Shot. Self. Foot. 'Nuff Said.

From yesterday's AP story, that also ran in the Eagle, "Voters Endorse Wal-Mart Growth":

BENNINGTON, Vt., April 5 (AP) - An attempt to halt the expansion of a Wal-Mart store in Bennington failed on Tuesday when the retailer won a vote on whether to cap the size of retailers to 75,000 square feet. Voters rejected the cap by 2,189 to 1,724. Wal-Mart wants to increase its Bennington store to 112,000 square feet.

Let the race to the bottom of wages and benefits continue! When will we recognize that low prices (at any cost) for consumer goods are costing us our communities, our livelihoods, our future? That at a time when corporate profits are seeing upwards of 20 percent year-over-year growth, wages and benefits for working Americans are flat -- at best? That big-box retailers like Wal-Mart don't invest in communities? That they offer only low-paying jobs that lead more and more American families to require box-store low prices?

It's a powerful and detrimental cycle from whose grasp we may not be able to emerge anytime soon. Not a good move, Bennington. Don't forget, by the way, that the Wal-Mart expansion in Bennington was championed by an Ohio-based real estate developer who doesn't have the best interests of Bennington in mind.