Posted on 06/07/2010 10:15:21 AM PDT by Chi-townChief
The folks who don't want any more Wal-Marts in Chicago like to paint the superstore as the root of all evil.
Recently, they've latched on to a new study of Chicago's first Wal-Mart, in Austin, as further evidence of the unique kind of pain Wal-Mart inflicts on Americans.
There's just one problem.
The study's anti-Wal-Mart conclusions don't add up.
On Thursday, the City Council Zoning Committee, short on votes, once again deferred a vote on a massive development on the Far South Side that would include Chicago's second Wal-Mart, giving Chicagoans more time to analyze this study, as well as all things Wal-Mart.
First, let's take a careful look -- and quickly dismiss -- this flawed study by researchers at Loyola University Chicago and the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Though pegged as the first urban analysis of Wal-Mart's impact on local businesses and jobs, the study turns out to be little more than a cheap shot at Wal-Mart.
The underlying data are weak, even if the researchers' forceful conclusions are not.
In other words, their conclusions are no conclusions at all.
The researchers found that the Austin Wal-Mart basically has been a "wash" in terms of job creation. The jobs created by Wal-Mart, they concluded, were erased by the loss of an equal number of jobs at nearby businesses that closed after Wal-Mart opened in September 2006.
Too bad the researchers didn't count the jobs at the new businesses that opened after Wal-Mart's arrival on the West Side. There are roughly 22, according to the local alderman, Emma Mitts, including Menards, Food 4 Less, Aldi, two bank branches, CVS and Burlington Coat Factory. That information wasn't available, the researchers say.
Too bad they also didn't factor in other reasons, unrelated to Wal-Mart, nearby businesses closed. Nor did they compare West Side business closure rates with rates in other similar communities. Again, that information wasn't available.
Without this key data, this research is only a starting point -- and nothing close to a definite statement about Wal-Mart's economic impact.
We don't doubt that when a Wal-Mart opens other stores nearby are forced out of business. That has been documented elsewhere in the U.S, and the Chicago researchers found the businesses closest to the Austin Wal-Mart were at the greatest risk of closure.
It's worth noting, though, that those lost jobs paid low wages, an average of $9.02 an hour in 2008, according to the UIC/Loyola study. That compares with Wal-Mart's reported full-time average wage of $11.77 in Austin in 2010.
The verdict is still out on Wal-Mart's impact on job creation in Chicago, with this study offering little insight. But it does help clarify one point:
Wal-Mart alone cannot transform a community, despite what Wal-Mart boosters like to say. Rather, it can be a catalyst for further economic development, the single best reason we strongly support more Wal-Marts in Chicago, particularly in underserved neighborhoods.
The two South Side sites -- in Pullman and Chatham -- under consideration for a Wal-Mart cannot attract other retailers without an anchor such as Wal-Mart. In fact, no other anchor store has even expressed interested.
And Wal-Mart stores at both locations would bring groceries, merchandise and decent-paying -- not great, but decent -- jobs to neighborhoods that need and want them. This is especially true at Pullman Park, the development the City Council put off on Thursday. That project would transform a barren former industrial site with retail, 800 new homes, a hotel and a recreation center.
There is little risk of displacing existing businesses because there are almost none there -- almost no retail, no restaurants, no grocers.
Wal-Mart is neither evil nor the Messiah. But there's little doubt that struggling Chicago neighborhoods would be better off with one than without one.
Probably has to do with Walmart's support of 0bamacare.
I want liberals to pay as much as possible for their goods and services, so I am against Walmart going into such areas.
Let the enviro-Nazi, elitist libs eat their wallets just trying to survive and let the rest of us do what simply makes sense.
“The folks who don’t want any more Wal-Marts in Chicago like to paint the superstore as the root of all evil.”
The only reason liberals are attacking WalMart is because it is a non-union (which is to say, the liberal arm of the Democratic party money machine) private company.
The commies can’t have successful non-union private companies going around beating out the competition.
our Wal-Mart finally brought in the food/groceries... soon they will add the produce and the meat... it’s taken years for this to happen because of lawsuit after lawsuit... we are also finally getting a Winco, which was also held up by lawsuits...
The liberals wouldn’t patronize a Walmart even if the store was in the neighborhood.
There’s talks about a Walmart coming to town in our area. The local liberal forces are already mobilizing to put the cabash on this venture. I’ll visit the store, although we live a distance from the this town, just to annoy liberals.
I'm sure there are towns out there that would have rejected a Wal-Mart five years ago but would welcome a toxic waste dump today.
The liberal elite wouldn't. The liberal poor would be thrilled to have the chance.
The Wal-Mart fight has good on for years here in Chicago - Flaky Father Michael Pfelger opposed having one in the St. Sabina area because he didn’t want any “slave jobs.” He’s rather his flock be unemployed.
OOPS
good on = gone on
This is why Wal-Mart has proclaimed they will be adding 50K jobs worldwide, and paying for college education for employees. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. In other words, I don’t put it past even Wal-Mart to make concessions to continue to keep the Left and their union thugs from the doorstep.
The only beef (a minor one at that) I have with Wal-Mart is all of the chinese stuff that is sold there, but to be fair, try going to Target/K-Mart/Family Dollar and NOT buying something made in China.
Last time I was at the WalMarts I didn’t notice any machine-guns trained on folks forcing them to shop...
And look at all the more money to be paid to those doing the study. Geeze a job is better than no job and unemployment is running out for millions...Jerks
Now if only they’d bring in cleaning crews, Wal-Mart would be a decent place to shop.
I know it’s only a temporary job until the economy opens up again (I’m a Civil Engineer), but I’m proud to be working for Wal-Mart. After nearly a quarter century in gubmint, I’m finding that working for people in free enterprise is pretty nice. For example, if there’s a problem you solve it yourself, instead of filling out forms and waiting 3 weeks to hear a reply.
Which means that, as it always does, come November, ideology will be thrust aside and the old saying we hear at election time will once again be the call of the day; "It's the economy, stupid."
I love being able to buy groceries, cloths, auto supplies, and ammo all at the same store.
They already have. They came out in support of Obamacare. As for the unions, they may not have a choice if Obama isn't shown the door.
Would I as a company supply them, no way.
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