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> we find that poverty is still 3 percentage points higher in treated counties 10 years after the Walmart opening. So... 10 years after Walmart opens, poverty

> we find that poverty is still 3 percentage points higher in treated counties 10 years after the Walmart opening. So... 10 years after Walmart opens, poverty is 3% higher, and annual household earnings decline by $4,230. Is this a huge effect? This is something like a 10 point difference on the SAT (https://www.cs.jhu.edu/~misha/DIReadingSeminar/Papers/DixonRoman13.pdf https://www.cs.jhu.edu/~misha/DIReadingSeminar/Papers/DixonR...).

pessimizer 2y ago
> annual household earnings decline by $4,230. Is this a huge effect? Yes. Median household income is something around $70K, and rural households are not making anywhere near median household income. If we don't think it's a big effect, then we shouldn't mind sending them $4.5K checks every year to make up for it. It's an effect large enough to drive 3/100 people affected into poverty.
WalterBright 2y ago
What if that decline is more than offset by lower prices at Walmart?
- bluGill 2y ago
  If you are one of those who remain employed - that is you work a better job than retail in the first place you are much better off. We need better training for those who currently are working retail, but the community is overall better off.
  - WalterBright 2y ago
    You can always drive to a further store, buy a bunch of stuff, drive back home, and set up a stand selling the stuff at higher prices. I'm sure the local community that hates Walmart will prefer to shop at your stand, supporting the local community.
    - bluGill 2y ago
      Rural communites like walmart as they know they are something if they are able to support one. plus walmart has stuff at good prices. It is city folks who have never lived in a rural area (a 2 week vacation is not living there) who hate walmart
- peutetre 2y ago
  It's not. That's part of the research. From the article: > "Indeed, Walmart’s many defenders argue that the company is a boon to poor and middle-class families, who save thousands of dollars every year shopping there. Two new research papers challenge that view. Using creative new methods, they find that the costs Walmart imposes in the form of not only lower earnings but also higher unemployment in the wider community outweigh the savings it provides for shoppers. On net, they conclude, Walmart makes the places it operates in poorer than they would be if it had never shown up at all. Sometimes consumer prices are an incomplete, even misleading, signal of economic well-being." Walmart privatizes its profits and socializes its costs: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42505420 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42505420

pessimizer 2y ago

> annual household earnings decline by $4,230. Is this a huge effect? Yes. Median household income is something around $70K, and rural households are not making anywhere near median household income. If we don't think it's a big effect, then we shouldn't mind sending them $4.5K checks every year to make up for it. It's an effect large enough to drive 3/100 people affected into poverty.

WalterBright 2y ago

What if that decline is more than offset by lower prices at Walmart?

bluGill 2y ago
If you are one of those who remain employed - that is you work a better job than retail in the first place you are much better off. We need better training for those who currently are working retail, but the community is overall better off.
- WalterBright 2y ago
  You can always drive to a further store, buy a bunch of stuff, drive back home, and set up a stand selling the stuff at higher prices. I'm sure the local community that hates Walmart will prefer to shop at your stand, supporting the local community.
  - bluGill 2y ago
    Rural communites like walmart as they know they are something if they are able to support one. plus walmart has stuff at good prices. It is city folks who have never lived in a rural area (a 2 week vacation is not living there) who hate walmart
peutetre 2y ago
It's not. That's part of the research. From the article: > "Indeed, Walmart’s many defenders argue that the company is a boon to poor and middle-class families, who save thousands of dollars every year shopping there. Two new research papers challenge that view. Using creative new methods, they find that the costs Walmart imposes in the form of not only lower earnings but also higher unemployment in the wider community outweigh the savings it provides for shoppers. On net, they conclude, Walmart makes the places it operates in poorer than they would be if it had never shown up at all. Sometimes consumer prices are an incomplete, even misleading, signal of economic well-being." Walmart privatizes its profits and socializes its costs: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42505420 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42505420