Media inquiries: Andrew Ryan
202.862.4870 (andrewryan@aei.org)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 21, 2007

With the 2008 election cycle in full swing and the candidates defining their issues, Wal-Mart is assured to be one of the more divisive issues. As a non-unionized retailer that has increasingly marginalized unionized competitors, Wal-Mart has directly weakened a primary source of campaign finance and organizational manpower for the Democratic Party. The Wal-Mart issue will likely highlight the contrast between the Democrats' centrist presidential candidates (and Hillary Clinton, who was once a member of Wal-Mart's board) and the party's more left-wing candidates and electoral base.

Presidential candidates Barack Obama and John Edwards recently joined a conference call organized by the union-funded anti-Wal-Mart pressure group Wakeupwalmart.com to press for changes to the firm's wage, labor, and benefits policies. But is Wal-Mart actually bad for America?

In The Wal-Mart Revolution: How Big-Box Stores Benefit Consumers, Workers, and the Economy (AEI Press), AEI visiting scholar Richard Vedder demonstrates that Wal-Mart helps the poorest Americans through remarkable savings and increased affordability of products. Vedder's research shows that Wal-Mart has boosted employment and income levels in disadvantaged communities while maintaining labor compensation consistent with retail norms.

Richard Vedder will be in New Hampshire speaking at Saint Anselm College in Manchester on Tuesday, March 27, 2007, and is available for interviews. To schedule an interview with Professor Vedder, please contact Andrew Ryan at 202.862.4870 or andrewryan@aei.org.

Richard Vedder is distinguished professor of economics at Ohio University, a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, and director of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity in Washington, D.C.

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