hcs4 at cornell.edu (Hans
01-08-1995, 10:11 PM
Paul,
It's simple: if you don't want Wal-mart, shop elsewhere. That and spend more
time at Buttermilk Falls all year long.
Do you know whether the AFCU offers an Ithaca Hours Savings and Loan
account? Either individual or organizational?
How about redesigning and combining the Ithaca Hours newspaper and AFCU's
Alternative Business Yellow Pages? More like NYNEX's yellow pages.
Just some things to think about...
-Hans Schmidt
>TOURISM
> There is no analysis of the loss of tourist dollars from this Wal-Mart and
>related urbanization. People come to Ithaca to visit a small city and big
>lake, surrounded by forests and waterfalls. They do not come to see
>waterfalls surrounded by malls. The specialty shops found only in Ithaca
>contribute to our community's identity, too. Fewer tourists would come here
>to visit Anytown, USA. What is the effect of this loss on sales taxes?
>
>
>PRICES
> Wal-Mart does not believe in fair enterprise. They cut prices long enough
>to kill competition, then raise them (Hardware Age Magazine 2/88). Says the
>Wall Street Journal, "Wal-Mart uses its size and clout to bleed rivals dry"
>(11/18/93). They've been sued and convicted ($289,000 penalty) for unfair
>trade practices (WSJ 10/13/93). Wal-Mart's hidden prices, not shown on tags,
>are the costs already mentioned, to the city, to the environment, and to the
>community.
>
> RKG Associates has been described by Al Norman (coordinator of the
>successful Greenfield, Massachusetts, opposition to Wal-Mart) as a "barnacle
>on the whale," one of several firms which thrives by studying mall proposals.
> Why should we expect them to condemn the damage Wal-Mart does? Without
>malls, there would be nothing for them to be paid to study.
>
>FREE MARKET
> Many people in Ithaca believe that anybody who has money and land should
>have the freedom to do anything they want with them. They believe the
>freedom of the rich to invest as they please is the cornerstone of our
>Republic, the source of all wealth, and the most precious of liberties. Some
>believe that what is good for Wal-Mart is good for Ithaca.
> Yet, laws have long restrained the free market from abusing other freedoms
>perhaps even more important, such as by prohibiting child labor or slavery,
>challenging unsafe labor conditions, banning hazardous products, stopping
>false advertising, limiting pollution of water and air, penalizing
>union-busting, and preventing monopoly restraint of trade.
> While Wal-Mart is not more evil than most corporations, they are big enough
>to have power over many lives. So when they are bad, they are very bad.
> They sell goods made by Asian children (NBC Dateline, 12/92). They prohibit
>dating between employees (NYT 7/14/93). Although the USA' s wealthiest
>retail employer, they oppose health care reform (Atlanta Const. 11/1/93).
> They've been targeted by AIDS activists (Publisher's Weekly 6/29/92), and by
>unions (national picket by UF&CW: NYT 5/3/93). They had to be forced by a
>federal court to declare themselves an equal employment opportunity and
>affirmative action employer (NYT 4/20/93).
> Thus in Ithaca, New York, the law properly gives the people who live here
>more rights than corporations, to determine the uses of land. Within public
>limits, beneficial and socially-responsible enterprises can thrive.
> Wal-Mart's request for 24 acres of Ithaca wetland is another of many
>opportunities for Ithacans to decide what kind of job base we prefer, what
>kind of community we value, and how we want to live. There are fine
>alternatives which build prosperity with local creativity, in the spirit of
>the Farmer's Market and Sciencenter. This decision is our responsibility,
>and now is our time to make it.
>
>
This post transferred from the cdb-l mailing list
It's simple: if you don't want Wal-mart, shop elsewhere. That and spend more
time at Buttermilk Falls all year long.
Do you know whether the AFCU offers an Ithaca Hours Savings and Loan
account? Either individual or organizational?
How about redesigning and combining the Ithaca Hours newspaper and AFCU's
Alternative Business Yellow Pages? More like NYNEX's yellow pages.
Just some things to think about...
-Hans Schmidt
>TOURISM
> There is no analysis of the loss of tourist dollars from this Wal-Mart and
>related urbanization. People come to Ithaca to visit a small city and big
>lake, surrounded by forests and waterfalls. They do not come to see
>waterfalls surrounded by malls. The specialty shops found only in Ithaca
>contribute to our community's identity, too. Fewer tourists would come here
>to visit Anytown, USA. What is the effect of this loss on sales taxes?
>
>
>PRICES
> Wal-Mart does not believe in fair enterprise. They cut prices long enough
>to kill competition, then raise them (Hardware Age Magazine 2/88). Says the
>Wall Street Journal, "Wal-Mart uses its size and clout to bleed rivals dry"
>(11/18/93). They've been sued and convicted ($289,000 penalty) for unfair
>trade practices (WSJ 10/13/93). Wal-Mart's hidden prices, not shown on tags,
>are the costs already mentioned, to the city, to the environment, and to the
>community.
>
> RKG Associates has been described by Al Norman (coordinator of the
>successful Greenfield, Massachusetts, opposition to Wal-Mart) as a "barnacle
>on the whale," one of several firms which thrives by studying mall proposals.
> Why should we expect them to condemn the damage Wal-Mart does? Without
>malls, there would be nothing for them to be paid to study.
>
>FREE MARKET
> Many people in Ithaca believe that anybody who has money and land should
>have the freedom to do anything they want with them. They believe the
>freedom of the rich to invest as they please is the cornerstone of our
>Republic, the source of all wealth, and the most precious of liberties. Some
>believe that what is good for Wal-Mart is good for Ithaca.
> Yet, laws have long restrained the free market from abusing other freedoms
>perhaps even more important, such as by prohibiting child labor or slavery,
>challenging unsafe labor conditions, banning hazardous products, stopping
>false advertising, limiting pollution of water and air, penalizing
>union-busting, and preventing monopoly restraint of trade.
> While Wal-Mart is not more evil than most corporations, they are big enough
>to have power over many lives. So when they are bad, they are very bad.
> They sell goods made by Asian children (NBC Dateline, 12/92). They prohibit
>dating between employees (NYT 7/14/93). Although the USA' s wealthiest
>retail employer, they oppose health care reform (Atlanta Const. 11/1/93).
> They've been targeted by AIDS activists (Publisher's Weekly 6/29/92), and by
>unions (national picket by UF&CW: NYT 5/3/93). They had to be forced by a
>federal court to declare themselves an equal employment opportunity and
>affirmative action employer (NYT 4/20/93).
> Thus in Ithaca, New York, the law properly gives the people who live here
>more rights than corporations, to determine the uses of land. Within public
>limits, beneficial and socially-responsible enterprises can thrive.
> Wal-Mart's request for 24 acres of Ithaca wetland is another of many
>opportunities for Ithacans to decide what kind of job base we prefer, what
>kind of community we value, and how we want to live. There are fine
>alternatives which build prosperity with local creativity, in the spirit of
>the Farmer's Market and Sciencenter. This decision is our responsibility,
>and now is our time to make it.
>
>
This post transferred from the cdb-l mailing list