Disclaimer: This thread mainly focuses on Wal-Mart's effect in the United States and China.
Wal-Mart is a company that supports Child Slavery and Slave Wages. While they're not supporting human-rights abuses, they're sucking all the wealth out of any area they step into and leaving them an empty husk.
Nearly every low price at Wal-Mart isn't low without some other trade-off.
First, and foremost. Wal-Mart prays on low-income Americans, although I know many people who shop at Wal-Mart are not low-income. Wal-Mart is convenient, the prices are low, and they typically even have a subway just before you leave the building. But this is all a honey-pot to take away what little buying power low income Americans may have.
Let's side track a minute, and talk Local-Business and Local-Business that sources items Locally.
Minimally items from outside of the community are imported,
therefore minimal amounts of foreign shipping companies are paid,
and therefore foreign manufacturing doesn't take very much money out of your community.
Compared to Chain-Businesses.
Now, in this situation, foreign shipping and manufacturing is the what
makes up a Chain-Stores items and therefore means that most of the
money goes out of the community, rather than coming back into it.
And for the sake of brevity and not making an eye-sore chart, the fat cats pocketing money is included in foreign shipping/manufacturing.
That bottom chart, is Wal-Mart in it's purest form. And as you shop there more, you become more dependent on it, since it prays on the logic "I can't afford that" And as they export your income, more and more, this mindset will become stronger and stronger. Eventually, even Wal-Mart will become too expensive.
Wall of Personal "People of Wal-Mart" experiences:If you have ever been to Wal-Mart, you'll know what I'm talking about, but basically it's like Wal-Mart is a different dimension.
Share your experiences if you have any, or how it effected your community, and I'll quote it and post it here. for now, it's blank tho.
TL;DR SHOP LOCALLY. Avoid stores that excessively import items and therefore export your community's buying power. And above all else. forget Wal-Mart.