Especially in today's economy, it's hard to avoid hearing about Wal-Mart, the superstore. The fact that I watched "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" probably alludes to some of my persuasions, but it is a film worth mentioning. Naturally, the documentary discussed the negative impact of Wal-Mart on small-town America as well as the conditions of the workers making the products in Asia. The more interesting parts of the documentary focused on aspects that I hadn't really thought much about including government tax breaks for the stores, the percentage of Wal-Mart workers on Medicaid or Welfare, and the appalling corporate policies regarding unions. The most disturbing aspect to me is that the CEO and board members make millions each year and give little to charity, but the average Wal-Mart worker lives below the federal poverty level and has to rely on government support due to the lacking benefits at Wal-Mart.
While I found the "Frontline" version to be much better and more research-based, this was still worth watching if you are clueless about the situation. It gets 3 out of 5 stars.
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