  urlLink BW Online | January 28, 2004 | The Two Faces of Wal-Mart This article highlights the usual horrible practices that WalMart uses in treatment toward employees and on the market, but it neglects WalMart's biggest problem: their stuff is tacky-cheap, and their stores are dingy. Yuck. As a person who grew up in a small hick town, I do understand the wild high walking in a WalMart can impart. But please, just say no. Every labor day I find friends who tell me they support labor, but it's not like we need unions as much these days, thanks to the amazing progress unions already accomplished: weekends, minimum wage, maximum work day, minimum work age, etc. I always try to tell them what a slippery slope it could be back to the horrible working conditions of pre-union America, if we only stop believing in the value of labor. WalMart's practices are illustrating my point perfectly well. As consumers, we have power over market practices only if we make principled decisions over where to spend our dollars.
As a country, let's all make a conscious decision to boycott Walmart and the other WalMart-owned corp, Sams. Target and internet shopping together offer good alternatives to the former. Cosco and internet shopping offer alternatives to the latter. Let's effect change. Be disciplined next time you're tempted to buy something from either WalMart or Sams. Keep on driving, for the sake of the workers, and for progress. 
