Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart is known for its low prices to the American market. There is a clash between these low prices they offer to the American customers and the interest of the American workers. The low prices that they have offered the American market has made if very difficult if not impossible for their competitors to keep up with them which in turn put those competitors out of business. Wal-Mart has given us efficiency which is a good thing and should not be held accountable for its competitors not being able to keep up. “Wal-Mart is not just the world's largest retailer. It's the world's largest company--bigger than ExxonMobil, General Motors, and General Electric. The scale can be hard to absorb. Wal-Mart sold $244.5 billion worth of goods last year. It sells in three months what number-two retailer Home Depot sells in a year.” Wal-Mart is just a good business because they can afford to give these rock bottom prices.
We all know the downside twist to this great deal that Wal-Mart has offered. They are accused of shutting down local businesses, driving down employment rates and mistreating workers especially women and youth. If anything we realize that this is a very powerful enterprise. Their sales associates, who comprise the majority of workers within the company, only earned average annual wages of $13,861 in 2001. This was about $769 below the poverty line for a family of three. So when it comes to employment there is no debate that it is not the most beneficial thing for the economy. “As of 2006 only 43% of Wal-Mart employees were covered by the company’s health insurance plan.” This shows that their health insurance for its workers was not too good; another bad thing about the company. Wal-Mart was fined five million dollars between 2003 and 2005 by the federal environmental agency. Offences ranged from polluting streams in Connecticut with improperly stored pesticides and other pollutants to violating the clean water act in nine states to blocking Florida state inspectors from monitoring the company’s fuel tanks. These are some serious issues to look in to when looking at the negative side of the company on a wide scale. We see the damages that the company has cost this country so let us flip the coin and look at the positives. The federal reserve’s bank of Minneapolis claims Wal-Mart is good for the economy. The Wal-Mart effect study for 89 countries in its region shows that between 1985 and 2003, personal income, overall employment and retail employment grew faster in countries with Wal-Mart than in those without. This means their research have cancelled most of the negative components I stated it has on the economy earlier. From this angle we see Wal-Mart having a stronger benefit on the positive side of the economy. Wal-Mart accounts for almost 6 percent of retail and food sales in the U.S. Wal-Mart is a very efficient economical business and like every business there is a negative and a positive side. Depending on which part of the field you are on will see things differently. This will always be a contradictory topic and we will have people on both sides of the field. My view is despite its negative side the good out ways the bad and Wal-Malt is more beneficial to America. I think the company is good for America and the majority of Americans.

Reference
Riper, T. V. (2008, January 17). Why wal-mart may just be good for the u.s.. Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22719054/ns/business-forbes_com/t/why-wal-mart-may-just-be-good-us/

Fishman, C. (2003, December o1). The wal-mart you don't know. Retrieved from http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

The effects of wal-mart on local labor markets. (2011, December 16). Retrieved from http://www.nber.org/papers/w11782.pdf

Gogoi, P. (2007, June 13). Wal-mart's latest ethics controversy. Retrieved from http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2007/db20070612_548611.htm