Is Wal-Mart good for America?

I think Wal-Mart is bad because of the amount of little shops it puts out of business. When one is put up in a town, in only a matter of months the ma and pa shops have to close because of the lack of business. I also think Wal-Mart is bad because it manipulates and bullies the companies that they receive merchandise from. They force the providers to drive down the cost of the goods in order to provide the lowest costs to the consumers. Having the “lowest cost” might sound good, but in reality it comes with unseen problems. They outsource to China in order to make more money and pay their “associates” minimal amounts of money for their work. It is crazy that they are expected to work over time for no pay in return.

Wal-Mart policies and strategies conflict the 7 principles of catholic Social teaching. First, it conflicts with the Life and Dignity of the Human Person because they treat the workers as unimportant and only focus on the amount of money they can produce. The store might call their sales associates family and community but in reality they do not have their best interest in mind. They are a “fake” family who encounters daily struggles because of the poor conditions and rules they abide by. Their Rights and Responsibilities are essentially to get the job done at no matter what. The employees have no rights. Wal-Mart certainly does not have an option for the Poor and Vulnerable. The store is actually contributing to the problems each worker has because of the lack of pay they receive. They have no benefits and are even encouraged to go on welfare. Women are given no respect. They are not treated equally and have little to no chance of advancing into the role of a manager. Wal-Mart is both sexists and racist. If Wal-Mart cared about God’s creation they would protect both their employees and the environment, but they do not.

I would not consider working for Wal-Mart, ever. From watching the documentaries it would do more harm than good to work in a place such as that. I will definitely think twice about shopping at big-retail stores. It is a shame to think that Target and other big-retail stores could possibly be doing the same thing.