Dear FRONTLINE,

The standard of living for Americans will decline relative to most other countries. The process of globalization affects a leveling of the standard of living in all countries. Neither governments nor personal outrage will be able to long divert the course of this accelerating process. Wal-Mart is just a visible participant in the change.

Rich countries with high production costs will be forced by economic pressure to accept lower wages in some sectors of the economy. Poorer countries with lower production costs will improve their circumstance.

Those of us who wish to oppose this process will be economically disadvantaged if not exhausted. The rest of us will have to work a little harder at accepting change and making the process as painless as possible

Mark Young
Freeport, Illinois

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am a Wal-Mart employee and I have been disappointed in the company now for about five years. After watching your program tonight it really made me look down on the company and ashamed to say I work there. My boyfriend works for Cooper Bussmann, the company that make fuses and his job is slowly going away due to the whole over seas trading. They are closing down their plant and moving everything to China and Mexico. It does make you bitter to China and Mexico, because americans are losing their jobs and giving jobs to the people over in other countries. Wal-mart does not pay their employees enough money to make up for the jobs that have been lost and they have the worst insurance coverage and benefits, I don't care what they say. I have been with Wal-Mart for over 8yrs and they have done me wrong. My boyfriend left Wal-Mart to go work for Cooper Bussmann and they have paid him more, gave him better benefits, and treated him way better than Wal-Mart ever did. I know Wal-mart is not the only reason for all of these companies shutting down and going over seas, but I think they have contributed to it!!!!

Dawn H.
Dupo, ILL.

Dear FRONTLINE,

I watched the Frontline program on Walmart. I work for Walmart and even though it may not be the -best- thing in town, at least I can pay my bills. If Walmart didn't exist I really don't know what I would do. And yes, a lot of our products have 'Made in China' on them. I can say I feel sad that there are alot of people out there that have lost their jobs due to one company or another but I don't want to lose my job either. Just my thoughts, I don't have any kind of education that can get me in any kind of high-paying wonder job nor do I have the time to spend on that. So, whether the world likes Walmart or not, it does provide an income and a decent enough job for people like me -and- the products at an affordable rate that I -can- afford.

Rachelle Smith
Hammond, Louisiana

Dear FRONTLINE,

As usual, your program about Wal-Mart tonight hit the nail on the head. However, I don't think you mentioned that Wal-Mart got its first big expansionary boost in the late 1960's and early 1970's with low-interest, Federally-insured, "industrial-development" revenue bonds issued by local industrial development boards throughout the South and Southwest.

How absurd that Wal-Mart has become the ruination of America's once mighty industrial base!

Gary W. Scott
Glen Rose, Texas

Dear FRONTLINE,

Walmart's siren song of low prices and quality goods is just that- a siren song. Your program did a good job of telling what Paul Harvey would call "the rest of the story."

When you consider what Walmart's real costs have been in terms of putting thousands of Americans out of work, causing severe upheaval to families and communities where long established businesses have been forced to close-what real benefit has Walmart provided?

David Hall
Williamsville, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

Interesting show but did not go far enough. I would have like to hear from more economists on the effect on the US economy as well as the world economy.

It is clear that the distruction of our manufacturing sector has an adverse effect on the standard of living of our working class. Wal-mart does supply new jobs but it does not equal the number of jobs they have eliminated. Additionally, the standard of living of the working class is lowered.

The cost to society will out weigh the savings of cheap inports.

Charles Berry
Lutherville, Maryland

Dear FRONTLINE,

Today, the Charbroil grill company in Columbus Georgia announced that it will be closing its US manufacturing facility. This will be a loss of 500 full time employees and just as many seasonal employees. The company will be moving its manufacturing to China and sited the inability to compete against the Asian imported products. This is a sad day for another well respected American company.

Susan Dobias

Dear FRONTLINE,

If Wal-Mart continues down this path of its partnership with China it may find itself in a position where people will view the company as anti-American and unpatriotic.

Tim DuBois
Katy, TX

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a industrial designer for the toy and juvenile products industry, I found this FrontLine piece to hit very close to the truth yet, it left out one vital fact: we have only ourselves as shoppers to blame. We are a society of "addicts"; "supersize me", "falling prices", "gotta have it", etc. Everything I design is sent digitally via internet to Hong Kong or Southern China where one of our clients' vendors produces it. These are very hard working, friendly and ingenious people much like ourselves. Given another ten years, I predict China will be one of our strongest allies (with or without Walmart).

James Buckley
New Hartford, CT

Dear FRONTLINE,

Wal-mart is obviously a major warrior in the war on American workers. The argument that destructive trade is jobs neutral just doesn't wash. Replacing good paying manufacturing jobs with an equal number of opportunities to stock shelves part-time has a real effect on our economy and our way of life. The use of slave labor in Asian nations to replace high paid American workers is only beneficial to the common person if other jobs comparable to those which formerly existed on our production lines are created. Where are these new jobs? They don't exist and they aren't coming.

Where will this madness lead? What job opportunities will be available to the average American in the future? What kind of country will this be in ten or twenty years?

Makes me glad I am old and retired.

Peter Reese
Buffalo, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

Two points:

Every dollar squeezed out of the the pockets of Wal-mart suppliers is another dollar that funnels into the pockets of Wal-mart customers and Wal-mart shareholders.

Luke Peters
Charlotte, NC

Dear FRONTLINE,

Dear Frontline

Wal-Mart is the best thing that ever happened to me.

I worked for Levi Strauss & Co. in Fayetteville, AR. This was one of the best paying places to work in the area. Our plant was one of the first of their plants to close and move out of the US. Instead of complaining about my lot in life, I chose to go back to school and learn a new trade. Now, at age 58, I have the best job that I have ever had. I am a Wal-Mart associate at the Corporate Office in Bentonville, AR.

When life throws you a curve, you can either pull back and complain about getting hit by the ball or step up to the plate and swing. It is each persons choice.

After only 5 years with Wal-Mart, I am making the same as I made with Levi Strauss after 16 years. Plus, I get a 10% discount in the store.

If you make a good employee, the sky is the limit at Wal-Mart.

Thanks for listening.

Wilma

Wilma Tisdale
Springdale, Arkansas

Dear FRONTLINE,

The world today is very complex and these trade agreements are just part of the problem. I was glad that this program did bring up the fact that China has devalued its currency, something that twice Bush has done nothing against. It is a matter of values, I would argue. If we value American workers we will put presure on the goverment to level the playing field. Have China bring its currency to where it should be, as well as bring its workers up to standards comparable to those in the United States. Maybe that will help with competetion and not allow Wal Mart to have such power over us and the government. Remember, they did not fight for American workers, but for Chinese workers.

Mark Long
Duluth, MN

Dear FRONTLINE,

I don't blame Wal-Mart or American business for the mess this country has gotten itself into. They (business) are just doing whatever is necessary to survive and compete. Who I do blame is government and in particular the federal government. Unfair economic trade may very well destroy this nation's viability. As this show points out with the Long Beach factoid, $30+ billion worth of imported finished goods are coming in, $3+ billion worth of exported raw materials are going out. This was America's economic model in the 18th century! We can talk all about the new economy and free trade until we are blue in the face, but, in my opinion, the fact remains that there are not enough high paying jobs with benefits in the knowledge-based economy to maintain the average American's lifestyle. The middle and lower classes are squeezed now and will continue to be squeezed and there may very well be blood in the streets in the near future. And even with the coming devalued American dollar, it will do little good in creating exportable goods and jobs if the majority of the American manufacturing base has moved off shore.

I believe Congress has turned a blind eye to the unfair labor practices of third world nations for many reasons, the main one being that Asia is financing the majority of the federal government budget deficit. Of course you don't win elections in this country being a pragmatic pessimist, so the average American is also to blame, but isn't it government's job to protect us from ourselves and promote the common good?

Mark Peters
akron, oh

Dear FRONTLINE,

Finally someone in the mass media does a solid story about what Wal-Mart (and our addiction to low prices) is doing to the country.

You missed several items that are worth a future look:

Wal-Mart's influence on the political process and how it works to obtain trade laws in its favor. Clinton, Wal-Mart, both from Arkansas. Hmmm?

Wal-Mart's minimal approach to paying health care benefits, a program that forces its workers to depend on tax payer funded health insurance intended for indigents. See The Wall Street Journal from just a few weeks ago for details. In effect, we the taxpayers are funding Wal-Mart's health care costs because they don't cover their employees, but drive them to the state. Think you are getting lower prices? Not really. You are just paying more in taxes to help cover Wal-Mart workers who have to go to a state's system to get health care. We are paying more and more for health coverage, while Wal-Mart drives its workers to the state. Health care system in trouble? Thank you Wal-Mart.

james gill
rochester, michigan