This week one of my assignments for my Geography class was to pick one of the 6 topics gave to us by our professor and write a short essay ( 5 paragraph module). It isn't my best work, but after writing 3 other papers this week I was just happy to get a few facts on paper and get the thing turned in.

Here is the topic I picked. What is has to do with geography, I have no clue!

3. In a world of increased globalization, Wal-Mart has been at the center of many debates. They have received criticisms due to low wages and lack of benefits for their employees, environmental issues, and their dependence on foreign labor forces (namely China) to provide the goods they sell. However, they remain the world's largest retailer and provide food and other household goods at prices that are very beneficial for many Americans. Is Wal-Mart an evil giant or a hero of the American people? Support your answer with facts and data; there should be a lot of information available both for and against Wal-Mart, as the company has received a lot of attention in recent years.

In recent years the economy of the United States has significantly declined and I believe that Wal-Mart has had a big part in that. From increased buying imports from countries like China to questionable business practices and employee treatment, Wal-Mart has become the evil giant that we all feared.

Back in the 1990’s Wal-Mart came out with a big slogan that said “We buy American so you can too.” In 2006 Wal-Mart’s inventory from China was over $27 billion. It is estimated that more than 70% of products sold in Wal-Mart were at least partly made in China. Wal-Mart is responsible for over 10% of the total U.S imports from China and has reportedly cost Americans over 200,000 jobs. (Scott)

"People ask, 'How can it be bad for things to come into the U.S. cheaply? How can it be bad to have a bargain at Wal-Mart?' Sure, it's held inflation down, and it's great to have bargains," "But you can't buy anything if you're not employed. We are shopping ourselves out of jobs." Steve Dobbins, CEO of a Carolina Mills Company.  This is exactly what we are doing. Our quick fix of shopping is fueling the economic fire. We all want to save money and we are all living on a budget, but for what cost?

Wal-Mart has been the center of many lawsuits in recent years for employee treatment. One of the biggest lawsuits came in 2001 when Wal-Mart settled for $35 million for off the clock labor violations. Most recently, Wal-Mart has been in court over a wrongful death of an employee who was trampled to death during “Black Friday” the day after Thanksgiving last year.  Wal-Mart has agree to pay $2 million in safety improvements.

I’m a small business owner. I understand the difficulty providing consumers with the best products at the lowest prices. I may not be able to compete with the big giants prices, but I will always be able to compete with their customer service. My customers want a friendly face not a machine to check them out while they do all the work. That machine is one more person who is out of a job. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying to boycott Wal-Mart. I’m saying that as Americans we have choices, and we need to be cautious of the choices we make.

Works Cited

Scott, Robert E. Economic Policy Institute. 26 June 2006. 30 August 2009 .