[Vision2020] Wal-Mart to Hire up to 150,000

[joekc at adelphia.net]

 Dear Donovan,

I’m not against creating jobs for people. Nor do I think it would ruin the town. I said I grew up poor but maybe you don’t believe me. If I thought that the net gain in jobs given a SWM would be greater than the net loss, then I might be for it. But I think that SWM will take away as many job opportunities as it provides. We don’t need more part-time jobs with poor health benefits. What we need is affordable wages offered by people who care about our community.

For every part-time job that SWM offers, another part-time job is needed in order for the kinds of families that you care about to be able to find decent housing in this town. With two SWMs in the area, quite a few of the jobs that people currently have will soon be unavailable. If you have some new math that convinces me that SWM will not hurt businesses that are already here, and take away jobs that people already have, I’d love to see it. Otherwise, the money needed to sustain two SWMs in the Palouse means less money for existing businesses, places owned by people who have a stake in the community where they LIVE.

You are correct about one thing: Moscow is a great community because of the people who live here, not because of the buildings. Thus, SWM can’t make Moscow a better place than it already is. However, Moscow is different not because it is like every place else. Making it like all the other places won’t help to keep what it already has going for it. We don’t need SWM to be a better community. What we need are new ideas that allow us to keep what we already have. What is wrong with trying to think about how to keep what we already have while trying to make it all better? How can SWM possibly achieve that goal? What does it have to offer that we don’t already have? 
 
Best, Joe
 
 - - - -   D o n o v a n   A r n o l d   < d o n o v a n j a r n o l d 2 0 0 5 @ y a h o o . c o m >   w r o t e :   
 
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 " I f   y o u   c h o o s e   U I   o v e r   L C S C   b e c a u s e   o f   t h e   t o w n ,   h o w   i s   t u r n i n g   M o s c o w     i n t o   L e w i s t o n   g o i n g   t o   h e l p   o u r   c h a n c e s   o f   r e c r u i t i n g   i n t e r e s t i n g     s t u d e n t s   l i k e   y o u r s e l f   a t   U I ?   W o u l d n ' t   w e   b e   b e t t e r   o f f   e n s u r i n g   t h a t     M o s c o w   k e p t   i t s   d i s t i n c t i v e   c h a r a c t e r ? " 
     
   W e l l   J o e ,   I   d o   n o t     t h i n k   t h a t   c r e a t i n g   j o b s   f o r   a l l   p e o p l e ,   n o t   j u s t   t h e   w e l l   e d u c a t e d   a n d     e x p e r i e n c e d ,   w i l l   n o t   d e s t r o y   t h i s   t o w n .   I   t h i n k   i t   j u s t   m a k e s   i t     m o r e     a f f o r d a b l e   t o   t h e   g e n e r a t i o n s   o f   f a m i l i e s   t h a t   h a v e   b e e n   i n     M o s c o w   a n d   L a t a h   f o r   s o   l o n g .   I   t h i n k   w h a t   m a k e s   M o s c o w   u n i q u e   i s   t h a t     i t   i s   a   c o l l e g e   t o w n ,   i t s   h i s t o r y ,   t h e   w e a t h e r ,   t h e   l o c a t i o n   a n d     g e o g r a p h y ,   b u t   m o r e   i m p o r t a n t l y ,   i t   i s   t h e   p e o p l e   t h a t   m a k e   M o s c o w   t h e     t o w n   t h a t   i t   i s ,   n o t   t h e   b u i l d i n g s .   A   W a l - M a r t   t u r n i n g   s u p e r   W a l - M a r t     d o e s n ' t   n o t   c h a n g e   t h a t ,   i t   j u s t   h e l p s   p e o p l e   t h a t   a r e   c o l l e g e   s t u d e n t s     t o   k e e p   c o m i n g   h e r e ,   a n d   c o l l e g e   s t u d e n t s   a r e   t h e   b r e a d   a n d   b u t t e r   f o r     t h i s   t o w n .   
     
     T a k e   C a r e , 
     
     _ D J A