Walmart and Ohio

I’m all for business. I believe that anyone should be able to either create and sell a product or service at a profit and prosper responsibly. It’s the American way. Buy low, high. Reduce overhead and increase profits. That’s just how the game is played. However, I have to ask; where is the line drawn between profitability and sheer mongering?

Just about anywhere you live, you will find a Walmart store minutes away. With individual stores generating upwards of $100 million annually and 127 SuperCenters in the State of Ohio. I’d say the company is doing quite well. But I have to ask the question, at what expense to the state?

In watching the documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost Of Low Price, I’ve learned a great deal about how Wal-Mart furthers it’s profits. Though the ability to walk into a giant store that sells just about anything I want at the lowest prices around, realizing the overall damage the company is doing on the mass scale it is is startling.

In looking at the Walmart Corporate Ohio State Information page it shows some details of what it brings to the state. It all sounds pretty good.

Taxes and Fees

* Walmart collected on behalf of the state of Ohio more than $449.1 million in sales taxes in FYE 2010.
* Walmart paid more than $70.5 million in state and local taxes in the state of Ohio in FYE 2010.
End Quote

Now, that sounds pretty nice. A total of $519.6 million going into Ohio in taxes.

However, the money Wal-Mart costs Ohio is also very interesting. From what I’ve gathered, Wal-Mart sees fit to push associates to use State Poverty Health Care instead of offering higher wages and quality health care of it’s own. This means that the Ohio taxpayer is footing the bill for a large portion of Wal-Marts associates. So, while you may save $1.00 more on your purchase of a T-Shirt or Hair Curlers, you are ultimately paying it back in taxes.

I don’t have all the figures in front of me and I’m not currently wanting to write a giant expose on Wal-Mart on this blog right now, however, it’s certainly one topic of investigation I plan to delve into.

In a nutshell, Wal-Mart comes into a city, shuts down all of the businesses in the area who are playing by fair rules, providing quality jobs and healthcare for their associates and otherwise helping ensure small towns and cities prosper as a community and ultimately enslaves people with little choice to go elsewhere and then has the state foot the bills on expenses they should be paying out.

How do they get to do so much damage in the name of high profits? Two reasons:

#1. We, the public are constantly searching for ways to pinch pennies and turn a $1 into $20. So naturally, an offering for products at reduced prices is a hard thing to pass up.

#2. Politics. Plain and simple. Wal-Mart campaign contributions to those who are willing to help them strip their communities down to the core and ultimately establish a dependency on them.

Between the products of Wal-Mart coming in abundance from Chinese Wal-Mart factories. The damage to local communities and local jobs. The savings they take advantage of in Government Subsidies and Healthcare. I have to wonder, how much better would the economy be across the country if Wal-Mart didn’t exist and what can I do to turn back the clock in Ohio?

I’d love to hear your comments and concerns on this topic.

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