MICHAEL PAUL WILLIAMS: Low prices accompany a new Walmart, but at what cost?
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Mike's Take - Wal-Mart worries
Columnist Mike Williams says mom and pop shops in Powhatan are worried a big box store will eat their lunch.Rural America may be an ideal spot to raise children, but it's increasingly no place for mom and pop.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. wants to plant its giant footprint in eastern Powhatan County. And family-owned Powhatan Pharmacy & Gifts lies right in its path.
In this case, mom and pop are Carol and Jim Gregg, who have run the pharmacy for 35 years. "We were here when you didn't have any stoplights," Jim Gregg recalled yesterday.
"I just don't think Powhatan needs a big box of anything," said Carol Gregg. "We're a nice rural county."
A segment of Powhatan shares this sentiment and opposes the idea of a Walmart near U.S. 60 and state Route 675. But other folks are cheering on Wal-Mart without a trace of nostalgia and with money on their mind.
"I love it. Revenue for Powhatan. Jobs," said Rachel Seamans, 32, as she stood in the parking lot near the Powhatan pharmacy.
"With the economy being what it is, we need a bargain," said security officer Darrell Gregg, no relation to the pharmacists.
And what of the locally owned businesses?
"Mom and pop close early," he said. "We want to go shopping when we need to go shopping."
"I want one, absolutely," said Robert Bishop, 66. "I'd like to write a letter urging everyone in Powhatan County to say, 'We want Wal-Mart!'"
Actually, opponents were circulating petitions, on paper and online, against adding a Walmart. Opposition central is an herb shop run by Debra Markel, who filed a Freedom of Information Act request to learn more about the discussions between county officials and Wal-Mart.
Opposition to Wal-Mart is nothing new. We saw this a decade ago in Ashland, and another Wal-Mart drama is playing out in Orange County.
Ashland lost its store wars to Wal-Mart. "It's really hard to win," Markel said. But she listed numerous reasons to fight the retail giant.
Wal-Mart cripples small business, drives U.S. manufacturers out of business with ethically dubious practices, and its stores are eyesores that produce traffic, noise and light pollution, she said.
Countering the pro-jobs argument, Markel asserts that Wal-Mart provides low pay and poor benefits.
The proposed site of the Walmart is 4½ miles from Westchester Commons, a sprawling new retail center just across the line in Chesterfield County. Another Walmart sits 10 to 15 minutes away, east of Midlothian village.
Apparently, that's not close enough in this instant-access age. Convenience and low prices trump all.
Buying locally and thinking globally may seem like a luxury, but can we afford not to? These mom-and-pop establishments are not only our neighbors, but the unique fabric of our communities. It doesn't profit Powhatan to gain a Walmart if the county loses its soul.
Contact Michael Paul Williams at (804) 649-6815 or
. Follow Michael Paul Williams on Twitter @RTDMPW
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Reader Reactions
Michael, people are protesting change and you’re almost sympathetic and supportive…what’s up with that? Don’t these fools know that all change is good? That change is to be hoped for?
I would have thought that you would have criticized these people in the strident terms that you reserve for Republicans and other haters of change.
I’m wondering how Wal-Mart will provide revenue to Powhatan. Is the BOS preparing a gross receipts tax for Powhatan?
I don’t live in Powhatan so I don’t really have a stake in the matter…but I hope the residents will make sure that this is really what they want before they let Wal-Mart in. There will be no going back once you open the floodgates. Remember Wal-Mart was pretty much the first major store that showed up in Short Pump, and look what’s there now. Goochland residents have had to fight like crazy to keep the suburbs from consuming their county, and now Orange is fighting a similar battle. Powhatan is so beautiful, I hate to see it turn into Anywhere, USA.
Walmart in Powhatan would bring much needed tax revenue. A lot more than the small mom & pop stores do now.
People need the jobs. If higher paying jobs were available does anyone think that those Walmart employees would not be there? Heck I see many recent high school graduates mowing lawns to make a living. I would much rather work at Walmart than have to do that.
Last if the demand for Walmart and other similar stores were not there then they would not be building them.
This is 2009 not 1950 and the retail and grocery market has changed. Mom and pops cannot and will not compete.
Quote: ‘I love it. Revenue for Powhatan. Jobs,‘ said Rachel Seamans, 32.
What glassy-eyed idealism. I suppose that all the kids graduating from Powhatan HS are going to break their legs to grab a “job” there & all will be well. Sure. More realistically, folks in Powhatan will be sneering “Man, I ain’t working for no $8 bucks an hour!“ Just like folks do everywhere else.
Debbie says Walmart provides low pay and poor benefits. That follows the Republican business model perfectly; hence, Walmart is perfect for Powhatan.
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