Over the past several years, Wal Mart has become the whipping boy of the no-growth and slow-growth movement. Never mind that Sam Walton built the model of retailing efficiency, and that today Wal Mart is known as the example of logistical perfection.
But certainly you also know that Wal Mart, Home Depot, and their other large retail friends are, in actuality, evil incarnate. Also (he said breathlessly) that they are part of an nasty capitalistic conspiracy to dominate the lives of us all? In a nearby town to our house, Wal Mart has been trying for years to build a new store on the site of a tired old nursery that is an eyesore. But the residents of the local community would prefer the sad old nursery to a new Wal Mart in which they could buy kitty litter far cheaper than just about anyplace in town.
But wait. If I read this correctly, it turns out that these private companies have become the major saviors of the disastrous aftermath of Katrina. Home Depot, WalMart, Black & Decker. So then, private companies can actually add something to the world that is positive? Is this possible? How shocking!
