Dear FRONTLINE,

The show was a wonderful expose of Walmart and the senselessness of our consumer economy. I couldn’t help but think one step past the purchase of all those inexpensive, Chinese-made, plastic things, to the land-fill, where it all ends up. Why is it we Americans buy so much stuff that we don’t really need?

Ben Dowling
Attleboro, MA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Dear Frontline:

I watched your broadcast with great interest. The interviews with the two CEO's of Rubbermaid correctly identifies the difference between success and failure in the age of the Wal-Marts.

As a financial analyst, I was closely monitoring Rubbermaid during the era of Stanley Gault and Wolfgang Schmitt. As your program pointed out, there was a significant difference between the two CEO's and their success.

Mr. Gault had his pulse on change and recognized Wal-Mart as an important client. (He went on after retiring from Rubbermaid to head Goodyear - which also fell into harms way upon his retirement.)

Mr. Schmitt, in contrast, failed the shareholders of Rubbermaid and the people of Wooster, OH when he failed to monitor the cost of the raw material, resin. There was ample time to hedge against the rising prices (something that other companies such as Newell and Coleman were successful in doing) but he once again is eager to pass the blame to Wal-Mart. To call this "lax management" understates the significance of his failure to manage.

I wonder how many other inept managers find it easy to single out Wal-Mart as the cause of their problems rather than their management skills?

Michael Shockley
Wichita, KS

Dear FRONTLINE,

Generally a well done hour, but I think you should've emphasized more the large increase in spending power (and the jobs created thereby) which Wal Mart provides it's customers. Yes, some industries have been directly hurt by importation of lower cost goods, but the aggregate harm here is far outweighed by the economic benefit of increased net buying power for the typical customer. This company makes a profit because it gives people what they want at the right price. End of story.

charlie smith
pittsburgh, pa

Dear FRONTLINE,

A report released from Good Jobs First shows that Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has received more than $1 billion in economic development subsidies from states for its stores and distribution centers. The subsidies have come as many states are forced by White House tax cuts and reductions in federal grants to make tough budget decisions.

A report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities shows states are cutting subsidies for publicly funded health insurance, child care, Federal employment, both higher and lower education, and programs aimed at public safety and people with disabilities -- all this while ponying up taxpayer dollars to subsidize a retailer that took in more than $200 billion revenue and netted nearly $9 billion in profits last year, even as it paid workers near-poverty wages, drove out local businesses and violated environmental regulations.

Is Wal-Mart good for America? Hell no, it's not. And shame on anyone who supports them.

Kathy Segar
Zanesville, Ohio

Dear FRONTLINE,

Interesting however it broke no new ground. This has been going on for years. Only recently with the outsourcing of IT jobs has america gone back and revisted the closed factory, the shattered town, the shattered workers. Now the chickens have come home to roost and we're scared silly with it all.

The bottom line is this: What is the quality of life you desire in this country and what are you willing to pay for it?

The answer is obvious.....we want Rolls Royce lifestyle but we only will pay a Chevrolet price. That simply doesn't add up. One piece that walmart left out during it self depreication is this: The standard of living of the american consumer goes up ONLY if his/her income remains the same and consumer costs go down. If said person goes from 15 bucks/hour at Thomson to 6 bucks an hour at Taco Bell, then his standard of living did NOT increase. Sure, he can get a cheaper TV but last time I checked, a television was not a requirement nor a life necessity. One does not need a PHd in macro economics to understand this.

Walmart is overall bad for america. The problem is, we the consumer are continually feeding the monster. Now he's grown from a cute regional "puppy" to a fire breathing levithan that holds sway over nearly every working person in the world. Even the Mayor of circleville was at a loss for words when asked what do the high school graduates do for jobs. Short of lowering our expectations and living standards, I don't know either.

Ben Beach
Butler, PA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I started a small manufacturing company in 1989. My company primarily supplies to the automotive, trucking, and heavy manufacturing industry. We have exported a fraction of our products to China and Mexico. We have created high paying jobs for Americans. I have been ignoring the way Wal Mart (and other retailers) have been doing business. I am ashamed. I have bought my last item from Walmart and Sam's. I will not support the exploitation of Chinese and other foreign workers. I will not support the importation of cheap foreign goods at the expense of good stable American jobs. I will do my part to stop the hemorrhaging. I hope Americans will join me and make Wal Mart an example of what we will not tolerate which is a "profits at any cost" mentality. I will do my part to protect the America I am proud to be a part of.

Mike Powell
Hickory, NC

Dear FRONTLINE,

The only winners in the Wal Mart game is Wal Mart. Eventually enough jobs and enough American and Canadian dollars will make there way to China and into the pockets of the Wal Mart empire that the rest of us will be wondering what happened. Wal Mart is slowly eroding the economic drivers in communities all across the US and Canada...manufacturing and those that created goods that create jobs. Soon the only jobs will be those people working at WalMart selling each other WalMart goods and services?

Thanks

A. J. Bartlet

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a young person, nearing the workforce, this regression in worker wages and benefits really saddens me. I know how hard and for how long so many Americans fought to improve their working conditions and to earn a wage that they can live off of. It does seem easy to blame the loss of jobs on China and their new dominance in the manufacturing industry; however the workers there do not have the same standards of living that we are so fortunate to have. Given half the chance, I'm certain that the workers in China would lobby for better pay and better living conditions.

Recently there was an article in the Wall Street Journal chronicling a young Chinese factory worker’s struggle to improve her situation. In the factories, she had been working long days without overtime and living in factory provided housing with many other people. Our factory workers should not have to emulate the Chinese lifestyle in order to compete in a global market.

I believe that the larger problem lies with the large retailers (such as Wal-Mart) who can demand low costs from their suppliers, costs which factories with high standards of living cannot compete with. Though Wal-Mart may be able to entice a number of shoppers with their low process, they also are losing a potential wealth of customers who, now jobless or underpaid, can not afford to shop there. The same applies to the factory workers who stock Wal-Mart’s shelves with cheap goods. Because they are paid so little, they will not have the income available to spend at Wal-Mart. I truly believe that paying employees or the employees of suppliers a fair wage may increase prices in the short term, but it will also create a new group of consumers, willing to spend the money they have earned.

Lauren Gillis
Needham, MA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Your piece on Wal-Mart was a revealing look at the forces reshaping American retailing and what it is doing to manufacturing jobs in our nation. However many other parts of the question implied in your title were entirely missing, and merit another program: what are the effects of Wal-Mart and other big-box stores on the dozens of stores they are often replacing? What are the impacts of Wal-Mart on downtowns? What is the likely impact on state revenues? On local government revenues? What about the patterns of location of Wal-Marts and exurban sprawl? If this represents a symbol of the the loss of a significant part of America's middle class incomes, what is the prospect for democracy in America? How can American workers and communities organize effectively to protect their future? Are there success stories? What does the map of America look like with patterns of lost jobs in manufacturing and jobs gained in retailing or middleman "sourcing" of products from overseas? Are there options for trade negotiations with China and other low-wage labor nations? Are they likely in the current political context?

T. Roberts
Williamsburg, VA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Wal-Mart is absolutely driving the economy down. Trading a fair wage job for low wage jobs is a real problem; however, this has the pleasant side effect- for Wal-Mart- of guaranteeing a customer base. Ultimately, the consumer will not be able to afford anything BUT Wal-Mart. Actually, it is capitalistically clever but self defeating. I sell into the manufacturing sector, which is shrinking at a breathtaking pace. The stories of finished goods arriving at less cost than the raw materials are everywhere. Manufacturing will always migrate to the lowest cost producer, and has been for some time now- but not at this rate. I don't think the country can absorb the job changes with a transition this fast. There is no time to adapt.

I, for one, refuse to purchase anything from Wal-Mart.

Bob Nystrom
Oxford, MA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Remember free enterprise is a central point of the U.S. philosophy. Wal-Mart, Target, Best Buy, Sears, or whoever will go towards the best price. When Americans are willing to pay more for items is when we will see manufacturing jobs increase. To blame Wal-Mart for what is going on in the World economy is short sighted. If we blame Toyota for the decline of the U.S. auto industry we are missing what is really wrong. The auto industry turned out to be better when competition came in and created an increase in quality and a work force that are compensated less because they were entitled due to the fact they were in a union and more on a competitive basis. As we go through this new revolution and see an increase on imports, we must look to fixing our national healthcare problems, education, and reform our legal system. Without looking in the mirror and blaming Wal-Mart or China we are only going to see this area in our economy worsen. Lastly, watching your show and seeing workers who graduated high school to work in a factory to make 60K is a thing of the past, it is time that we work to make sure that higher education is available to all.

Tom White
Baltimore, MD

Dear FRONTLINE,

The part of Mr. Smith's finely investigative report that really shocked me was the scene at the Long Beach docks, where he was told that, for the $38 billion we import from China in manufactured goods, we export only about $3 billion worth of RAW, ie cotton, hides. Mr. Smith's response, that it sounded like we're a third-world country, was dead-on. The image that comes to mind, however, is not of emaciation but rather paralytic obesity: our economic model is too fat to move!

Paul Carlin
New Rochelle, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

I was pretty dismayed by this report. Trade and offshoring are complicated issues. Yet this show took the easy road by working on emotional arguments, resorting at one point to calling the U.S. a third world economy.

This kind of distructive sermon does nothing to enlighten people of the intricate transformation underway in the global economy.

Chris Paulse
Bronx, NY

Dear FRONTLINE,

What a great program on Wal-Mart tonight. I don't agree with the way Wal-Mart does business, and have to believe that in the long run, this business model will only have devasatating effects on America and the American worker. One day Wal-Mart will be the only store in town, and the only employer in town and then and only then will the people wake up and wonder what in the hell has happened.

Darren Archer
Cincinnati, Ohio

Dear FRONTLINE,

If we would at least get a cost of living raise it would be easier not to shop at Wal-Mart. I never would of thought of shopping there, but prices are lower and I haven't gotten a raise in quite some time.

diane herman
mineola, ny