Warrenton from progressing. Undoubtedly, McGee will put forth a torrent of biased information about how bad Walmart is, and why he should not be able to even see it in his travels looking for progress he can stomp on. No one should pay attention to this stuff.
ReplyDeleteWarrenton is the fourth largest city in Oregon geographically and has been doing fine on its own for years. Warrenton does not invest in silly things like the Astoria pool or the millpond and has a good Council and staff that has always been careful about how it spends money and resources. Unlike Astoria, it even gathered its citizens to create a vision for the city. McGee, Forrester and gang should concentrate on destroying the county commission and Bradwood, and leave Warrenton alone.
Last time I checked, the United States of America was a free country with free trade. If Walmart, Costco or Ms. Durheim wants to start a business they should be allowed to prosper or fail, they should not be made out to be a monster because of the way they market their goods or treat their employees. The people who cash their Walmart pay check every month are not endentured servants, they work there by their own free will and if it's bad enough they should quit. This is no different then every other employed citizen. All I can say is thank God for free trade, free will and the USA!
ReplyDeleteI wrote this letter to the D.Astorian, but I knew it was a non-starter. And so I resurrect it here given this topic today, for the points raised by those reflexively opposed to WalMart are the same as those raised by the editor and others.
ReplyDeleteArt Hyland, Astoria
re: Warrenton's big box culture comes with a price, 7/29 Daily Astorian
Steve Forrester, publisher of the Daily Astorian, opined about Warrenton and the big box culture. Some points are quite valid. Like the requirement for better design or screening of new building development in order to incorporate them into the natural environment of our region. I have always preferred towns and counties to require retaining and promoting thorough natural screening that is so typically removed when pads are created for a development project. There’s a beautiful shopping center in Gig Harbor, WA just off a freeway; other than signs delineating the existence of the stores (incl. a Home Depot) one cannot see this major shopping center until you turn off the freeway; plus, once in there, many of the natural trees were retained in the entire space. All possible in any development.
But then Mr. Forrester discusses other ideas, and in this area he exposes the socialist he really is. He references some NPR guest author who says, “A terrific deal on tube socks does not keep foreclosure and bankruptcy at bay. Nor will it sustain us." The implication is that the cheaper prices big box stores promote help to kill small town businesses and its citizens who lose out to unfair competition. Let’s see how this works in history. When (then “big box”) J C Penney’s came to Astoria years ago, it meant that some little stores that sold similar products were now in for big, national department store competition, and they had to adjust or go out of business. Perhaps many did. Was that bad? When Pig ‘n Pancake expands into other towns on the coast, bringing its expertise, good food and service to the Seasides and Cannon Beaches of the coast, is that bad for existing restaurants in those towns struggling to remain in business? I suppose Forrester also oppose those awful FedEx and UPS drivers who terrorize our community bringing cheaper products for us to enjoy. But, but...Gannaway Brothers is successful despite all kinds of competition out there. Becaiuse they work hard at it!
Yes, I’d rather buy a product from Englund Marine (a whale of a deal), because I’ll get advice as to what is best to use, and if something goes wrong, they’ll be there to help me fix or replace it. Yet, frankly, the people at Costco do this well too, which is why they both are successful. There’s room for all if they treat customers with respect. It’s called free market capitalism. No guarantees of permanent success, just the permanent opportunity to be successful.
The editor said,“Wal-Mart is renowned for decimating homegrown retail cores.” Yes, let’s throw in a reference to that terrible Wal-Mart, who originated that costly $4 generic prescription charge. Tell me, how is that a social cost? Also, you failed to mention big box Fred Meyer, who, with their local employees, have contributed a lot to this community in countless ways. Sure, I wish that it and Walgreen’s were less visible, but I nevertheless enjoy them as shopping choices.
When you demand that government somehow control or restrict the freedom of capitalism to allow new businesses to come to the area, you are proving my socialism claim. Governments and the individuals who hold the powers at any given time, are not omniscient. Only a market, free to decide what is needed and when, free to succeed or fail, will cause the proper decisions to be made. Of course we can create laws to help blend the new businesses into the community, and we should, but to create laws that restrict who should be allowed to do business (Bradwood or Wal-Mart) is to be socialistic and/or communistic. History has shown this kind of economic and social philosophy to be a terribly failed concept, as well as un-American.