Wal-Mart Incentives: Is This Economic Development?

Subsidies, condemnation, and lop-sided tax policies are among the many ways governments give chain stores an advantage over independent retailers.

1 minute read

December 30, 2003, 9:00 AM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"If the city of Denver has its way, these small businesses will be evicted to make way for a Wal-Mart super-center. The city's Urban Renewal Authority has threatened condemnation if the property owners refuse to sell and has offered Wal-Mart $10 million in public subsidies... Most people assume that local retailers are being beaten fair-and-square by companies that offer consumers a better deal... But as Alameda Square vividly illustrates, consumer choices are not all that's driving the growth of corporate chains. Public policy plays a major role."

Thanks to Jacob Halpert

FULL STORY: Does Wal-Mart need our tax dollars?

Friday, December 26, 2003 in Colorado Daily

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