"Paul M. Cook" > wrote in message
news:L6mui.1095$V53.1000@trnddc08...
>
> "zxcvbob" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Paul M. Cook wrote:
>> > They are brutal to deal with and bully entire city councils. They
>> > demand huge concessions from the cities, often demand to be exempted
>> > from rules governing zoning and waste removal, they get massive tax
>> > breaks, they demand and get zoning variances that tear up
>> > neighborhoods
>>
>>
>> The city council and zoning boards cannot be bullied unless they *want*
>> to be bullied. All they have to say is "No" and Walmart (or any other
>> business that wants to build) is out of luck.
>
> Not at all. Wrong on all levels. Wal-Mart plays on the national level.
> Many municipalities rely on federal money for some operations. Wal-Mart
> has
> many lobbyists in DC paying off politicians to do their bidding. If a
> city
> does not go along with Wal-Mart's wishes, they demand that the city be
> punished and vital funds withheld. Wal-Mart can put the screws to city
> councils in many, many ways. We had them do this recently in Hawthorne,
> CA.
> Wal-Mart was acting like the mafia, promising vast damage if they didn;t
> get
> their way. Well the city put Wal-Mart's new superstore to a voter and it
> was struck down mightily. Did Wal-Mart give up? Hell no, they sent an
> army
> of lawyers to the city to force them to be given a grant of land,
> exemption
> from taxes, exemption from zoning laws and exemption from environmental
> laws.
>
> It is call fascism - and that is what our government is now. Wal-Mart
> makes
> the rules - it is play by their rules or get destroyed. They are a
> vicious
> corporation that has all the money they need to bribe, extort and coerce
> their wishes anywhere, anytime and in any way they want. It is very hard,
> and getting harder to fight them.
>
> Paul


Perhaps it's time to learn a few things from the "terrorists" who sabotage
construction equipment to save forests from loggers.