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Is Wal-Mart Good or Bad for the Economy?

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Is Wal-Mart Good or Bad for the Economy?
Aaron Pontes November 5th, 2010
Economics Term Paper Period 11

Nowadays when a person is in need of some groceries, or even clothes, instead of making multiple stops at diffrent outlets they visit their nearest Walmart. There are many opinions on how Walmart has impacted America in various ways. One of the most popular contreversary is its effect on the economy. "Walmart does more for the average american than any other company" (Ray Bracy, Troy 1 ). Walmart has left a positive impact on America at the local, regional and national level that has helped America grow as a country within the economy, offering benefits to its employees and providing job aids for many americans. "There are a lot of people who hate Wal-Mart. In the absence of data, they have a visceral reaction" (Neumark 1). Yet Walmart has strived to change that way americans think of walmart's impact on the economy."According to economic consulting firm Global Insight, the existence of Wal-Mart in the United States and its effect on consumer prices results in an annual cost savings of $263 billion, or roughly $895 per person. The study also concluded that Wal-Mart created 210,000 net new jobs last year and pays employees competitive wages."(Troy 1) This proves how Walmart has saved millions of dollars for the economy providing many jobs for the unemployed and the expansion of walmarts in diffrent areas saves alot of money for those locations. For example," If Wal-Mart's store penetration rate as it's found in Dallas/Fort Worth was applied to markets such as Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, that annual savings per person would be $763, $1,000 and $1,307,"(Troy 1). This shows us that Walmart itself is not negative impact on society but rather a positive one allowing America grow as a nation and allowing a huge industry like these help out in hard times like the ones we are seeing in present day. The economy we see today with many americans unemployed makes many wonder if they're

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