Can 'Small-Mart' Replace Wal-Mart?

"What would the world be like without Wal-Mart? It's not a simple answer.

For those who love the $312-billion-a-year behemoth retailer, the answer will likely touch on the 1.8 million jobs it provides as well as the company's low prices, which make life's necessities and luxuries more accessible to those with limited incomes (a large part of Wal-Mart's 176 million weekly customers).

For Wal-Mart haters, the answer will likely refer to the "externalities" of those low prices -- the environmental degradation caused by sourcing cheap goods, the public services (food stamps, welfare) required by low-paid employees unable to make ends meet, and the poor labor conditions under which many of its suppliers' products are made -- that aren't covered by the prices of goods sold in the stores."