Darkness Rising

There is an evil rising in El Mirage. It is insidious, a malignant spirit that consumes souls and brings blight on everything it touches. Yes, the local government wants to put a Wal-Mart in my backyard. There are two reasons, money (of course) being the first. The second is that it’s not going in their backyard so they won’t see their property values plummet.

Wal-Mart brings with it a history of sexism, low pay, and dragging crime and shabbiness along in its wake (me thinks El Mirage has enough of said attributes). Worst yet is when it decides to relocate leaving an abandoned building behind and the city holding the bag. I saw that happen in Clovis, NM – already the shabby capitol of the US (El Mirage runs a close second and needs no help moving up the list) when Wal-Mart pulled out of the mall and relocated leaving a gaping hole where the anchor should have been. Wal-Mart isn’t in business to do the average chump any favors. They don’t make money by allowing labor unions into their store, paying their employees high wages, or providing reasonable health plans. They are in business to put the gouge on everyone to fill the corporate pockets. Oh, and if you are a small business owner in town, might as well burn the shop down and collect the insurance - beat the rush to go out of business and lose everything you worked so hard for and the rest of you might want to re-think those great jobs (see The Wal-Mart Effect)...

They recently tried to put on a happy face and tell everyone they are going green. That would be a good step – they can start by staying out of my neighborhood and telling the city to establish a park there instead.

Be afraid; be very afraid if you live in my subdivision, especially if you ever plan on selling your home. If you have any doubts about the veracity of my claims do a simple Internet search where you can read about other communities that have felt the impact of Wal-Mart or are struggling to keep the big box stores out of thier neighborhoods.