Are the Poor Hurt by Attacks on Wal-Mart?

Lee Ellis

Are today’s labor unions trying to hurt the poor by creating only retail stores with high prices? If not, why are they asking the government to discriminate against retailers that save you money!

In Maryland, a new law was just enacted by the Democrat-controlled legislature penalizing Wal-Marts, even though the Republican Governor tried to veto the measure. Agreeing with the Governor were both the Maryland and the U.S. Chambers of Commerce. In spite of all the evidence that challenged the validity of such a law and that also would threaten jobs and raise prices, the Democrats overrode the Governor’s veto.

This now opens the way for other states that are controlled by Democrats and Leftists groups to enact the same laws that will hurt more than help working people and senior citizens.

With these constant attacks on Wal-Mart stores across the nation, one might wonder why these unions want to have higher prices for the necessities that millions of buyers need from outlets that can offer them at an affordable cost. At the same time, such stores, as Wal-Mart, also provide many new jobs for entry workers that just did not exist before.

Are unions more interested in making money for their rich bosses than they are in letting the working people be able to buy clothing, TVs, and fill other needs for their homes? What benefits accrue to the working people if the Wal-Marts of this world are forced to raise the cost of doing business so high that prices have to be increased for their goods or that many workers will have to be laid off due to higher expenses created by new costly government regulations?

For those who say that the unions will give Wal-Mart workers more benefits, I ask just how much will the workers have to pay in monthly union dues for such benefits? I suspect that the union bosses see all this untapped money they can get from thousands of Wal-Mart workers.

In California, the unions spent 100 million dollars in 2005 to run misleading TV ads against the Republican Governor and his propositions designed to save the State from future bankruptcy. Prop 75 which would have given the workers the right to either keep or allow their dues to be used for political campaigns went down in defeat. Unions now have the right to use those dues as they see fit. Most workers have no control over how their dues payments will be used. In addition, the union of 335,000 public school teachers assessed their members an additional $60 per year, above their regular dues, for three years to fund their California Democrat campaign in 2005!

In my tiny den, I have a well built metal radio with fantastic sound from AM or FM. It also has a built in tape recorder and it can operate off electricity or batteries. One would expect to pay 60 to 70 dollars for such a radio. Since I am now retired and living on a fixed income, at that cost, I might have considered using my discretionary funds for something more important. But, thanks to having a local Wal-Mart, I was able to buy this excellent product for only $9.95! Yes, that is no misprint; I paid less than ten dollars for this radio/tape recorder at Wal-Mart!

I also found an electric clock that sets and resets itself when the power goes off, or daylight savings time occurs. Great! No more blinking clocks in my house because I can’t remember how to reset them. Wal-Mart is also helping us retired seniors as well as working people! There are many more affordable buys in these stores for anything one might need for home, den, garage or yard. And I own NO stock in this company. A survey recently undertaken by Global Insights found that Wal-Mart saved the average American $2,300 per year!

So, why are local governments hurting high volume stores like the Wal-Marts? Is it in order to curry favor with a few rich unions and other far-left groups with large check-books for political campaigns?

If you want to keep prices low so you don’t have to live in a bare house because too much of your income goes to a high mortgage or increasing rent hikes, or if you want to see stores in your locality that also provide job sources for new workers entering the job market from schools, divorces or an unplanned retirement, then you may want to stop those who would destroy these opportunities for you and your families.

Tell your local government, via your votes, to stop pandering to the union bosses and support those retailers who give you the lowest prices in town as well as making many jobs available that were non-existent just a few years ago.

Your votes do count!

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Lee Ellis is a retired journalist and narrator, formerly with both CBS and Gannett (USA Weekend). He was also a combat veteran of WWII, having fought in the South Pacific invasions. He had the pleasure of interviewing Ronald Reagan as an actor and then later working to help him become Governor of California. At the age of 80, he is keeping busy writing and doing free lance narrations for radio and television. He is an active member of Rotary and the VFW.

indiolee@dc.rr.com