You are sort of missing the point a little. Walmart frequently causes market imbalances with its massive buying power, forcing suppliers to make extremely low profit margins. A good deal of manufacturing went to China from the U.S. due to Walmart's practices. That's really not good for the U.S. economy.
On top of this, I'm not really sure I care if Walmart does fail. What I'm saying is that if it does, then that single participant will have suddenly massively increased unemployment simply by no longer being a going concern. Again, that's not healthy for an economy. Many smaller or medium sized players would probably be a healthier thing for the U.S. economy.
A good deal of manufacturing went to China from the U.S. due to Walmart's practices. That's really not good for the U.S. economy.
In a vacuum, no, but how can you be sure that the aggregate value of cheaper retail goods for Walmart's shoppers wasn't better for the U.S. economy?
And it's not as if U.S. manufacturing output has shrunk. It's still the greatest in the world, though obviously we're not making as many consumer goods as 20 or 30 years ago.
Many smaller or medium sized players would probably be a healthier thing for the U.S. economy.
There are at least half a dozen smaller or medium size competitors for Walmart shoppers' dollars. Take a look at the performance of Costco vs. Walmart, for example. The former has competed exceedingly well by playing the game very differently in some respects, while also being smart and efficient in a way that much of the pre-Walmart retail landscape wasn't.
Walmart plays the same game that its competition plays, it just plays it better. I am sure that if it were not them, we'd be talking about some other Big Retailer doing these things, some of which are indeed rotten. And there are definitely some concerns to be had for the amount of power that China, specifically, has via its economy. Not being an economic nationalist (and I'm in Canada), I tend to take it case-by-case.
On top of this, I'm not really sure I care if Walmart does fail. What I'm saying is that if it does, then that single participant will have suddenly massively increased unemployment simply by no longer being a going concern. Again, that's not healthy for an economy. Many smaller or medium sized players would probably be a healthier thing for the U.S. economy.