clo,
"I see Walmart as killers of Mom & Pop stores, stores that neighbors had relationships with"
I think you should re-think that. Wal-mart hasn't done anything wrong. It has done what EVERY business is supposed to try to do, to make money, grow, and to do a better job than other businesses.
The problem is with our government. Our government does not retaliate against China and other countries that:
o Are employing slave laborers
o Allow atrocious working conditions
o Pollute
o Ignore international laws including copyrights and patents
o Steal foreign technologies
o Subsidize industries the government would like to capture (thus giving inferior companies the funding and blackmailing powers of a monopoly),
Etc.
We need to impose MASSIVE tariffs on goods from these countries. At that point, Wal-mart would lose much of its advantage over the uncompetitive, home-based companies you care about.
So, clo, it's your own love for the current way of doing things that is dooming these small businesses. If our government would do its job and look out for the LONG TERM interests of the United States, they'd be able to compete.
| 
