RESEARCH/REPORTS
Are Wal-Marts magnets for crime?
A national study of 551 Wal-Marts found the average rate of
reported police incidents for each Wal-Mart store was 400
percent higher than the average rate for the nearest Target
store - and six times higher for serious and violent crime.
Costs to local police departments for responses to a single
Wal-Mart store averaged up to $59,000 per year.
WalMartCrimeReport.pdf
"The Wal-Mart Tax"
A new report summarizes recent studies on health care cost
shifting in thirteen states and concludes: "Wal-Mart
is directly contributing to the nation's Medicaid crisis."
Wal-Mart Tax.pdf
Investments and Social Responsibility: Wal-Mart Corporate
Record December 2004
University of Wisconsin tracks Wal-Mart's corporate legal
record from March 1999 through November 2004, documenting
repeated violations of labor, environmental, immigration and
child labor laws.
http://www.uwsa.edu/tfunds/walmart1204.htm
Report Finds Wal-Mart Far Behind Industry and National
Standards on Employee Health Coverage.
Wal-Mart;
Underinsured Workers.pdf
Penn State Researchers Find the Presence
of a Wal-Mart Store Actually Hinders a Community's Ability
to Move Families Out of Poverty.
http://cecd.aers.psu.edu/policy_research.htm
Congressional Report Finds Wal-Mart Costs Taxpayers More
Than $400,000 Per Store.
A congressional report released in February 2004 found that
one 200-person Wal-Mart store costs taxpayers about $420,750
per year - or $2,103 per employee.
http://edworkforce.house.gov/democrats/WALMARTREPORT.pdf
Cities Pay for Increased Services and Infrastructure Demanded
by Supercenters.
A Barnstable, Massachusetts, study finds that, far from adding
to city coffers, increased supercenter development often has
the opposite effect, draining money from local governments
through increased demands for public services.
http://www.newrules.org/hta/hta0203.htm
(scroll down to "Big Box Drains City Revenues, Study
Finds)
Supercenters Cause Dramatic Rise in Police Costs.
Around the nation, local police departments are noting sharply
increased costs associated with supercenters.
http://www.newrules.org/hta/hta0903.htm,
scroll down to AS POLICE COSTS RISE, TOWNS RECONSIDER BIG
BOXES;
http://www.newrules.org/hta/hta0802.htm,
scroll down to BIG BOX SPRAWL CAUSES SHARP RISE IN POLICE
COSTS
Sweat Shop Labor and the Price Impact to Consumers.
UMass study finds that a livable wage for garment factory
workers would have a minimal impact on retail prices.
www.umass.edu/peri/pdfs/WP19.pdf
How Are Other Cities Dealing With Supercenter Saturation?
In the past decade, cities across the U.S. have created and
adopted ordinances to stem the proliferation of supercenters
and associated problems. Approaches include:
Physical size caps for retail development. In some cases,
this is a two-tiered system, with a hard cap providing a
maximum upper limit and an impact study required for mid-range
projects.
http://www.newrules.org/retail/size.html
Development moratoria enacted while cities study impact
of supercenters and determine appropriate measures.
http://www.newrules.org/retail/moratoria.html
Requirements for "formula businesses" sometimes
adopted by communities that derive income from tourism or
historical attractions.
http://www.newrules.org/retail/formula.html
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