Review of Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005) by Tom A — 28 Jan 2009

I never really opted for Walmart because of their poor checkout service and banal, ugly stores. I've felt that why not pay a bit more for better service and a better shopping experience? When I first learned of this documentary, I simply saw it as a left-wing attack on American capitalism.

However, my political views have shifted a bit leftward since then, and I now that I got Netflix online, I watched this finally, and after seeing, feel less convinced to partronize Walmart. After having seeing this, I believe that Walmart itself is engaging an assault on American capitalism. The fact that the big chain got big subsidies while their much smaller, locally owned competitors got nothing and were forced out of business - the ACE and IGA stores, for example. Not to mention the money that could have gone to public safety and community centers... Walmart is just one cog in the sprawl machine.

The one reason this got 4 rather than 5 stars out of me, was of course its one-sidedness... expected. Yes, there are success stories and positive things associated with Walmart- workers who do well and feel treated well in many cases. Sam Walton did pretty much all good with his company, but after his death, things have gotten out of hand. And this documentary presents something that can't be ignored... there are serious issues with Walmart. The fact that a worker was crushed to death on Black Friday '08 isn't helping their image after that either.