Has Wal-Mart Become Our Shadow Government?

I know that Wal-Mart has been discussed in the past, but the last thread I found was over three years old, and Wally World has grown a lot since then.

When you think of shadow governments, you think of guys in a smoke filled room that do nothing but sit around and plan ways to make the US do what they want. But Wal-Mart is the new money, and they're not sitting around. They're about as active as you can get.

The beast of Bentonville has a lot of clout, not only with how much they can sway politics in their favor, but how much they can shape society at the grassroots level. They come into a town and there follow charges of preditory pricing to drive the Mom and Pop stores out of business. Now maybe it's sour grapes, but maybe it isn't.

They have the best lawyers that money can buy, and they win almost always. In Wisconsin they settled a suit brought by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection out of court, and kept on truckin'. We used to call that a bribe, when it benifited someone besides the people that were hurt.

en.wikipedia.org...

And as of 2004, they were spending $18Billion dollars a year with China, making them the eighth largest trading partner with that nation. They were spending more than Canada, or Russia, or Australia, all industrialized nations. When you get that big, you have the same kind of economic power as many nations in the world.

Their current Executive Officer, H.Lee Scott, told the New York Times that running the company was "like runing for president of the United States." A clear indication that he was well aware of just how much power he controled. It reminded me of the John Lennon statement that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus Christ.

topics.nytimes.com...

Shouldn't our government use the anti-trust laws, and the monopoly laws to break up Wal-Mart, the same way they did Ma Bell? But can they, is the question? Is Wal-Mart now so big and powerful that they control supply and supplier to such an extent that they can defy these laws? Could they, or do they even now, blackmail the US economically into leting them have a free hand to rape every small town they enter?

Is Wal-Mart the poster child for the corporate overlords of days to come?

Wal mart is no "shadow gov". They are just as evil though. Hell, I was in wal-mart today! I hate going there and try not to unless I absolutely have to. Their price on everything is to ridiculous, a 6 pack a hiney is $8.27! At the gas station its 5.45... They are just as corrupt and not consumer caring as every other company has become. Companies 50, or heck, even 30 years ago were for customer satisfaction and worried about that as #1. Now, its how much money can we make, how many billions, how bad can we screw the people, and how bad can we screw our min wage employees. To hell with wal mart, to hell with all multi billion companies. It seems only Mercedes Benz cares about how happy their customers are, making superior cars for 100 years. Also, they run forever, if maintained. Untrue with other car companies, especially US. The GM debate recently on news wont even throw their workers a freaking bone! Further, their cars fall apart in a matter of a few years. I look forward to dragging these cars to the recycle while I continue to chug along. GM and other US car companies just want to mass produce CRAP, for a stupid price, bad trade in, and low driving life (so you buy another). Most new cars made by them are at least 15-20k. Picked up my oldie for 5k, drives like I got it 4 years ago, heh, or when it was made for that matter (1990).

reply to post by 1337cshacker


I too drive what people consider clunkers, but I'm not making any damn payments, and I maintain them myself. My '91 Pontiac has almost 250K on it, and still rides good, even if the paint job has gone to hell, and my old '82 Chevy ran for 325K and I rebuilt the moter, so I've got a long waysleft on it now.

But Wal-Mart, while really lowlifed in a lot of ways, seems more than that. It's like they have the power to really influence policy in the US. They run roughshod over everybody, and nobody can even slow them down.Sure, it's about money, but that is true of a lot of outfits. But they sold $350billion dollars last year. They are well on their way to owning America, at this rate. And where you've got that much money, you've got power.

And if you start looking through the net, you'll find things like how one of the Clintons once was on the board of directors. And resigned knowing that the white house was the next stop.( No, I don't have a link, it was something I recall from hours of being absorbed in reading.) Even though Arkansas went Republical last time, Hillory will carry it this time, because this whole area is a fiefdom for Wal-Mart.

Interesting. Good post, glad you have the balls to come out and say so. Imho more members like you.

I should clarify and say I love old US cars. Camaro's and old mustangs, the such, good cars built with good materials. That goes with what I said 30-50 years ago companies cared. Today, except for a few german/british manufactures (benz, audi, porsche), they are put together with snot and crap materials. They are hardly safe either, they claim to have new "safety features", but those are meaningless if the car is built from plastic and crap. In any case, profit reins supreme in their eyes now.

Thanks for the insightful and provocative post. You don't have to push too many buttons to get me to blow a gasket about Wal-Mart.

I have a friend who is in marketing with a major paper products supplier and the stories that person tells about the power and control of Wal-Mart are crazy. Ridiculous amounts of info gathering and focus groups just on t.p. alone.

Now, they are all over China and that debate. I have some definite opinions. Is Wal-Mart an agent for the U.S. in China or is their aim strictly profit driven? Or maybe both?

I will check back to this thread tomorrow and discuss it more at length with anyone who cares but now it is late and momma is fading fast.. Thanks again.

Wal Mart is certainly no favorite of mine. however, the idea of a chain of stores serving as a shadow gov't is simple too absurd to really consider. Wall mart does plenty of #ty, underhanded things, particularly when it comes to how they treat their employees, so why not focus on that. Its not a big sexy NWO type conspiracy, but look at their conspiracy against organized labor. I'm sorry, but I find the idea of wall mart running our country to be laughably ridiculous.

I'm sorry if I'm coming off as a dismissive skeptic, i really am. I just think there are plenty of sneaky, off the books type stuff going on with our gov't. Stuff like this, IMO just distracts from more feasible issues.

Good on you for thinking outside the box though, I can't see this going anywhere, but I think it's good to throw in some stuff most people wouldn't think about from time to time.

reply to post by random hero


The idea may seem far-fetched but it is certainly no stretch to say that corporate America controls Washington and has at least some effect on foreign policy.

Wal-mart is far and away the biggest retailer and imports most of its products from China. I am quite sure they have input on relations with that country as well as others (Mexico?). They are also changing the face of communities across the country with their big box brutality to local merchants and zoning commissions.

They may not be a "shadow government" but they certainly control the purse strings on a lot of issues. In fact, whether you shop at Wal-Mart or not, the quality, assortment and price of products is often determined by Wal-mart.

All other retailers, from high-end to discounters have to gauge their prices by Wal-Mart in order to be competitive. How soon they put out their Christmas displays and merchandise sets the pace of the holiday season. Even the toilet paper you buy at other grocery or discount stores is effected. Wal-Mart establishes strict manufacturing guidelines, often insists on non-compete clauses and has such huge orders, that most manufacturing facilities are only capable (production capacity) of producing at the Wal-Mart specs. In other words, those specs are what other retailers have to buy - just with a different label. So whether the store brand is one or two ply - quilted or not- is usually determined by Wal-Mart. Of course whether you prefer yours over or under the roll is one of the few decisions you get to make for yourself these days!

Wal-Mart controls consumer spending in this country. We also know that the pulse of the economy is determined by consumer confidence and spending. If Wal-Mart controls the economy then Wal-Mart controls the country. Wrap it up any way you like and put a bow on it. The facts remain the same.

[edit on 11/10/2007 by kosmicjack]