Wal-Mart Cradles Small Business In Its Gentle Bosom

Yesterday, Wal-Mart announced a new program opening new stores and creating within them "Wal-Mart Jobs and Opportunity Zones" in nine cities across the country, ostensibly designed to build up not only the business of Wal-Mart but the local community as well.

The program is designed to show just how a Wal-Mart can support those same small businesses it is often accused of destroying, and will offer advertising offering advertising inside Wal-Mart's store and in local newspapers, as well as presenting additional funding for local chambers of commerce.

"It's about creating opportunity beyond the four walls of our stores,"said Cleveland Regional Manager Jerry Spencer. "And it's about making unique contributions to the communities we serve, the millions of customers who rely on us and the thousands of associates we employ in communities just like this one."

Though Cleveland will see a new benefit from the program, as of right now New York City is still not on the list for a future Wal-Mart opening.