Why is it that those who moan the most about helping the poor and stopping unemployment are the first to shoot down proposals which will do just that? A case in point, Boston Mayor Tom Menino doesn’t want to allow Wal-Mart to build any stores in the city.
Why?
“I’m very concerned about how they treat their employees ... I want to make sure they are good jobs, that their employees get health insurance, retirement plans — all the benefits everyone else gets,” Menino told the Herald. – Boston Herald
We have to wonder exactly who mayor Menino is talking about when he says “all the benefits everyone else gets”. He must be talking about the city and state employees because there are many people employed in the private sector who don’t get retirement plans, health insurance or holidays. Or perhaps it is the people who are receiving public assistance and free health care which the rest of us pay for.
And then there is this:
“The problem I have with Wal-Mart is what they do to small businesses ... Wal-Mart makes their money and runs to the Midwest and deposits it in the bank. I want the money to stay in our neighborhoods and employ neighborhood people,” he added. – Boston Herald
Exactly where does the Mayor think the people who work at Wal-Mart will be spending their money? Is there direct bus service to Bentonville Arkansas for weekly shopping trips? The people Wal-Mart will employ will spend their earnings in the city, in their neighborhoods.
Whether you like Wal-Mart of not, they have probably done more for lifting people out of poverty than anyone else. They also help people who have a hard time paying their bills save money by shopping at their stores.
Yes, there are those who will argue that Wal-Mart buys products overseas, doesn’t hire union labor, or drives small businesses to close, and you would be right, however, this is the Unites States which is still a country which believes in free enterprise, which means Wal-Mart is allowed to buy products wherever they would like, they do not need to hire union labor which benefits us all by keeping prices low and small, neighborhood businesses can survive and even thrive with a Wal-Mart in the neighborhood, they just have to change the way they do business. But even with all that, if you disagree with the way Wal-Mart does business you have freedom of choice which means you do not have to shop there. If you believe Wal-mart is such an evil corporation then force them out of business by not shopping there.
In this economy you would think that Mayor Menino would want to create as many jobs as possible, but instead it seems he would rather keep them unemployed and living on someone else’s dime. There is not good reason for the City of Boston to not allow Wal-Mart to build in Boston.
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