I am not out to defend Wal-mart's corporate policy. I think they have made some bad decisions in the efforts to cut costs. I have no issues with people protesting and criticizing in an effort to get them to do the right thing. If they are breaking the law , then they should be punished. If local people decide to zone them out of their area, more power to them. That is the essence of Democracy. But I will be extremely pissed if the Democrats attempt to make any part of this in their agenda.
It would be political suicide and just outright stupid.
Excellent article in the Post illustrates why Wal-mart has done more to raise the standard of living of Americans then, well, anything.
Wal-Mart's critics allege that the retailer is bad for poor Americans. This claim is backward: As Jason Furman of New York University puts it, Wal-Mart is "a progressive success story." Furman advised John "Benedict Arnold" Kerry in the 2004 campaign and has never received any payment from Wal-Mart; he is no corporate apologist. But he points out that Wal-Mart's discounting on food alone boosts the welfare of American shoppers by at least $50 billion a year. The savings are possibly five times that much if you count all of Wal-Mart's products.
As I drove across the backroads through the heartland of Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas for the holidays, I could not help but notice how every Wal-mart parking lot was packed to the gills. This is not the constituency you want to piss off by demonizing Wal-mart. It smacks of liberal elitism. Why not get into the root cause of health benefits costs that have risen exponentially for ALL companies. Trying to pin it all on Wal-mart is wrong, and will only serve to alienate constituents on a bread and butter, food on the table issue.