Retail behemoth Wal-Mart may be unwanted in other parts of metro Atlanta but south DeKalb County is rolling out the welcome mat.
Community leaders and residents will be on hand today when Wal-Mart celebrates the grand opening of its first store inside the Perimeter --- at Gresham Road and I-20.
The 214,000-square-foot supercenter, located on the site of an old Kmart, could help revitalize an economically depressed area and provide much-needed jobs.
"It's a good shot in the arm for the community," said John Evans, a community activist and former president of the DeKalb NAACP. "We needed development there. It may serve as a real catalyst to bring in new businesses."
Two other Wal-Mart stores are scheduled to open inside the Perimeter in the next year.
I loved this quote:
DeKalb Chief Executive Officer Vernon Jones said new Wal-Mart's location off I-20 will also attract shoppers from outside the county, putting sales-tax revenue in county coffers.
Jones also believes people in the community should welcome the new supercenter, especially because of what it replaced.
"I think it's obvious what people would like, if they have a choice between a dilapidated, crack-infested old building with no jobs versus a thriving retail box with supporting retail shops, providing jobs and services and improving the property value," he said. "I think it's a no-brainer."
Exactly. It amazes me how many people buy into the "Wal-Mart doesn't pay enough" crap. Wal-Mart adds jobs to the economy. Yes, they're low-paying jobs, but that doesn't matter. When Wal-Mart opens a store in a community they have to hire people. These people come from the existing job market which operates like any other kind of market. If it is a tight job market with low unemployment competition for qualified workers is going to take place which will in turn lead to increased wages. High demand with low supply equals higher prices for the services in demand.
If it is a loose job market, with lots of people unemployed, the new business is going to draw (at least some) from the pool of people who are unemployed. And even the employees who come from other businesses will have to be replaced by somebody else, and so on until eventually somebody hires an employee who was previously unemployed. This is also a good thing. After all, a job - even one that doesn't pay much - is better than no job at all.
Of course, the usual suspects are four-square against Wal-Mart moving in:
Not everyone is happy to see the new Wal-Mart, however.
Brenda Pace, who lives in nearby East Lake Terrace, said she is totally opposed to it.
"I don't see where it's going to benefit the community at all, because who can live off what they pay?" she said. "They can pull out anytime ... and leave a huge, empty mess there. The traffic is going to be horrific. And you're going to have to deal with the problems that come with more traffic --- you're going to end up with more crime, and this is already a crime-ridden area."
Nice how a woman who doesn't even live in the community in question starts complaining about what traffic will be like. Because, you know, this town should forgo letting a new business come in and employ people because traffic might get a little congested.
To me this just re-enforces the idea that most people are opposed to Wal-Mart more for aesthetic reasons (or, in the case of labor unions and their supporters, political reasons) then anything else. The snobs hate Wal-Mart because they don't like the "class" of people who work and shop there. They don't like the idea of "big box" retail and would rather see their fellow citizens shop at cute little boutique shops. That the business model which goes with those boutique shops is inviable in many parts of the country (not everybody can afford to pay boutique shop prices) either doesn't dawn on these people or is ignored by them.
The unions, of course, are just ticked that Wal-Mart refuses to bow to their demands for inflated wages and benefits. Unions earn their keep by subjugating business to their will, regardless of whether or not their will is viable business practice.