People of Walmart

That was always my issue: the mom and pop shops had competitive prices, until the Wal-mart in my home town drove their prices on some things below cost. They effectively ran all their competition out of business, and then increased their prices up to around 200% of retail prices. Oh, and incase that seems a bit confusing to you? Look at the local price of a jug of milk, and double or triple it. That's how much your average item was. My mom figured out that by driving another 40 miles to the closest Fred Meyer, she could save money over shopping at Wal-mart.

 

If child exploitation doesn't work, look at how monopolies work from a business perspective. Is it really still going to be a bargain when Wal-Mart effectively gets to decide the market values for things? It is just as DarkFool has put forward: The low prices are to sucker you into being an active customer. Once they have a monopoly in your hometown, they can do what they want.