[insane_dreamer]

> Walmart was amazing for low income families in small cities and rural areas.

stop drinking the corporate Kool-Aid, my friend

https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2024/12/walmart-pr...

> In the 10 years after a Walmart Supercenter opened in a given community, the average household in that community experienced a 6 percent decline in yearly income—equivalent to about $5,000 a year in 2024 dollars—compared with households that didn’t have a Walmart open near them. Low-income, young, and less-educated workers suffered the largest losses.

> They calculate that poverty increases by about 8 percent in places where a Walmart opens relative to places without one even when factoring in the most optimistic cost-savings scenarios.

[kortilla]

All that research indicates is that Walmart isn’t a good place to work. It doesn’t say anything about how much is saves you by shopping there.

I saw this first hand when Walmart showed up in my small city in the 90s. Everyone saved enormous amounts of money, complained about shopping there, and avoided working there because the pay was shit.

If you were low income and had a job outside of Walmart retail competition space, Walmart was a godsend. Think teachers, construction workers, etc.