Mabey they really were inflated wages until Wal Mart came in and brought them to a more reasonable level.
What exactly are you talking about with depressed subsidies? Is Wal Mart forcing the government to pay less to single moms?
Read for context. The conjuction "and" separated the two. One was depressed and the other was not. Companies come into an area and ask for cities to pay (through tax breaks) for this entrance. This is a subsidy.