You assume that, magically, Wal-Mart will price its products at the exact same level as the other retailers.
So, let's say you originally spent $1.50 on toothpaste, and now spend $1.00 (on perhaps a larger tube). And to be fair, let's say you now spend $1.25 on eggs versus $1.00.
Where does your 0.25 savings go? Does it simply evaporate?
No, that’s one of the (many) complicating factors.
Let us assume that people save 10% when buying the same goods at WalMart as opposed to somewhere else.
They might very well spend the savings at WM for additional stuff, or they might save it, or they might possibly spend it somewhere else.
Few of them, however, will take that 10% to a WM competitor and spend it there.
My sole point is that WM moving into a community creates few if any net new jobs. If this were the case, then the 2M+ in WM employees would be on top of the retail employees that would have been around had WM never existed, which is obviously just not true.
I like WM, or used to, mostly because it pisses liberals off so much, including some family members.
Unfortunately, about a year ago they seem to have made a decision to cut way back on staffing levels and wait times to checkout have gotten very unpleasant.