hey flyin...how are you?
i don't think i am naive....and i don't mean to blame only walmart. there is plenty of blame to go around on this issue beginning with the government and big corporations.
i have worked in many different situations, in companies large and small, and for the last almost 20 years have had my own business so i have been on both sides of this. i promise you i have been more than fair with any employees i have had, with the public i have served, and have tried to operate honestly and ethically. i chose to leave corporate america because of the lack of ethics, immorality (sexual and otherwise), and heartlessness that seemed to dominate in every company where i was employed. maybe i chose my employers poorly, - but they certainly all offered wonderful benefits, pensions, perks - i still came to the conclusion that it was a cesspool and left of my own volition.
now i am a lot poorer, working for myself, but at least i have peace of mind and i am not stressed out all the time.
i certainly sympathize and empathize - and identify - with anyone struggling with $ and can totally understand why you would make the decision to shop where prices are lower.
i still think the long-term ramifications of current economic trends will be devastating, most of all to this country, which is still mostly asleep, apathetic, or unconcerned - at least for now....