WalMart outshines feds in Katrina relief

Led by labor unions blasting WalMart because it is assiduously non-union, there is a constant drumbeat of criticism of the nation's largest retailer. It's wages are too low, health insurance not generous enough and its presence in a town drives out local retailers who can't compete.

If you actually believe this union-generated drivel, why is it that WalMart remains the nation's number one retailer? Why do they have no trouble hiring all the employees they need? Except for union bastions like Chicago, why are communities standing in line to try to get WalMart to move in or expand?

Now comes a new paper by Steven Horowitz, an Austrian-school economist at St. Lawrence University in New York, documenting that in the first hours after Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast, while FEMA fumbled about, doing as much to prevent supplies from reaching Louisiana and Mississippi as to facilitate it, WalMart performed feats of heroism. WalMart trucks were preloaded with supplies at regional depots and were first on the scene wherever refugees were being gathered by government. The company gave out multi-millions in bottled water, sanitary supplies, food, clothing and building materials--impeded only by FEMA and federal officials who wouldn't let their trucks through.

At individual stores, employees performed individual acts of courage, such as the one in Kenner, LA who rammed a fork lift through a brick wall to the medical supplies and gave them to doctors and nurses who were assisting the injured. Others broke open windows and doors to let refugees in to get what they needed at no charge. The president of Jefferson Parish told Meet the Press that "if the government had responded like WalMart responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis."

Other companies like Lowe's and Home Depot performed similarly, handing out millions of dollars worth of inventory for free. The strongest initial response came from the Southern Baptist Convention, who opened churchs and campgrounds to serve thousands of refugees with a place to stay and eat. This all happened while FEMA and state and local government were trying to decide what to do.

Private companies have a huge incentive to respond to social needs. Combined with their local knowledge and employees who are already on the ground, its only natural that their response would trump that of government every time.

What do the liberals have to say about that?