Question: As the largest company in the world, with more than a million employees worldwide and more than $400 billion in sales in a recent year, Walmart has become big and powerful enough to infl uence the U.S. economy. It is responsible for 10 percent of total U.S. imports from China and for about 12 percent of U.S. productivity gains since the late 1990s. Some observers believe Walmart is also responsible for the low U.S. inflation rates of recent years. However, its unbeatable buying power and effi ciency have sometimes forced local stores to close when Walmart opens a new store in their area
1. Some economists fear what might happen to the U.S. economy if Walmart has a bad year (so far, it has had more than four decades of nonstop growth). Should retailers have that much influence on the economy? Why or why not?
2. Walmart is selective about what it sells-refusing, for instance, to carry music or computer games with mature ratings, magazines with content it considers too adult, or, in some of its stores, handguns. Because of its sheer size, these decisions can become influential on the culture. Do you think this is a positive or negative effect of the growth of this retailer? Why?