Don't let the minor detail of what's legal stand in the way of seeing the truth.  30 years ago, most of Wal-mart's current business practices would have been illegal.  

The only difference between them and the mugger is that they had the clout to get the laws changed to allow them to mug people.  In that way, they're worse than the mugger -- he has no clout that would let him get his actions written into law.

Wal-mart can and does pull out of these small towns all the time -- it is strip-mining because they're capitalizing on the collapse.  They hasten it by causing the surrounding businesses to close and taking whatever public funds they can get with them when they leave.

These things aren't just an unfortunate situation that Wal-mart finds itself in -- they count on the desperation as part of their business model.  

Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. -Hobbes