The Weekly Mattian: Episode 4: "Wal-Mart"

I have a little trivia question for you. Where is the only place in the world where you can buy a dozen bananas, underwear, a plunger, and a DVD player all in one trip? Why Wal-Mart of course! Known throughout the world as the most versatile retailer in all products large and small, Wal-Mart can be considered and economic super giant.
Both loved and hated by shoppers worldwide, the Wal-Mart family of discount stores has grown in less than forty years from a small roadside stand, to a global conspiracy. The first Wal-Mart store, as you may or may not know, was opened in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas by a man called Sam Walton. His goal was to provide the general public a way to obtain useful necessities at a fair, competitive price. Eight years later, Wal-Mart opened its first distribution center in Bentonville, Arkansas, where the company operates out of today. The company grew and grew and only seven years later in 1979, Wal-Mart had made its first billion dollars. To close this bit of history, I'd like to share part of an article with you that appeared in the George Mason University's History News Network:
You think that Americans' national pastime is baseball, football, or NASCAR? You're wrong. It's shopping. The United States is a country filled with passionate shoppers. Nothing is more American than finding a bargain. If you want to see an economic juggernaut in action during the holiday shopping sprint from Thanksgiving to Christmas, head over to the local Wal-Mart. The company's promise of "everyday low prices" is music to the ears of every shopper. For better or worse, we're living in a Wal-Mart World. The company now produces an astonishing 2.3 percent of the nation's gross domestic product. Last year, Wal-Mart sold a record $1.43 billion the day after Thanksgiving. This year the number jumped to $1.52 billion.
Ok, enough with the history. I know you're wondering by now, well, when is he getting to the slavery part? Here we go. As it is stated above, Wal-Mart succeeds big time when it comes to making money. One group however, frowns upon Wal-Mart as they are killing them and in a way us. That group my friends is small business. Remember the days when you could go down to the old general ma and pa store to buy seed and a kettle? Unfortunately, these days have long but ceased as tons and tons of cement and millions of volts of fluorescent lights have taken over. Wal-Mart hurts small businesses by charging lower prices for the same goods you would buy in these small ma and pa stores. Pretty soon we will become slaves of Wal-Mart because everything we need will be there and we won't have to travel to small specialty shops.
In a way, this has already happened. Wal-Mart Super centers are popping up all across the country as we speak, giving consumers all of their grocery needs at a fraction of the price. Bananas remember??? Wal-Mart has indeed become the staple of shopping in America. "Let's go the grocery store"; people go to Wal-Mart. "I need a wrench at the hardware store"; he goes to Wal-Mart. "My damn kids got chewing gum in my carburetor"; he goes to Wal-Mart. Excuse me for borrowing a quote from eBay, but "you can get IT at" Wal-Mart.