It's official --
many of us see America as a "Wal-Mart nation."
According to a poll released via "60 Minutes" and Vanity Fair magazine, 48 percent of Americans -- almost a majority -- say Wal-Mart is the business that best symbolizes America.
In second place was Google, with 15 percent. Microsoft was next with 13 percent, the National Football League was fourth with 6 percent and in fifth was Goldman Sachs with 3 percent?
Goldman Sachs? We guess there are people out there who identify with Goldman Sachs more than the NFL, but we just haven't met them yet.
If you look at the other poll results, it's not surprising we're a "Wal-Mart nation" right now, with the severe recession, cost-cutting and job fears. The megastore -- with its cheaper goods -- attracts recession-minded consumers. And, if one looks at the other results of the poll, we're definitely into parsimony and pinching pennies.
There may even be a sort of secular puritanism developing among Americans as a result of this recession. Witness these poll results:
Fifty-one percent of us would favor a tax of 50 percent -- or even more -- on the wealthiest Americans. However, 46 percent still oppose that idea. Twenty-one percent of us favor a fast-food tax. Five percent would like to see weight scales placed in restaurants. We wonder how many of those 5 percent want to make the weighing mandatory?
Almost a third -- 30 percent -- of us, according to the poll, favor banning food stamp use for high-calorie foods. However, 4 percent of us still favor tax credits for liposuction.
As mentioned, Americans are cutting back on spending, but the poll gives us a clue on what's hard to give up. A third of us -- 33 percent -- say it's hard to give up dining at restaurants. Other tough-to-give-up pleasures include new clothes and vacations.
One more interesting note: Despite Wal-Mart's poll numbers, we're split on whether we want the megastore giant to enter the health care services industry. Only 25 percent of us would use a Wal-Mart health megastore. Thirty-three percent would not. The rest are undecided.
Maybe that reluctance makes sense. Should your doctor's office be next door to a McDonalds?
