Wal-Mart good or bad?

Wal-Mart bad or good?

It is difficult for me to take one side in this debate. I think there are some good things about Wal-Mart and some bad things.
I understand that when a big Wal-Mart store opens up, it tends to force other ‘Mom and Pop’ shops out of business. This does bother me. This is a very difficult business climate so seeing any family owned business fail is heartbreaking. However, Wal-Mart saves a lot of people a lot of money in a time where disposable income is hard to come by. I agree that it is not a positive thing that all the products are only cheap because they are mostly made in China and may be lower quality. It is unfortunate that companies like Wal-Mart find it cheaper to outsource all of its manufacturing and use overseas suppliers instead of giving American manufacture’s incentive to supply Wal-Mart.  I know there are a lot of complaints about the labor practices Wal-Mart uses such as low wages and mostly part time shifts to avoid paying for benefits but then I hear of stories where a person with no formal education has an opportunity to become a manger and make a very good living. Wal-Mart has created hundreds of thousands of jobs which have to be appreciated.
In an ideal world, Americans here would be willing to produce quality goods for a competitive wage which could supply Wal-Mart and other retail stores but it is just not the case. I agree that there are unfair advantages when you are the size of a  mega corporation like Wal-Mart that have an impact on local communities sometimes negatively but it seems that the consumer has spoken otherwise Wal-Mart would not be thriving the way it as.