In late 2006 Chicago's first Wal-Mart opened. Yesterday the local NPR affiliate interviewed University of Illinois-Chicago's University of Illinois-Chicago's David Merriman, who heads the school's economics department, who had this to say about possible Wal-Mart expansion in Chicago:It won't fundamentally change the total amount of employment in the city. And I think that policymakers shouldn't see Wal-Mart as a panacea for employment problems.
Merriman said that 300 jobs were lost in surrounding zip codes after Chicago's Wal-Mart opened.
Gee, didn't a recession start about a year later?
As for the people who shop at that Wal-Mart, they are paying less for their goods than they did before. As I wrote last night, much of Chicago is a "food desert," an area where there are no supermarkets offering fresh and inexpensive food products.
David Merriman, another clueless expert.
Related post:
Proposed South Side Wal-Mart: Alderman and unions prefer "no wages" unless they get their way
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