People wish for an American economy that does not exist, where streets are filled with mom and pop shops, and milkshakes only costs 50 cents, but you can't blame any corporation for low costs, low goods state the world is in right now. People generally remember a period shortly after World War II when America led the world to manufacturing, where some (most) American companies made their products right in the comfort of their hometown, and quality products had no rivals. This is definitely not what our world looks like today. Today there is global competition, cheap labor, manufacturing overseas, and consumer demand for cheaper goods being "cheap over anything else". Walmart fills a lot of these demands for America, with an American company that provides jobs for over 2 million people a year. Employing so many workers helps keep down prices and inflation for over 300 million Americans. If Wal-Mart did not exist, its place in the economic world would be taken over by a different company, and that company may not be American so we should count ourselves lucky. So, you cannot hold this against Wal-Mart on the basis of a claim that says Wal-Mart destroys the old American economy that our parents and grandparents remember. That economy no longer exists and the new world is nowhere near as predictable. Sometimes it moves too quickly for some (me) to keep up. Workers have less job security, and Main street is no longer the center of America, but Walmart does it's best to help us keep up. Walmart gives people somewhere to get good products for a cheap discount that they couldn't otherwise afford. This is one of the most important things in my perspective, to give America the necessities of life. .
Along with raising the standard of living, Walmart boosts the economy, reduces inflation, and makes our economy more efficient overall. According to the Los Angeles Times, "U.S. economists say its tightfistedness has not only boosted its own bottom line, but also helped hold down the inflation rate for the entire country.