Those who were railing against Wal-Mart need to deal squarely and realistically with the question, "If not Wal-Mart, what?"Now by 'railing' do you mean when you (ADE Editorial Brd) called for the firing of Cliff Donaldson for underhanded dealings with Wal-Mart or do you mean the majority of people that would welcome a smaller Wal-Mart located downtown? They end with:
If everyone is willing to work together and give a little for the common good, then we're confident everything will be alright.Who exactly wasn't willing to work with the so-called 'opposition'? Was CARD willing to negotiate their stance (basically the Wal-Mart stance) on the issue, was Wal-Mart willing to meet with anyone other than their supporters. In case you've forgotten, the answer is NO.
THE LETTER
Then we have a letter (probably the first of many) explaining how the arguments against Wal-Mart are flawed.
Some of the opponents of Wal-Mart talked of them competing with local businesses. I didn't hear any of this when one local was allowed to build a car wash right next door to an existing one."So two car washes competing with each other is the same as Wal-Mart competing with Coakleys Hardware?
We all want responsible growth. Price Chopper worked with the area and built a very attractive store that blends in well.So responsible growth is defined by making a store that 'blends in'?
I believe that if all the opponents of Wal-Mart would have sat down with them and our village board and approached this in an positive way, Wal-Mart would have been happy to work out the details.Wake-up! It was Wal-Mart that did not want to sit down and work out the details! Wal-Mart does not 'work out details', they tell you how it's going to be.
Flawed arguments?
2 comments:
I don't know the personalities involved so I really can't comment in detail, but one thing I have learned that works in almost every case is to follow the money.
Who owns the Adirondack Daily Enterprise? Who is on the editorial board? Do they have any monetary interests in Walmart? Were they promised, perhaps, enhanced advertising business when Walmart opened?
One of the things that Walmart does with local papers is bribe them by promising advertising business. As soon as they have driven the competition out they stop advertising. The local paper is now permanently screwed since their old advertiser's businees is gone and so is Walmart's.
One of the things the ADE has apparently forgotten is that Wal-Mart NEGOTIATES WITH NOBODY. It is there way or the highway. And CARD was not WILLING TO NEGOTIATE EITHER. It was 121,000 square feet or nothing. The ADE editoral finished with "If everyone is willing to work together and give a little for the common good, then we're confident everything will be all right." But how is that EVER going to take place when Wal-Mart and CARD are NOT WILLING TO COMPROMISE ON WHAT THEY WANT?
Wal-Mart could build downtown, but again, THEY DON'T COMPROMISE FOR ANYBODY.
The letter by Lee Daunais was also in error. Two competing car washes is hardly competiton. Al Norman says in his book "The Case Against Wal-Mart" that when Wal-Mart opens it IS THE EQUIVELENT OF 100 STORES OPENING ALL AT ONCE." Is it any wonder existing businesses go under?
A letter to the editor some years ago compared Wal-Mart with local businesses. The writer said it was like playing the Saranac Lake pee wee's with the Green Bay Packers. It doesn't work very well does it?
Get your facts straight. Wal-Mart NEGOTIATES WITH NOBODY. It is either their way--or they leave.
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