The Wal-Mart Effect

A very interesting, and seemingly fair, look at how Wal-Mart operates. My two favorite insights are these. First how salmon changed from a seasonal delicacy to a commodity meat over the last few decades. You can now get a a salmon caught and prepared from chile to your Wal-Mart in less than 48 hours and the fish will have never been frozen; plus this is all for less than five bucks. That's just stunning. Second, he likens Wal-Mart to cars. He poses the question, are cars bad? The answer is obviously complicated and the government has created regulations regarding safety and fuel economy etc. to help cars become a better and better thing. The author predicts the same will happen to Wal-Mart in regards to its busines practices and effects on the economy. I knew Wal-Mart was big, but I didn't realize exactly how big until I read this book. The author still shops at Wal-Mart, I probably will continue supporting alternatives.

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