THEY CALL ME MELLOW YELLOW

-Walmart makes about $421 billion per year, more than Exxon Mobil, Chevron, General Electric, and Pfizer (not quite combined). 

-If Walmart were to be considered a sovereign nation and if its income were to be considered as an independent GDP, it would have the 25th largest economy globally, ahead of Ireland, Iraq, and Bolivia.

-Walmart does five times the business of the next largest American retailer, Costco, and ten times the business of Amazon.

-If Walmart’s warehouses were gathered up and plopped down side-by-side, they would cover an area equivalent of the isle of Manhattan, which is 880 million square feet.  

-Walmart employs 1 million more people than the entire military of North Korea, which employs about 1,100,000 soldiers. Remember, the United States military only employs about 1,460,000 people.

-Walmart’s imports from China matches those of Germany and exceeds the Chinese imports sent to Taiwan and Russia. 

And maybe, in your mind, these points simply glorify Walmart. Maybe looking at this list makes you think that Walmart is doing something right, clearly, because otherwise they would not have the power that they do. They’re very successful businesspeople, who can blame them? Well, here’s the thing: Walmart is very big. Walmart is very powerful. And it only got the way by stepping all over others. Walmart has ruined economies and ruined lives and it continues to do so. Walmart has the size and the power to set industry standards and they are not setting a good example for retail as a whole.

-If Walmart were a sovereign nation, it would come first in one thing: income inequality. Walmart CEO Michael Duke makes more in one hour than the average Walmart associate makes in a year. $16,827, by the way. That’s how much Mike Duke makes in an hour. By contrast, the average income for the average associate is around $13,650 per year.

(I know damn well that I didn’t make that much, but I’m only part time. Then again, Walmart is determined to get rid of all of its full-time employees. Why? Why should it have to pay out for benefits and overtime?)

-The Waltons, Sam’s survivors, are among the wealthiest families on the planet (number two, by the way, I bet they can’t stand that). And yet, they only award two percent of their income to charity per year. Bill and Melinda Gates donate 42 percent, the philanthropist George Soros donates 63 percent, and Warren Buffet regularly donates 81 percent of his income. If the Waltons were to increase their donations to just 48 percent of their overall income ($421 billion, remember), the NIH could double the amount of medical research being performed in the United States.

We do not need this disrespectful, greedy, stingy, hateful company further polluting our fair town. Athens is a lot of things, and not always the best things, but it isn’t what Walmart is. Athens as I know it is an intelligent, beautiful, youthful, altruistic, activist, hippie-hipster haven, and there is no more room for Walmart here. Keep it out.

Spread the word, Athenians.