Wal-Mart is actually good for our economy. You may not get that perspective if you ask someone off the sidewalk what they think of the Low Price giant. Nearly a quarter of Americans believe they’re hurting our financial status even more (despite the fact that almost every person in this country lives within 15 miles of Wal-Mart).

A study spanning the past twenty years has sought to gauge the Wal-Mart effect on local economies for nearly 90 counties across the US. What they found was quite contradictory in comparison to the population’s view of the corporate empire.

Personal income and overall employment grew faster in places with Wally World. Because they factored in the cumulative effect, I’m guessing these growth patterns managed to offset any “Mom ‘n Pop” business failures due to stiff competition.

Even though Wal-Mart puts a bad taste in the mouth of more than 30 percent of Americans, that doesn’t stop anyone from shopping there. Movies like “The High Cost of Low Price” probably have something to do with that. This vicious circle of low pricing and more selection is the basis for obvious economic growth.

But it is interesting to see that this exchange doesn’t just benefit the bottom line on Wal-Mart’s balance sheet. This study proves the trickle-down effect helps everyone in communities with such a giant store.

I’ve never had a problem eating food from a gas station.  Just two weeks ago, I ate a couple of hot dogs purchased from a gas station.  They were delicious.  That’s not the first time I’ve eaten gas station food, and I doubt it will be the last.  There’s nothing like a fun food novelty. […]

Commissioner Roger Goodell gathered 32 NFL owners for one big question.  One of the league’s most wanderlust-stricken franchises is looking to move again.  The Oakland-Los Angeles-Oakland Raiders, tired of gutting it out in a run-down stadium, were once again looking for greener pastures.  Only the Miami Dolphins refused to cooperate.  With a vote of 31-1, […]

In 2006, an injury to Dallas Cowboys starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe opened the door for an undrafted free agent by the name of Tony Romo to take the helm of America’s Team and lead the Dallas Cowboys to an early playoff exit.  Bledsoe went from starter to afterthought in a season.  Now, the circle continues […]

For 89 years, Oscars has never had a major mistake.  The last few Oscars might have had a few flubs, but at least they never got the most important category of the night wrong.  Well, that’s now changed, all thanks to OG Bonnie and Clyde legends Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway.  When Faye Dunaway called […]

Tom Brady has been wildly successful, if controversial.  He’s the first quarterback ever to win five Super Bowls and only the second player to do so after Charles Haley.  Unlike Haley, Brady won all his Super Bowls with the same team, the New England Patriots.  The only thing that seems to be able to stop […]

Ben Affleck, no matter what you might think of him, is a talented actor and director.  He’s got the goods, but he’s smart enough to know when he’s in over his head.  All along, since he took on the mantle of Batman, he’s had his eyes on writing, directing, and starring as the Caped Crusader. […]

In May, students for the for-profit American College of Education were running into some problems.  Their access to email accounts and course information was locked down by Google, who had disabled their accounts.  The reason why?  A fired IT worker for the American College of Education locked the school out of their Google cloud account. […]