Walmart, freedom of choice and the American Dream

In an ongoing effort for weeks, even months now, to stop a Walmart store from opening in Burbank, a select group of protesters has been waging an ongoing battle by demonstrating in front of City Hall and voicing their hatred with repetitious rhetoric in front of the Burbank City Council, week after week after week.

One can’t help but wonder, why do these people hate Walmart so much? What has Walmart ever done to them?

Their rhetoric covers all the same bases: traffic, Chinese-made products, low wages and lack of benefits for workers.

But now the real reason has finally come to the surface in an article on the front page of the Saturday Jan. 28 edition of the Leader titled, “Attorney threatens to sue over Walmart issue.” After reading this, my suspicions, along with those of some other people, have come true. It’s the unions and people associated with them that do not want a Walmart coming to town and competing with the big supermarket chain stores.

The big chain grocery stores, being unionized, typically charge higher prices. There is just one question that comes to mind: If Walmart is so bad, why are they so successful? Obviously not because they’re hated.

This is the United States of America and it’s our right as citizens to have freedom of choice. There should be no reason Walmart shouldn’t have their choice too.

It’s all about the American Dream and free enterprise.

Al Howard

Burbank