Me and Wal Mart
Being a not married, apartment living, not middle class, city dweller, I only knew Wal Mart as an evil, part time hiring, community killing documentary subject. I only recently discovered this monolith in person. The cheapskate in me loves the cheap...everything contained therein. Everything there is nice and new and cheap. Without character, but rock bottom cheap. I found myself in bottom basement retail heaven. I'm typically a Target or Costco person when I'm low balling it, but this was a whole new thing. A whole new HUGE thing. After I put back all the things I thought I needed to purchase, I ate at the McDonald's (IN the Wal Mart!!). Fucking amazing! I see how the wannabe middle class loves the place, but hopefully, it's not for me. I did buy curtains there, but that's it. Oh and some second rate M & M's.
As for all the "terrible" facts about part time hiring (which pretty much killed my Mom, by the way) and destroying local business...that's only happening because people WANT to be middle class. They want things they don't need. THERE IS A DEMAND. Wal Mart is not the only business that doesn't give it's employees benefits. Benefits are also a middle class notion/entitlement. No one wants to pay an extra 50 cents for cereal at the local store when they have 3 brats and an SUV to finance, when they can LITERALLY one stop shop. The parking lot was FULL of huge vehicles. Employees will get sick and die, businesses will close, people will keep reproducing and Wal Marts will still exist as long as the American middle class is the ideal.
I personally think a cash economy could change everything, but that's a little too retro thinking. There was a time when people paid in cash and didn't just finance and re-finance everything they "owned".
