Walmart Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Effects on customers === A 2005 story in ''The Washington Post'' reported that "Wal-Mart's discounting on food alone boosts the welfare of American shoppers by at least {{US$|50 billion}} per year."<ref>{{cite news |author = Mallaby, Sebastian |date = November 28, 2005 |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112700687.html |title = Progressive Wal-Mart. Really |newspaper = The Washington Post |access-date = August 4, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080516202924/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112700687.html |archive-date = May 16, 2008}}</ref> A study in 2005 at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) measured the effect on [[Welfare economics|consumer welfare]] and found that the poorest segment of the population benefits the most from the existence of discount retailers.<ref>{{cite web |author = Hausman, Jerry |first2 = Ephraim |last2 = Leibtag |date = October 2005 |url = http://economics.mit.edu/files/1765 |title = Consumer Benefits from Increased Competition in Shopping Outlets: Measuring the Effect of Wal-Mart |publisher = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]/[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date = August 4, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120816233917/http://economics.mit.edu/files/1765 |archive-date = August 16, 2012}}</ref> In 2006, American newspaper columnist [[George Will]] stated that In terms of economic effects, "Wal-Mart and its effects save shoppers more than {{US$|200 billion}} a year, dwarfing such government programs as [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program|food stamps]] ({{US$|28.6 billion}}) and the [[earned income tax credit]] ({{US$|34.6 billion}})".<ref>{{cite news |last = Will |first = George |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301573.html |title = Democrats Vs. Wal-Mart |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = September 14, 2006 |author-link = George Will |archive-date = July 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130728114309/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301573.html }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page