What a ridiculous statement.
Singlehandedly?
By the time Wal-Mart became a serious nationwide operation in the early eighties, US manufacturers had already lost their competitiveness in every major industry: automotive, consumer electronic, steels, etc.
The only burgeoning sector in US manufacturing was computing and Wal-Mart has had very little to do with the decline of PC manufacturing in the US.
If Wal-Mart has had any impact on any major US industry it has been the textile industry - which was a low-wage industry to begin with.
Ultimately, the person you should blame is the American consumer for demanding affordable products.
Actually you can blame it on one of the biggest scams ever pulled on the Americans, and one of the worst trade policies ever invented.. "Free Trade" is a scam from day one, and there is NOTHING conservative about it... how that trainwreck got tied as mantra to the conservative politic is beyond me.
Semantics. Our 'manufacturers' now make Whoppers and Big Macs.
BUMP