"The High Cost of Low Prices"

The devastating effect of the Walmartization of the American economy:

People say, how can it be bad for things to come into the United States cheaply? How can it be bad to have a bargain at Wal-Mart? Sure, it’s held inflation down . ... But you can’t buy anything if you’re not employed. We are shopping ourselves out of jobs.

We want clean air, clean water, good living conditions, the best health care in the world. Yet we aren’t willing to pay for anything manufactured under those restrictions.

More here. (The link is to a compelling book review. The book is The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World's Most Powerful Company Really Works - and How It's Transforming the American Economy. Charles Fishman, Penguin, 294 pp. )