That’s the
picture of the successful retailer painted in the new attack-umentary,
“Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price,” produced by
Robert Greenwald.
Greenwald used the
familiar liberal template of emotional appeals that ignore vital
facts. Never mind that Wal-Mart provided low prices that allowed
lower-income Americans to afford items they couldn’t otherwise,
raising their standard of living. No, never mind that, as “This
Land Is Your Land” played against scenes of shuttered hometown
stores. Never mind that as Greenwald lined up religious leaders
on his side: “As Christians… we’re not about
capital. We’re about people.” “Money is the
root of evil.” “You shall not steal.” “This
is David versus Goliath.”
No, economic facts
had no place in a film that sank to the low of blaming Wal-Mart
for the actions of malicious criminals. Tugging shamelessly on
the audience’s heartstrings, Greenwald interviewed crying
family members of a girl who was abducted from a Wal-Mart parking
lot and subsequently murdered. Accusing the store of “putting
profits before human life,” those interviewed were convinced
that if there had only been better security, their loved one would
still be with them. But heartless Wal-Mart wouldn’t waste
money on protecting people.
Better security is
always a good thing. And no one is going to say Wal-Mart is perfect.
But blaming Wal-Mart for the heinous criminal choices of the truly
heartless is beyond ridiculous. Unfortunately, the audience wasn’t
seeing right through the reasoning. They gasped and shook their
heads at all the points Greenwald intended. It’s that kind
of unquestioning acceptance of propaganda that made it so effective.
The film’s
logic was confusing, though, considering its anti-free market
agenda. According to the tragic tales of crime in the parking
lots, it’s Wal-Mart’s responsibility to protect its
shoppers, even outside its store. It’s also Wal-Mart’s
responsibility to take care of all its employees in the form of
expensive benefits packages, the film argued. In fact, the film
even indicted the company for allowing its low-income employees
to seek government aid.
Isn’t government
supposed to be good? That’s an interesting departure from
the liberal love of taxpayer-subsidized programs and the usual
assumption that it’s the government’s responsibility
to feed, clothe, house and protect everyone.
Greenwald also took
aim at local governments that had offered tax breaks and other
incentives for Wal-Mart to locate in their communities. He used
a failsafe emotional device – children – to make a
flawed comparison. Citing the amounts of tax breaks stores had
received, Greenwald showed how many schools that money could have
funded. Of course, this comparison is bogus, because the money
he was talking about never belonged to the government in the first
place. It was money NOT paid in taxes. Based on his misleading
presentation, one might think the government actively took money
out of its education treasury and handed it to Wal-Mart.
Also in the realm
of the misleading, the film showed a toy manufactured in a Chinese
factory for a cost of 18 cents and then jumps to the U.S. retail
price of $14.95. The implication was that Wal-Mart simply marked
up the item at a whopping 8,300 percent, failing to take other
costs into account – such as getting it from China to the
United States, or paying workers and overhead costs all along
the line.
Greenwald’s
case against Wal-Mart management was based on a handful of former
managers who alleged shady things going on at their former stores.
He also visited employees trying to unionize to fight the soulless
management. As one employee working with union organizers wished,
“This is our store. This isn’t their store.”
The film
did try to address some serious issues, including allegations
that Wal-Mart instructed its workers in Chinese plants to lie
to inspectors about working conditions, as well as one store’s
problems complying with environmental regulations. It is widely
known that the company is working on public relations. But claims
against the company in Greenwald’s film were undermined
by his hyperbole and his staunch refusal to acknowledge the way
Wal-Mart really impacted communities – paying millions in
taxes, employing thousands, and saving countless shoppers millions
of dollars.
