The Washington Post reports that council officials in Los Angeles are sizing up against low-wage and low-prospects retailing behemoth, Wal-Mart.

Despite what Wal-Mart's schmaltzy TV ads claim about the company's positive effects on local communities, LA's city fathers have a different view:
"City leaders here say they fear the arrival of the retailer's biggest stores would drive down local wages, as rival businesses struggle to survive; wipe out more jobs than they create; and leave more residents without health insurance -- and with no choice but to use public hospitals and clinics that are already overrun by demand."

The LA County Economic Development Corp. disagrees. In a study (financed by...er...Wal-Mart) it says the megastores could save households nearly $600 a year, trickling more money and jobs down into other parts of the local economy.