An excellent op-ed from The Seattle Times about how to protect your community from the ills of Wal-Mart:
PORTLAND — Nothing I have written in the past three years has drawn the response of a Feb. 17, 2004 column deploring the Wal-Marting of America. I still get e-mails from people who have seen it on various Web sites, usually asking how to stop a Wal-Mart in their town.My answer is simple: Organize.
It is possible to beat the Wal-Mart lawyers and shortsighted local politicians who see immediate property taxes but ignore the long-term flight of local businesses.
The Arkansas behemoth is having trouble right now in Oregon, where a combination of land-use laws, neighborhood activists and a few farsighted politicians are placing hurdles in the expansion path. Wal-Mart isn't on its knees, but it has some bloody shins.
More:
The key to opposition is organization on multiple fronts.Neighborhood organization is essential. In the Portland area, each proposed Wal-Mart has generated Web-based neighborhood opposition, linked to other groups with similar issues. Petitions are circulated, rallies and fund raising planned. In Portland's Westmoreland neighborhood, the local True Value Hardware generated more than 500 signatures in less than two weeks, just from walk-in customers.
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What is your community doing to keep Wal-Mart out?
Posted by Brendan - July 6, 2005 09:06 AM - In Your Community