Low Income Communities and Wal-Mart

Over at the DMI blog, Andrianne Shropshire, talks about the recent Wal-Mart funded survey that showed low-income New Yorkers have the most favorable views of the store. While Shopshire is somewhat skeptical of the numbers she does believe that better outreach needs to be done to these communities:

What NYC needs is a good organizing drive. One that focuses on organizing low-income and working-class neighborhoods around a community standards platform. One that brings neighborhood people together to analyze the clear implications of Wal-Marts model. And one that builds a unified front that will not accept poverty jobs in exchange for a smiley face and company cheers. It won't take much to turn those public opinion numbers around, we can't be duped so easily. But we are a bit behind on this and before Wal-Mart spins it into a story about how unions are thwarting the destiny of low-income communities of color, we better get busy.