The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 3 of 9)

The real problem with Wal-Mart is the Walton family itself and the Arkansas culture that surrounds it. It's the "old time religion" of the South, heavy on pietism and down on porn, but a religion that comes up short on making sure the children of those who work for you get decently fed and clothed. The South I grew up in was full of that. The only obvious malnutrition I've seen in the 26 countries I've visited was that of Southern poor whites. The ultimate cause were preachers who lacked the spiritual backbone to tell their wealthier members to take less for themselves and give more to their workers. That's as much a part of the culture of the South as NASCAR.

Jackson is probably right when he notes that L.A. liberals care as little for badly paid Wal-Mart employees and they do for the poor folk who so desperately need Wal-Mart's low prices. But the same can be said for Walton family billionaires. If they had hearts, they'd pass some of their vast wealth along to their employees as stock options.

p>Ordinances aren't the solution to the Wal-Mart problem. Lots and lots of bad press directed at making the Waltons uncomfortable is. They're probably not bad people. They're just typical of the Southern rich. They use "we're just like family" to cover their blindness. They need their eyes opened. br> -- Mike Perry br> Inkling Books br> Seattle, Washington /p> p> This store got rid of our other discount stores and is not necessarily the cheap for poor people store. One can shop at Macy's or Filene's for clothing and other goods at a much better price when they have their weekly sales and the goods are superior to Wal-Mart's. Also our super Wal-Mart grocery department is more expensive in the food department than some of our regular food stores so many of us here are not Wal-Mart fans. Of course many people shop Wal-Mart but I personally would prefer to use the known store in the area. br> -- Anne Hanlon br> New Hampshire /p>

The animus against Wal-Mart has everything to do with populist dislike for its business and labor policies and its disdain for the neighborhoods it afflicts with its presence and nothing to do with cultural reasons.

p>If Wal-Mart thought it could make a profit running legal but cut-rate whorehouses in Nevada, it would do so and use imported labor to boot.

topics:
Taxes, Hillary Clinton, Business, Religion, Books, Constitution, Law, Socialism