[Vision2020] The Walmart Clash

[Mark Solomon]

Phil,

As the old engineering saying goes, "It's hard to 
remember your objective is to drain the swamp 
when you're up to your ass in alligators."

Your sentiment is correct. The Coop expansion 
significantly increased the number of jobs 
available at the Coop and improved market 
potential for local producers by increasing the 
Coop's local market share.

Mark

"That said, fighting Walmart does not make a lot 
of sense to me.  A battle royal against Wally 
World is not going to bring jobs to Moscow and 
its jobs that we lack that are driving our small 
retailers and small businesses into receivership. 
If half the efforts heading into attacks on 
Walmart were directed to getting real jobs here, 
we would be booming and downtown would be rolling 
in the purchasing power that could be ours.

Just as an example, Bill London is going hog wild 
setting up an anti-Walmart group with publicists 
and the rest.  What if that same sort of group 
was set up to do volunteer work to get support 
for and sales possibilities for the area’s 
organic farmers?  How about if the same effort 
was put into work to attract desirable businesses 
to the area?  Because that is the sort of effort 
required to save downtown and all the rallies and 
all the attack on Wally World will not change the 
fact that real industry is what we need to make 
Moscow viable."

Phil Nisbet