But let me ask a question: What happens if Wal-Mart pulls out of these small towns?  Suddenly, a situation of having low-paying jobs is replaced by a situation of having no jobs -- turning a depressed economy into a collapsing one.  Wal-Mart is, in no way, analogous to the mugger robbing the poor guy.  The mugger is breaking the law by stealing.  Wal-Mart is moving into a market where it believes it can turn a profit by selling goods and services at lower prices than its competition.  Consumers buy the cheaper products, and Wal-Mart turns that profit.  I don't follow the reasoning behind Wal-Mart being part of the problem.  The problem is that small-town economies have historically been dependent on a given industry -- cars, textiles, agriculture, and so on.  Now that businesses are able to produce the same goods, at lower prices, overseas, those small-town economies are left with nothing.  Wal-Mart is not strip-mining these small towns.  It's taking advantage of a labor surplus.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.