Kudos to Steve McClure (Opinion, Oct. 8-9) for pointing out that there are different definitions of quality of life for Palouse residents.Timmy believes that all us Wal-Martians are becoming increasingly lonely, like the Maytag repairman I suppose. Riiigghhhhttt. He doesn't realize that every rant of his that gets published, that many more people sign up for BREO. His words and the words of the other PARDners, are PARD's worst enemy, not me.
However, it goes beyond “mom-and-pop” versus “big-box.” Economic freedom is an essential key to quality of life.
Many of us in Pullman, mom-and-pop store owners and national retailer supporters alike, believe in free enterprise. We want maximum freedom for any business, large or small, with minimal governmental interference. In this fertile environment, entrepreneurship has taken root and borne fruit in our city. Competition is good and healthy and benefits both merchant and consumer.
The Pullman Alliance for Responsible Development, on the other hand, wants the government to regulate competition, mandate wages, control how private land is used, support labor unions, and arbitrate the morality of business practices. These current and former WSU faculty members are passionate about social justice and yet are practicing the kind of discrimination against a corporation they would vehemently protest if applied to an individual or minority group.
PARD obviously distrusts capitalism, our city government, and the people of Pullman. This is evidenced by their "lawyering up" to stop Wal-Mart through appeal after appeal. A group that supposedly supports “diversity” is trying to force their strict interpretation of “quality of life” upon the rest of us.
The ultimate fate of Wal-Mart should not be decided in a courtroom or in a “public” hearing but by the wallets of Pullman citizens. It is, after all, customers that choose to patronize a store or not. It is up to us to determine how we grow, not self-appointed amateur city planners.
People come to Pullman to pursue different dreams. We are guaranteed that right by our Constitution. Follow your own vision, according to the dictates of your own conscience. That freedom is the truest quality of life
Given the level of rhetoric we're hearing, they must be almost finished over there in the PARD bunker.
4 comments:
They hope we're going to become "lonely, like the Maytag repairman"?
Wishful thinking on *their* part!
best,
Dale
TV Reeds effort in todays Daily Evergreen is a ridiculous editorial.
To begin with, the number of baseless appeals filed by PARD has nothing to do with the merit of their appeal. If their appeal is based on their SEPA comments, PARD has only proven that they can make a lot of copies of web sites and leftist studies. They submitted almost nothing that had a relation to Pullman and the site that Wal-Mart wants to build on.
The real kicker is when TV claims to know that some members of city council, city staff or key business leaders have been shaken by the idea that Wal-Mart intends to builds in Moscow. We would only be shaken if Wal-Mart decided to build in Moscow and not in Pullman. Of course, that is TV's goal. No matter how some members of city council, city staff or key business leaders feel about growth in Pullman.
PARD dares try to portray themselves as local? As a born and raised Pullman resident, that idea is laughable and one PARD will lose every time.
TV asserts that I am an "increasingly lonely local Wal-Matter?" No, flat not true. People in Pullman have been calling, stopping by my store and mailing in notes to give their support.
I don't believe that giving Wal-Mart fair treatment among other large corporations (or large unions) takes anything away from an individuals freedom. Comparing the two is a farce.
I don't know if Pullman or Whitman county has given a tax break to Wal-Mart. If we had to give them a break, I am for Pullman being more competitive in the local retail arena. We give breaks to WSU everyday in the hope that the investment will be repaid.
And finally, I can't speak for Tom, but I don't condemn PARD's petition. I question it's validity and relevance
You nailed it April. My gripes aout PARD's petition have always been about its validity and relevance. In particular, the obtaining of thousands of signatures from outside of Pullman, and then using that to show a "majority of Pullman" opposes Wal-Mart."
My challenge to PARD is this: I salute your democratic efforts to boycott Wal-Mart. It's the God-given right of every American to protest. Drop your appeals of Wal-Mart. Don't let the issue be decided by attorneys and legal machinations. Let the people decide. And I'm not talking about a vote like tomorrow. Let ALL the people really decide with their wallets. And no, signing a petition is not voting with your wallet. It doesn't work that way in advance. If Wal-Mart is forced to close, what a major triumph for PARD that would be. Al Norman would fly to Pullman for a personal handshake with T.V. Reed. You would make the front page of Wal-Mart Watch. No Wal-Mart in the world has been closed other than by Wal-Mart itself. Don't worry about the empty building. You say Target is coming. They can take it over.
Lonely. Hmmm. Evidently none of the PARDners has been to Wal-mart at 6am the day after Thanksgiving.
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