Why Conservatives Should Be Wary of Wal-Mart

I've heard conservatives - all of the ones I listen to anyway (primarily Rush and Jason Lewis) - speak up in favor of Wal-Mart's various questionable practices. Jason Lewis (whome I admire greatly) in particular keeps harping on the zoning issues that plague Wal-Mart within the Charlotte-Mecklenburg area. With most of these I agree.

However, most of these arguments assume that Wal-Mart is simply a capitalist entity simply searching out the greatest profit in the best markets, and is being held back by the local governments. If this were the case, I could hardly argue against their "cause".

What happens though, when Wal-Mart uses the local goverment to meet its own ends against the wishes of the local citizenry? In my particular case it seems to me that Wal-Mart has gotten "in bed" (take that as you will) with the local government to change local zoning so that they can get in where the residents most affected are overwhelmingly against it. How is Wal-Mart (and its ilk) to be viewed when they use the local government to thwart the will of the people, as opposed to just being a victim of it as so many conservatives say?

Good or bad, the ability for local governments to zone different areas is what it is. When I bought my home, the adjoining land was zoned for small retail shops. This should have served to enhance property values over time. However, when Wal-Mart entered the picture, the county government conveniently found it necessary to grandfather the zoning in favor of Wal-Mart that allows them to build a 250,000 square foot, 24-hour Super Wal-Mart that butts right up against people's backyards (can you say, "increased tax base"?). These are the very people who, when they bought their homes, bought it with the knowledge that only small, individually owned, retail outlets would be there.

Since then our neighborhood, the most affected, has been in a multi-year legal battle with the county and Wal-Mart to get the zoning back to where it was when we bought our homes. The local citizenry has also almost completley replaced the county commissioners who made the original grandfathering decision. The new commission has also appealed the decision of its own board that approved the change in zoning in Wal-Mart's favor. Thank goodness for the voting process and the concern of local citizens, but this should never have had to happen.

The very arrogance of Wal-Mart and the local county government (in cahoots with each other) should cause any morally and intellectually honest conservative to question when a "capitalist entity" like Wal-Mart has crossed the line. Not everything they do is good, and not everything they do is within the spirit of true conservative capitalism.