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http://www.headwatersnews.org/hcn.walmart060804.html
Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
by Tim Sullivan
Intent on Western expansion, the world's largest company turns democracy upside-down - but now, communities are fighting back
From suburban Denver, Colo., to Washington's apple country, from the resort blowout of Park City, Utah, to the faux-adobe subdivisions of New Mexico, Wal-Mart's aggressive expansion has become a symbol of how big-box retailers and franchise chains invade communities, bringing a range of impacts and reactions. Some local people welcome Wal-Mart, with its low prices and employment opportunities. Others resist, worrying that the corporate giant will siphon away profits and ruin local businesses, leaving a sprawling, homogenized commercial landscape and a retail graveyard on Main Street. They are wary of Wal-Mart's low wages, and its reputation for mistreating its workers and discriminating against women.
In self-defense, many Western communities have adopted "anti-big-box ordinances" that require Wal-Mart to pay impact fees, limit the size of its stores, and abide by other restrictions. But the company has refused to back down.
Wal-Mart has threatened lawsuits, sued, and, when that hasn't worked, it has taken to what may be its most dangerous practice: co-opting local democracy itself. In community after community, it has gathered enough petition signatures to put the issue to voters, overwhelming its opposition with millions of dollars in advertising and mailers, frosting its agenda in a populist coating. The practice has triggered deep concerns about the power of corporations to hijack local decision-making.
This is just a short excerpt from the LONG article.
Wal-Mart's Manifest Destiny
by Tim Sullivan
Intent on Western expansion, the world's largest company turns democracy upside-down - but now, communities are fighting back
From suburban Denver, Colo., to Washington's apple country, from the resort blowout of Park City, Utah, to the faux-adobe subdivisions of New Mexico, Wal-Mart's aggressive expansion has become a symbol of how big-box retailers and franchise chains invade communities, bringing a range of impacts and reactions. Some local people welcome Wal-Mart, with its low prices and employment opportunities. Others resist, worrying that the corporate giant will siphon away profits and ruin local businesses, leaving a sprawling, homogenized commercial landscape and a retail graveyard on Main Street. They are wary of Wal-Mart's low wages, and its reputation for mistreating its workers and discriminating against women.
In self-defense, many Western communities have adopted "anti-big-box ordinances" that require Wal-Mart to pay impact fees, limit the size of its stores, and abide by other restrictions. But the company has refused to back down.
Wal-Mart has threatened lawsuits, sued, and, when that hasn't worked, it has taken to what may be its most dangerous practice: co-opting local democracy itself. In community after community, it has gathered enough petition signatures to put the issue to voters, overwhelming its opposition with millions of dollars in advertising and mailers, frosting its agenda in a populist coating. The practice has triggered deep concerns about the power of corporations to hijack local decision-making.
This is just a short excerpt from the LONG article.
