Wal-Mart: Angel or Demon? You Decide . . .

For better or for worse, Wal-Mart dominates the retail industry. With annual revenue of more than $379 billion, Wal-Mart ranked No. 1 in 2008 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations. Wal-Mart is also the largest corporate employer in the nation; with more than two million people on its payroll (only the federal government employs more people). But beyond the basic facts, general agreement about Wal-Mart ends. Supporters portray Wal-Mart as a solid corporate citizen that fuels economic growth, while detractors criticize every dimension of Wal-Mart operations. The key arguments:

Wal-Mart supporters:

* Wal-Mart boosts the standard of living for its customers by offering a plethora of quality products at the lowest possible prices. And by forcing its suppliers to become more efficient, Wal-Mart drives greater productivity and competitiveness throughout the economy.

* Wal-Mart boosts employment in every community where it operates, offering excellent opportunities from the entry level through management. Demonstrating the appeal of its jobs, a Wal-Mart that recently opened near Chicago received more than 25,000 applications for 325 positions.

* Wal-Mart revitalizes communities by building stores in economically depressed areas. In an interview with PBS, Wal-Mart VP Bob McAdam cites the example of Panorama City, CA: “When we came into that location, the mall that we're associated with there was basically boarded up and closed. Every storefront is full today with little businesses that are adjacent to the Wal-Mart store.”

Wal-Mart detractors:

* Wal-Mart has destroyed both the livelihood and the unique flavor of local communities by wiping out small local businesses that just can’t compete. Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, says, “We know the effects that these superstores have. They tend to suck the economic and social life out of these downtowns, many of which wither and die as a result.”

* Wal-Mart offers low prices in part because of huge tax savings and government subsidies. Across the United States, Wal-Mart has received more than $1 billion in development aid from local governments. Both the subsidies and the tax breaks come from the pockets of local consumers, so in a certain sense, the dollars have simply shifted—the customers indirectly pay Wal-Mart for those low prices.

Wal-Mart has highly questionable labor practices. The giant retailer has been accused of cheating workers of overtime pay, fined for child labor violations, charged with sex discrimination in a class action lawsuit, criticized for buying