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I just had a mini debate with a liberal on this issue. I asked her basically what is her goal? There is no evidence that small stores pay better wages or benefits. Also the key indicator that determines retail diversity is availability of good private sector jobs. When coal took at hit post 80s in appalachia and thousands of miners were layed off retail diversity contracted in those areas for some time. The truth is Walmart doesn’t kill business or retail diversity it usually causes more diversity because competitors usually use Walmart to help determine where they will locate. So where Walmart leads others follow because they know money is to be made.

There will always be spurts of consolidation and fragmentation in the retail space but this is no different today than with other large retailers of the past such as Sears and Roebuck. We see the same thing in the Pharmacy business and usually customers benefit from such consolidations as was the case with Standard Oil in the energy sector and when they don’t new competitors step in to fill the opportunities provided by dissatisfied customers.

We have seen countless new boutique style stores and speciality stores in the era of Walmart which flies in the face of liberal arguments. They may cherry pick towns in Nowhereville America which already were economically depressed before Walmart and try to make a case against Walmart but it is an empty one because if Walmart pulls out it probably means the area was already too far gone to be saved and where ‘Mom & Pop’ stores close well that happens with or without Walmart. I know personally of towns that went through a slow death all by themselves and a Walmart isn’t within a hundred miles. Blaming Walmart suggests that some how there is need for an entitlement program for inefficient businesses that people don’t want to shop at or can’t afford to shop at. This is crazy and doesn’t benefit anyone in the long term instead it keeps communities imprisoned and isolated. The North East in my opinion is running behind the South in cost of living and retail expansion because of stupid hostile policies against franchises and retailers.