Week Thirteen Blog Entry: Is Walmart Good For America?

As depicted in the PBS Special “Is Walmart Good for America?,” Walmart is a leader in logistics and a great efficiency machine – they understand the power of information and use barcodes to keep the right mix of products in the store. They have driven the shift from push production to pull production, and have led global retailers to become the most powerful companies in the global economy. We watch in the film as hundreds of millions of American shoppers stream into their stores every weekend, lured by the low prices. Walmart thrives on keeping their prices as low as possible to provide the customer with value and still make a profit on high volume and fast turnover.

But how do they keep their prices so low? Walmart has driven down the cost of goods to unreasonable lows, dropping products and denying shelf space to manufacturers who don’t bid at their lowest price points. They have taken their business entirely to Asia, where they can take advantage of low cost models. Their strategy - “low costs and go global.” Although the U.S. Government has struck a permanent trade agreement with the Chinese, most people have been losers from this trade. We saw in the PBS film how we are exporting approximately 3 billion dollars in raw goods to Asia, yet importing 36 billion dollars in material goods. And this was only at the Long Beach port, only a fraction of the entire picture. This strategy has destroyed competition from U.S. manufacturers, putting millions of Americans out of work.

Yes, Walmart produces things Americans want to buy. But Americans are also workers who need to earn a decent standard of living. Walmart has cut the ability of workers, Americans and non-Americans alike, to earn decent wages. Walmart has lowered our standard of living. This way of business is not good for America.