Conservative Soup - food for thought

I teach an introductory Economics course for a local community college in Indiana and I like to discuss Wal-Mart often. I personally choose not to shop at Wal-Mart for one particular reason, I don't like the service I get there. I tip my hat to Wal-Mart for the success it has built for itself over the years and the wealth it has created for shareholders and the "everyday low prices" it provides for us consumers.
Recently, Wal-Mart has become the target of corporate hating liberals in states like Massachusetts and Illinois. State legislation has been aimed at making Wal-Mart carry greater costs for health care expenses for its emplyees. Is this fair? I do not believe corporate success should equal government intervention. Besides, don't employees have the option of working elsewhere? "Not in our neighborhood", some people have said to me. "Wal-Mart has run every mom and pop store out of business", they continue. This is true, that an open Wal-Mart has forced many small sole proprietors to close shop. I do not blame Wal-Mart for this at all. We, as local consumers, have failed to provide support for "Mom and Pop". We have swarmed to the open doors of low prices at the expense of our neighborhood grocer, hardware, shoe shop, and pharmacist. We do benefit from having Wal-Mart in our town. We demand the convenience it provides. "We can buy everything at one store", a student said to me. Have our preferences won over our old obligations of supporting "Mom and Pop"? Wal-Mart positioned itself early to provide consumers the most product for the dollars we have available. Sam Walton was a genious at predicting what type of spenders Americans would become. We save nearly nothing, but we want to have everything. Wal-Mart is the pusher for our product addiction. Sorry Mom and Pop, until we change our habits you'll have to wait.

-Milt-