Our nation's capital should be considered sacred grounds.
Putting a walmart in Washington DC, is like hanging a stick figure painting in the Louvre next to a Mona Lisa. It is an abomination to think that a city with a national mall, Smithsonian museum, monuments and other historic sites would be defiled by the likes of walmart.

Steve,
Have you ever been to DC? Sacred grounds? Hardly. Poverty, porn and prostitution thrive within a few blocks of the White House for crying out loud. If you go to the back of the White House and turn 180 degrees you'll see homeless people camped on the street. Walmart would probably raise the standard of living for many who live there.
As for their policies, if they are breaking any laws at all then prosecute them to the full extent of the law both criminally and civily.

TC:
Yes, I have traveled to Washington and I did not see any prostitution or porn that you speak of. Homeless people are all over America, not just D.C Walmart can put a big dent in American poverty by simply paying a living wage. No reason why anyone who works for walmart should apply for government assistance.
Their slogan is " save money live better " I would change it to " MAKE MONEY LIVE BETTER "

Please allow me to quote from the Columbia University School of Social Work.
"With a population of roughly 550,000 people, the District of Columbia is a small city by world standards. Like many other cities in countries around the world, the District of Columbia is a city of extremes, of great power and severe deprivation. Washington has the country's highest rates of teen pregnancy, infant mortality, and HIV infection. Over 20 percent of the city's residents and 30 percent of its children live in poverty."

Evidence of the things I said about DC is not hard to find but you have to be willing to look. Do not portray Washington DC a shining light on a hill because it certainly is not.

For people living in these conditions Walmart offers a variety of goods at more affordable prices. It also offers jobs. Like any other business, Walmart advertises for employees. They offer a compensation package they think is reasonable and is probably based on market research. If they do not get enough interested applicants then Walmart has to up the offer. If the offer is in line with what the market thinks is reasonable then people will take those jobs. This is America.

If someone does not want to work or shop at Walmart, for whatever reason, then they don't have to.

let Call Wal Mart and Sam's Club Office at 479-277-7000 to make Wal Mart Join the UFCW Union for all Wal Mart Cashier Worker and for all Wal Mart Grocery Worker and for all Wal Mart Department Worker and for all Wal Mart Stock Person Worker and for all Sam's Club Cashier Worker and for all Sam's Club Meat Cutter@Meat Wripper Worker and for all Sam's Club Grocery Worker and for all Sam's Club Cafe Worker and make Wal Mart Join the UAW Union for all Wal Mart Tire@Lube Express Worker and for all Tire@Car Battery Installment Worker and make Wal Mart Join the Teamster Union for all Wal Mart Truck Driver Worker and for all Wal Mart Garden Department Worker and for all Wal Mart Hardware Worker and for all Wal Mart Customer Worker and for all Wal Mart Courtesy Association Worker and for all Sam's Club Forklift Driver@Stock Person Worker and for all Sam's Club Wholesale Worker and for all Sam's Club Membership Desk Worker and for all Sam's Club Cart Attendance Worker right of away and right now please by make Wal Mart give all Wal Mart Worker and all Sam's Club Worker a Living Wage with Affordable Health Care right of away and right now please without close down all Wal Mart Store and Sam's Wholesale Club by write to Mike Duke location at Wal Mart Home Office 702 SW 8th Street Bentonville Arkansas 72716-8611

TC, you're a shill for Walmart.

I live in DC; it is not sacred grounds. It's also not the pit of homelessness, prostitution and lawlessness. It is a small city filled with businesses, both large and small. Local video stores, electronics stores, the grocery stores we worked so long and hard to get here (when I moved here, we had one grocery store - Safeway; often called the Soviet Safeway because it wasn't big enough to serve the area. Now we finally have grocery stores; should we throw them under the wheels of Walmart? What happens when Walmart pulls out (as they often do, leaving unsaleable buildings behind - who uses a 200,000+ square foot shell? Only Walmart. DC is not dripping with real estate, and we definitely don't need (nor should we risk) that kind of eyesore.

It is a city full of mom and pop stores - hardware stores, bodegas, etc. They could not compete with a big box store like Walmart. All this crap you are spewing about the homeless/and petty crime doesn't figure into the argument at all. It's all about money.

We also don't need the increased traffic. Anyone who lives here can tell you that.

Further, Walmart has a history of destroying local small businesses when it arrives. Walmart does NOT create jobs - trading in a business for a minimum wage job in a blue vest is not job creation. I don't think I need to go into any depth about Walmarts unfair business practices towards it's employees...

And by the way DC is surrounded by Walmart stores, all the way around the beltway - it you really feel the need to go to a Walmart, take a trip into the burbs - it's less that 10 miles, no matter where you are.

Walmart will not help this city.

Great post!

A thoughtful opinion and ideas I will use on my website. You've obviously spent some time on this. Well done!