Wal-Mart does far more than churches to assist needy people

See The Retail Principle of Doing Good. It was a letter to the editor in the 11-23-11 WSJ.

"Aaron Belz ("How Calvinists Spread Thanksgiving Cheer," op-ed, Nov. 18) describes a Santa Monica, Calif., church distributing holiday food baskets. But the truth is, Wal-Mart and its counterparts spread far more holiday-food cheer than do churches and public-service groups.

Scholars estimate that the presence of Wal-Mart in a community reduces food prices somewhere between 10% and 15%. That's equivalent to shoppers receiving an additional 5.2 to 7.8 weeks of "free" food shopping. That Wal-Mart's customer base is skewed toward lower-income shoppers reinforces the beneficent consequences of its price effect.

Telling of the good that big-box retailers do for their customers doesn't pack the same "feel good" punch as Mr. Belz's account of a California church. Hey, the idea that one can do good while doing well in the marketplace has always been a tough sell.

Lest you think me a curmudgeon putting down church efforts, let me say that I contribute to my church's food and winter coat drives. And my church is part of the same denomination as the church Mr. Belz describes (Presbyterian Church in America). That I also believe that my local Wal-Mart does far more than my church to assist needy people often causes me to feel like the odd man out.

T. Norman Van Cott

Department of Economics

Ball State University

Muncie, Ind."