MetaChat - Hercules vs. Goliath.

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30 May 2006

Hercules vs. Goliath. Been following this story from the beginning -- really interesting. I'm no fan of eminent domain, but hey -- I always root against Wal-Mart.

*wonders if the phrase "eminent domain" will automatically scare people off, inserts fluffy bunny for good measure*

post by: mudpuppie at: 13:06 | 10 comments

Love this..."(Walmart as) the 5,200-store chain as a massive feral pig that uproots and devours everything from small-town economies to the national health care system."
AND
"a pastel launching pad for commuters"

Go Hercules!

posted by Lipstick Thespian 30 May | 13:15

inserts fluffy bunny
Might scare off even more people.

posted by Wolfdog 30 May | 13:19

Wal-Mart will win in the end. Possibly by going JUST outside the city limits. They can still get the business and the city will still deal with the related traffic, litter, etc. But the city will not get any tax-related benefits.

posted by weretable and the undead chairs 30 May | 13:31

Yay Hercules! That's tellin' 'em!

And I agree about the bunny insertion scaring people.

posted by Specklet 30 May | 13:50

It's like watching a snake wrestling a sewer rat. I not sure whom to cheer against.

posted by bonehead 30 May | 14:11

Eminent Domain has built our highways and byways and been the rule of law for what, 150 years? The latest incarnation, with the supreme court ruling, is, I grant you, rife for abuse, but I maintain the principal is a sound one. It's how public works get done.

posted by rainbaby 30 May | 14:21

Hercules gives me the shivers, but in the same way that walking into someone's house who has wall-to-wall white carpeting gives me the shivers. Walmart gives me the shivers in a staring-up-at-the-toejam-of-a-312-billion-pound-cranky-gorilla way.

posted by taz 30 May | 14:55

pretty much what weretable and the undead chairs said.

still, i admire hercules for trying. her-cu-les, her-cu-les!! *claps*

posted by keswick 30 May | 16:59

I thought cities GAVE tax benefits more than they received them?

Pinole, just up the road, did it right, from what I remember- they not only didn't give the big box stores tax discounts, they made them build outside the metro area, and donate money to fix up their little old-fashioned downtown.

Of course, now I can't find the documentation to back up my memory.

posted by small_ruminant 30 May | 17:37

small_ruminant: cities give retailers give short-term incentives upfront to build so that they can receive future revenue over the long-term via property tax (not so much in CA), user fees, and sales tax.

posted by keswick 30 May | 17:40

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