Saved for posterity since Yahoo is flaking out; possibly of some marginal interest here. This is in response to a post by Susan Moffat, fighting against Wal-Mart at Northcross Mall. The point answered by #1 was a study that correlated Wal-Marts with poverty at the county level.
my post:
I hate Wal-Mart too, especially after having to shop at one this weekend up here in Michigan (absence had made the heart grow slightly less contemptuous, I guess), but get real.
- The studies you quote could just as easily have shown that Wal-Mart is attracted to poverty-stricken rural areas. IE, they didn’t control for the pre-existing conditions.
- I agree that Costco is a million times better than Wal-Mart, but I bet Allandale and the ANC would fight Costco too. If not, let’s see them put their money where their mouth is and draft a letter asking Costco to please move in to this location.
- If somebody better is not an option, Wal-Mart is certainly an improvement over what’s there now. The mall is just pathetic – and only getting worse. How about for once hitching your wagon to the market instead of fighting against it and calling Wal-Mart’s bluff – offer to at least abstain if the physical building layout is more urban and pedestrian-supportive than what exists there today, for instance.