Wal-Mart Wars

My appreciation for those opposing Wal-Mart just went up a notch.
According to a study done by Penn State agricultural economists (printed in the August edition of Discover Magazine), "Food stamp usage DOUBLES in Pennsylvania counties with new Wal-Mart stores. Low wages and the collapse of mom-and-pop local business networks are to blame."
Prior to today, I didn't have a problem with Wal-Mart. In fact, I thought they epitomized several ideals of American capitalism: Competition, innovation, expansion (risk), selection, and service.
I thought, "What's not to like?" So what if mom-and-pop can't compete? The two or three jobs they provide in their little family-owned shoe store will be replaced by 50 or 60 jobs in a Wal-Mart and the shoes will cost 30% less! Everybody wins!
But it's not that simple, is it.
I got to thinking about my new friend, 80-year old Murray Goff, and his family-owned clothing store where I live. Murray runs the store, along with his wife, his son and his daughter-in-law. He knows a lot about the clothes he sells and he uses that knowledge when helping customers. Murray sells a lot of Pendleton clothes, made in America, along with some that are probably made in Indonesia. He buys local advertising from the local paper. He hires local plumbers and local electricians when repairs were needed. If Wal-Mart put him out of business, there would definitely be a ripple effect. Some would say it was more than a ripple - more like a tsunami.
Maybe I'm just romanticising, but I don't want to see more mom-and-pop stores replaced with Wal-Marts across the country.
I won't shop at Wal-Mart any more.