Why Is Walmart Evil?

pics on Sodahead Why Is Walmart Evil, But Amazon Isn't? Excerpt:

Fairness dictates that if Walmart is going to be criticized for the bad things it does, then it should also be praised for the good it brings. Walmart pays a large amount of tax to the U.S., state and local governments - in the form of income tax, property tax and so on. In fact, Walmart is consistently one of the largest taxpayers in the country, with nearly $6 billion in taxes paid in 2012 (not all to U.S. governments, though).

Second, while people complain about the pay Walmart offers, it is nevertheless the largest private employer in the world, and the leading private employer in most states. Hundreds of thousands of Americans have jobs and pay income taxes because they have a job at Walmart. Moreover, the second largest employer in the U.S. ((McDonald's (NYSE:MCD)) is not exactly famous for great wages either.

Last and not least, Walmart's low prices enable consumers to buy more with their money. Walmart is not solely (or even mostly) responsible for the minimal wage growth in the U.S. in recent history, but Walmart's obsession with low prices has allowed shoppers to take their slow-growing paychecks and stretch them farther. Try telling a stressed-out Walmart customer that they're evil for going there and putting 10% more food on the table.

Comment: WMT is one of the first stocks I bought. It's up 36% since I purchased it in December 2010. I like Wal-Mart for a number of reasons. We don't happen to shop there (well I don't shop anywhere! and Kathee does all of her shopping in Plymouth .. which means that Target is her store). Chart below compares with Target over 2 years. I like 'em both actually!