WalMart, Lowe's, Home Depot - What really happens?

Here's an interesting article I found in pdf format about how the big-box stores affect YOUR LOCAL ECONOMY. What really happens when one of these GIANTS moves into your locality. Very interesting. I wish that enough people would realize this and not allow these businesses in your community.

Five Myths about Big Box Retail I have included the first of these myths down below to get your attention. You can read about the other four by clicking on the link.

MYTH: Big-Box Stores Create Jobs
FACT: Studies by independent economists show that big-box stores eliminate more re-
tail jobs than they create.

A recent study examined 3,094 counties across the U.S., tracking the arrival of new Wal-Mart stores between 1977 and 2002. The study, conducted by Univ. of California economist David
Neumark, found that opening a Wal-Mart store led to a net loss of 150 retail jobs on average, suggesting that a new Wal Mart job replaces approximately 1.4 workers at other stores
(The Effects of Wal-Mart on Local Labor Markets, January 2007).

The reason for the overall decline is that a new Wal-Mart store does not increase the amount of money that residents have to spend. Sales gains at these stores are invariably mirrored by a
drop in revenue at existing businesses, which then must downsize or close. The job losses are larger than the gains because Wal-Mart accomplishes the same volume of sales with fewer
employees.

Although similar studies have not been done of other big-box retailers, it's likely that they also have either a negative or no impact on employment because the underlying dynamics (i.e.,no increases in consumer spending) are the same