There has been a great deal of excitement in the Town of Wawarsing recently. The reason? It was announced a few weeks ago that Wal-Mart is interested in locating a Super Center at the Valley Mall site in Napanoch — the former home of Ames, the discount store, and Grand Union, the supermarket. More recently attorney Joseph Tso, representing the consortium that owns the property, has indicated that he has a contract from Wal-Mart awaiting his signature.

This news has produced a great deal of discussion. We are all coming to terms with the idea of Wal-Mart as our possible neighbor. Our local newspapers have reflected our concerns.

Wal-Mart is a known quantity, and some of what we know about it is negative. Its low prices force local competitors out of business. It pays low wages to its employees and does not provide benefits for many of them. It uses its volume buying to pressure its vendors into accepting ever-smaller profit margins and will often end up buying the vendor when it is no longer profitable. It outsources to vendors in foreign countries whose workplaces are hardly better than sweatshops. Although it is hugely profitable, its record of philanthropy is mediocre at best.

However, what is true of Wal-Mart is true of many large retail businesses today. The solution for some of these problems will only come from state-wide or national action, such as the legislation introduced this year in Maryland. It requires Wal-Mart to pay a minimum amount toward employee health insurance, based on a percentage of wages paid to employees. Other issues, such as sex discrimination, have been the subject of lawsuits.

My point here is, yes, there are problems, but they cannot be addressed at the local level. They are much larger problems and the solutions must come from higher up.

When we look at the positive side, we see some significant benefits to our community.

As consumers, we will be able to get a wide range of products at low prices — without traveling to Kingston, Middletown, or Monticello, and spending what we saved at the store on gasoline for the trip.

Wal-Mart will provide employment for many local people. It is better to have a job at Wal-Mart than to have no job at all.

What about the impact on local business? Many local businesses do not compete directly with Wal-Mart. For them, the increased shopper traffic represents an opportunity to market their products and services to a wider public. As for those businesses that do compete directly, their challenge will be to offer things that Wal-Mart cannot offer, such as personal attention, expert assistance, or a more upscale product.

Based on many conversations I have had, I believe that nine out of ten people in the town are favorable to Wal-Mart. Many of them see the same problems that I mentioned above. However, they feel, that the benefits of having Wal-Mart in our community outweigh the problems.

I would be interested in hearing other points of view. We are at the beginning of a process; a lot of things have to happen and a lot of decisions have to be made before the shovels hit the ground. The more discussion we have, the better will our decisions be. "Your voice can be heard only if you speak up." However, I thought it would be important to let you know what I having been thinking at this point in time.

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