Why is Target given pass and not Wal Mart?

Buy hard liquor at the Elk Grove Target.

Last Wednesday when Target was granted permission to sell hard booze at its Elk Grove store, nary a voice spoke in opposition to the expansion of liquor sales in Elk Grove.

It sparked a thought: if Wal Mart had sought (or perhaps will seek in the future) permission to sell hard liquor would it have generated no opposition as Target's request did?

There was some opposition - one submitted comment from an Elk Grove citizen and Council Member Gary spoke and voted against the request - but nothing more. You can't help but wonder if this had been Wal Mart seeking to sell hard liquor the opposition would have been ferocious.

Could it be that Wal Mart's reputation precedes itself? Wal Mart's reputation for stong-arming and bullying communities is well deserved.

We need only think of the recent incident when they tried to slip under the radar and by-pass Elk Grove's big-box ordinance. Because of incidents like this and hundreds of others around the country, it has been said Wal Mart lacks social capital.

Or put another way, Wal Mart is one of those companies we love to hate.

So why does Target get a pass? While not as visibly pushy as Wal Mart, Target is no model of corporate citizenship either.

Last year members of the LBGT community were angered when Target directed money to a group that used that money in support of fiery anti-Gay Minnesota politician.

And how about wages? How do wages at Target stack up against Wal Mart. Are they substantially higher? (See this 2005 story from the Minneapolis Star-Tribune).

In a 2006 story, the following was noted:

In contrast to this image, however, critics say that in terms of wages and benefits, working conditions, sweatshop-style foreign suppliers, and effects on local retail communities, big box Target stores are very much like Wal-Mart, just in a prettier package.

Mind you the critique of Target is not meant to defend Wal Mart. The Bentonville Ark.-based company is the devil in a blue dress - one must wonder why people don’t see Target as the devil in a red dress.