What People are Saying

What People are saying about Wal-Mart:

“Never in the history of the retail business in the United States has any company done so much to make life better for the working man of America than Wal-Mart has done.”

John Terry, an economist, minister and veteran, Northwest Arkansas Times 10/7/2006

"It's becoming clearer by the day that the City Council harmed New Yorkers through its boneheaded move to keep Wal-Mart out of the city. The latest evidence is the burgeoning move in retail-land to discount prescription drugs, a move out on which New Yorkers are, by and large, missing. It all started with Wal-Mart's offer to sell a 30-day supply of generic drugs for $4. The pilot program launched in Florida was so successful — the chain reported filling more than 88,000 new prescriptions within the first 10 days — that Wal-Mart quickly spread the business to an array of other states, including New York."

editorial, New York Sun 10/30/2006

“If you want to feel good about helping the poor, donate to a charity. If you want to make a positive and instantaneous difference in the lives of the poor, make sure they have access to a Wal-Mart.”

Rick Martinez, The News & Observer 10/25/2006

"We've been looking forward to welcoming Wal-Mart into the actual City of Chicago for some time now, and we're excited about all the benefits and opportunities this store brings to this specific community. … Providing much needed jobs - approximately 400 upon opening - the store already has received more than 15,000 applications from members of the Austin community and beyond to work for the store. This partnership has created a true store of the community...a store that was built by the community...a store that has given residents of the community employment opportunities...and a store that will provide new local shopping choices for the community."

Jerry Roper, President and CEO Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Business Wire 9/26/2006

“Wal-Mart, the most prodigious job-creator in the history of the private sector in this galaxy, has almost as many employees (1.3 million) as the U.S. military has uniformed personnel. A McKinsey company study concluded that Wal-Mart accounted for 13 percent of the nation's productivity gains in the second half of the 1990s, which probably made Wal-Mart about as important as the Federal Reserve in holding down inflation. … Wal-Mart and its effects save shoppers more than $200 billion a year, dwarfing such government programs as food stamps ($28.6 billion) and the earned-income tax credit ($34.6 billion).”

George F. Will, The Washington Post 9/14/2006

“Wal-Mart, … has announced the most comprehensive plan: to cut back on their greenhouse gas emissions and their uses of coal and oil by designing new stores, changing their transportation patterns, drastically cutting the size of the packages of the stuff we buy, using less plastic, less cardboard, less energy.”

President Bill Clinton, speech in Nashville, Tennessee 8/7/2006

“Wal-Mart has been one of the most successful antipoverty programs in America. It provides entry-level jobs that unskilled workers badly want – there are often 5 or 10 applicants for each position at a new store.”

John Tierney, The New York Times 11/29/2005