I vowed I wouldn't get into any controversial threads, but I just can't stop myself here. Walmart does hurt small businesses--as do Costco and shopping on the internet. I, too, shop when necessary at these places. I live in a town of 15K and there are just things we can't get otherwise. But my husband and I also run a small business, and when the locals shop elsewhere for the goods that we also sell, it hurts us and the local economy in general. We've had to downsize just to stay here. What really hurts is when a potential customer comes in and tries all our products and then orders the same thing from the internet. I really think that soon "mom & pop" stores will be non-existant. What a tragedy!
