Dear FRONTLINE,

Not only is Wal-Mart replacing well paying secure(?) jobs with low paying jobs by driving manufacturing employment out of the country, they are single handedly destroying the downtown mercantile centers of small towns by diverting consumers to the outskirts and into the "big box" commercial zones. The downtown that I once new and loved in my city is now a shell of what it used to be. Ghost town may be a good description. Are inexpensive non descript goods important enough to the average person to sacrifice a thriving core in their cities? It's sad, but it seems like that is the case.

Petar Dzalto
St.Catharines, ON

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am a single working mom who needs the best deals on everything I buy. I used to go to WalMart for just about everything. When the news broke about the national class action law suit against them for their treatment of women it occurred to me that I was in the same boat - because of low wages and low benefits, I was being forced to shop there, as were the women who worked for them. (Described as a smart business practice in a television report). I decided to refuse. It was hard, but when they moved to a superstore location and hired all new people who were crude and rude, my mind was made up. I wouldn't go back there. But, maybe I'd go to one in another town. My economic need is strong. However, no longer am I entertaining that notion at all, not after the two programs I have seen on PBS about the larger picture - what WalMart is doing to our country, to our economy, to people and the job market, and to women in other countries, through a new global trade model that benefits only their executives.

In the period that I have been resisting shopping at WalMart I have discovered that many local businesses have great sales and I can get a decent price on things I need by taking the time to look for sales, buying things ahead of time at a sale price knowing that I'll need them soon, or buying in bulk. In addition to that, the price of gas to travel to WalMart decreases the savings I would experience by shopping there. So - one good thing about gas prices - they are decreasing the benefit of traveling to a WalMart for a good deal!

Kathy S.

Kathy Smits
Cheshire, CT

Dear FRONTLINE,

PBS has done it again. Managed to create a report that on the surface appears to be an even handed analysis of a subject. But in reality takes the old position of saying that Americans are being victimized by unfair trade. Painting Walmart as the evil satan that is killing American jobs is silly. The world economy is dynamic. Thinking that just because someone has worked at a factory or other enterprise entitles them to continue forever is unrealistic. If another factory in another country can and does produce a similar product at a lower delivered cost, then it will happen. Be it China or Mexico or wherever. This is good for the world and American economies. Competition drives everything. Sure it will be painful sometimes. Do you want the other countries of the world to stay forever in the Stone Age? Why should they? Where does inovation come from? The struggles of life generally. Don't paint American workers as victims. It is the wrong way to live. Just think, you could be living in a dirt hut in Sudan, worrying about how to feed your children. Instead you are living in America, where people pour accross the borders daily to seek freedom and opportunity.

Ken Meyer
stillwater, ok

Dear FRONTLINE,

As a three year employee at Sams Club i truly believe that Wal-Mart is not good for america. As much as i enjoy my job, the wages and benefits are not up to the standard that it should be. It is very hard to look at the profit reports and see that a gross profit of billions and billions of dollars and we cannot get more than a thirty cent raise per a year.

cory stuard
cedar hill, tn

Dear FRONTLINE,

I am a Chinese worker at an American company in New Jersey. After watching your "Wal Mart" program, I just want to say something about job losses and global trade competition in the third world.

Put into historical perspective and global view (not just America), there have been billions of billions people lost their job because of competition from America. Wheather by fair means or unfair means, the United States has always been the most enthusiastic advocate of global free trade. America promotes and pitches global competitions to poor Third world countries, teaching them to compete with developed countries at the cost of their local economies.

It just happened that China is a student of such teachings. (sadly) Millions of workers in China state own enterprises lost their jobs after China opens her gate to the world. They didn't know what to do after spending a life time in their factories. In your program, the host said American high school graduate have to worry about their jobs. So do Chinese high school and university graduates.

There are winners and losers in trade and competition. The American teachings have always been that people can get forward. However, if this teaching means that only the American could be the winner, it is unfair.

just my 2 cents.

Deqing Chen
Piscataway, New Jersey

Dear FRONTLINE,

This country is losing production not due to technology but due to productivity. We need to focus our educational initiatives more on cost efficiencies rather than price and marketing economics. Blame the results of what is happening now on our unnecessary expansion of MBA educational programs as opposed to operations and/or manufacturing based educational programs. We have glorified the MBA/Business degree and lowered the value of manufacturing education programs.

Lewis Bellinger
Hampton, VA

Dear FRONTLINE,

I think, in the final analysis,is that the avergage person (and most certainly Walmart's prime customer) is not an economist who can see what the Walmart retail model on its goliath scale is doing to the American Worker and his job. All they care about is getting their $2.00 razor or whatever at the lowest rock-bottom price. The fact that it is killing American jobs is lost completely on them as there is no incentive to look at more expensive American made brands in the hopes of saving a few domestic jobs.

Cim Eron
Buffalo, New York

Dear FRONTLINE,

What a biased report. You interviewed some professor who said that trade was "bad for America". That person obviously has not looked at the facts. China is better for making the products, & we are better for having them. Why is your show so one sided?

As for the Ohio Thompson plant, what should kids from high school do? Go to college or earn a degree where one can provide a higher quality job. There is no such thing as a job for life.

As for me, I shop at Wal-mart, and have no plans to stop.

John Andrews
Chattanooga, TN

Dear FRONTLINE,

An very good perspective on the connection between the global economy and jobs in the United States.

A single company, Wall-Mart has apparently had and continues to have a very large impact on jobs here in the US and the globalization of the world economy.

I expect that this show will be required viewing by the top executives of Wal-Mart and I would be very interested in hearing their points of discussion about the content.

Zach Cox
Raleigh, North Carolina

Dear FRONTLINE,

It seems clear to me the Wal Mart show left one big hole. Namely, if shopping at Wal Mart is indeed bad for America as the parting shot implied, then may I please have a list of stores that ARE good for America so I can shop there?

ben buhl
phoenixville, pa

Dear FRONTLINE,

I have no problem with companies making money by using better technology, or a better process, but Wal-Mart takes adavantage of the opposed chinese laborer and then passes the savings off of paying them a $1 a day to consumers like it's a good thing. IF Wal-Mart was around during WWII I bet they would've come up with a reason to use Germany's "forced labor" and pass the savings on to the American consumer.

I think the bigger question is how does this reflect on us? Hundreds of millions of Americans shop their everyday knowing full well of the facts that they take advantage of the the labor in China. Unfortunately, I think the majority of people simply do not care.

Jeff Walzer
Pittsburgh, PA

Dear FRONTLINE,

Everything you need to know about the conscience of Wal Mart was shown in two pieces: their CIO brags how bar codes enable them to know how much a product sells by the hour and day world-wide on a moments notice; then their VP-international can not hazard a "guess" as to how much they import from China in a given year. I "dealt" with Wal Mart once in my career as a supplier and that was one too many.

Michael Oliver
Cary, NC

Dear FRONTLINE,

Every Senator and Congressional Representative needs to see this.

Why isn't anyone doing something about this? Even if it takes one person in front of every Wal-Mart we need to stop this. Please make a Part II to this, is there a solution?

Sarita Herrera
Parkland, FL

Dear FRONTLINE,

Intersting story...I suspect some business classes around the world will be picking up copies!

Somewhere in the Frontline show on Wal-Mart, I hope the viewers are picking up a basic lesson in economics: low price matched with expected value wins the market wars, which is why the consumers of America are voting with their dollars to make Wal-Mart number one. If Wal-Mart did not win this battle, another firm would (see the U.S. auto industry for an example).

This trend is not unique to Wal-Mart, and many middle-men and larger firms that do not adapt to the internet changes will be directly impacted as the firms continue to implement internet-based technologies.

Please also note a key air-time speaker is a union organizer.

Cliff Scogin
Fayetteville, Arkansas