I am writing because I am confused. I am confused as to why the mayor of Westbrook thinks that bringing a Wal-Mart to Westbrook would be a good thing. Although Wal-Mart persist in draping itself in the flag, they are an unpatriotic company. They are responsible for the closing of numerous American retail businesses and one of the primary causes of the outsourcing of American manufacturing business to foreign countries. One-tenth of this country’s trade deficit with China is due solely to Wal-Mart’s importing of cheap Chinese goods. Meanwhile, millions of Americans who formerly worked in production jobs find themselves unemployed.
Wal-Mart pays abysmal wages. In 2003, the average wage for a Wal-Mart employee was $8.23 an hour for an annual wage of $13,861. This is well below the federal poverty level. If you think that is just the going rate for “big box” retail, I would ask you to look at Costco, the fifth largest retailer in the country, and you will find that their average wage is $16 an hour. Most Wal-Mart employees cannot afford health insurance. Only about 48 percent of their employees are covered under their health insurance plan. The most affordable coverage they have has huge deductibles and does not cover things like vaccinations and preventive care. There are thousands of employees of Wal-Mart on Medicaid because they cannot afford to be covered under Wal-Mart’s insurance. As a matter of fact, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said, “In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value – with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums.” (Transcript, Lee Scott Speech, April 5, 2005). This action of foisting the costs of health care onto the taxpayers is certainly not the act of a good neighbor and citizen. The House Committee on Education and Workforce estimates that because of low wages, the average Wal-Mart employee can cost the federal taxpayers $2,103 per year. Because there are about 1.3 million Wal-Mart employees, the cost to the rest of us, as taxpayers, becomes about 2.7 Billion dollars a year. How is that good for America?
There are numerous studies available that show that the introduction of a Wal-Mart into a community actually costs more in local public services than it generates in taxes. It causes the loss of numerous jobs in smaller businesses that are locally owned and operated. Other retail and supportive businesses often choose not to locate in communities with Wal-Marts. Our downtown, rather than be revitalized, could wither and die.
Wal-Mart is the biggest retailer in the world. How is it that the biggest and most powerful retailer pays pitiful wages, costs the taxpayers billions of dollars, drives smaller retailers out of business and forces manufacturing to outsource production to foreign countries, yet our mayor (and some others) think that bringing a Wal-Mart to our community is a good thing?
I am a strong supporter of the growth of American business and making Westbrook an attractive place for businesses to locate, but we need to preserve our ideals as citizens. Maybe I am wrong, but I always thought that part of the concept of patriotism was the protection of our fellow Americans, not the exploitation of them.
Robert Barton
Westbrook
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