[Vision2020] Wal-Mart Supercenter Opposition

[Andreas Schou]

> Are people against the Super Center because of its location or simply
> because it is walmart?  

I work at Sojourners' Alliance, a transitional housing program. 

This year, we provided $29,004 in services to employees of Walmart and
families of employees of Walmart, or roughly 14% of our 2004 budget.
This doesn't count the amount we subsidize Walmart employees living in
our rent-controlled affordable housing apartments. These were people
unable to pay rent at market prices: not just the working poor, but
the working homeless. Assuming an average award of $150/month/person,
the state of Idaho paid out $16,200 in food stamp benefits to mutual
clients of Sojourners' Alliance and Idaho Health and Welfare ... and
this is simply the single Walmart here in Moscow, not a SuperCenter.

How much indigent medical care did Gritman provide to employees of
Walmart this year? How much did the federal government pay in Earned
Income Tax Credit to employees of Walmart this year? How about the
state of Idaho's WIC program? With these factors in play, I doubt that
Walmart provided any net financial benefit to Latah County this year.

If Walmart starts paying a living wage and stops being a drain on both
local services and the local economy -- as Costco, for instance, has
proven that it can do -- and becomes a contributor to the community,
I'll support their move to Pullman. Until then, I'll fight tooth and
nail to keep them out.

-- ACS