Archive for April 22nd, 2007
Larry Quinn’s over-reaching defense of the current Bass Pro plans ignores reality and leaves many questions unanswered.
And here is the opportunity: Remake downtown as the true retail and business center of the region.
The first step requires the presence of a major destination retailer that will attract millions of people downtown and truly activate the lake and river with water-related activity. Bass Pro’s commitment to reconstruct the historic Central Wharf fills the bill.
After reading Quinn’s opinion, I have questions and concerns.
- Stating that this will lead to Buffalo becoming the retail center of the region is ludicrous. That is not to say a viable retail center can’t be developed.
- The 100,000 square foot Bass Pro currently on the table is a shadow of the 250,000 square foot retail magnet originally planned.
- What are Bass Pro’s hours of operation going to be? Will they close at 9 pm? Perhaps even earlier? Will there be anything requiring Bass Pro to say open during a fixed period of the day? Once Bass Pro closes for the day, which could be anywhere from 5 pm to ?, there will be a large dead area right on the canal.
- No matter how you regard the Bass Pro deal, they are getting a sweetheart deal. A new building at no cost with a 20 year lease. No rent, no property taxes, potential Empire Zone and other credits and they will only pay a common area maintenance fee that amounts to a pittance when compared to the normal cost of a retail business
- The sweetheart deal is inherently unfair to other retail businesses in the area that compete with them
Source: The Buffalo News: Op-Ed Columns
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Today’s Buffalo News did a wonderful job of one sided reporting on the issue of Walmart vs. other retailers.
Of course, not everyone sees it that way, if judged by nothing more than full parking lots and a healthy corporate bottom line. And not all politicians jump on the anti-Wal-Mart bandwagon. North Tonawanda Mayor Lawrence V. Soos welcomes the store to the former Melody Fair area.
The only reason the anti-Walmart forces have been successful is they use the force of government power to seek a competitive advantage. If Walmart was truly an evil entity, people wouldn’t shop there and it wouldn’t be necessary to use government to block their developments.
It would be nice to see the Buffalo News publish an objective article on Walmart instead of pandering to the false, yet politically correct viewpoints they presented.
Leary and most of Wal- Mart’s critics cite the company’s devastating effects on village main streets, low wages for workers and traffic and crime problems around stores as reasons they don’t want the chain in their community.
Walmart’s average wage is about $10 per hour. I would speculate that the stores competing with them do not pay this much. Nothing is even mentioned about the increased tax benefits Walmart brings to a community. When people are allowed to freely vote with their wallets, Walmart wins.
Wal-Mart has been accused of driving American jobs overseas and encouraging employees to seek health benefits from Medicaid instead of obtaining them through the company.
The canard that Walmart drives jobs overseas is another emotional argument that ignores the facts. Many studies have shown that companies that off-shore jobs create more better paying jobs in this country. Also, Walmart has a positive impact on communities by raising the standard of living by increasing the purchasing power of the consumer’s dollars. The insurance charge is another canard. How many “mom & pops” that the anti-Walmart crowd likes to trot out actually provide health insurance for their employees? The problem with health insurance is not Walmart’s fault, it is the governments fault for driving up all health care associated costs, including insurance.
The Buffalo News does not do its readers any favors by publishing one-sided articles. The readers deserve objective, factual journalism so they can make informed decisions about their communities.
I’m not saying Walmart should be allowed to build in every village. If people, through zoning laws, want to preserve a certain character, let them. But don’t block development with emotional hype full of inaccuracies. Let the people make an informed choice.
Source: The Buffalo News: Home
