Editing Walmart (section)

=== Effects on customers ===
A 2005 story in ''The Washington Post'' reported that "Wal-Mart's discounting on food alone boosts the welfare of American shoppers by at least {{US$|50&nbsp;billion}} per year."<ref>{{cite news |author = Mallaby, Sebastian |date = November 28, 2005 |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112700687.html |title = Progressive Wal-Mart. Really |newspaper = The Washington Post |access-date = August 4, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080516202924/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/27/AR2005112700687.html |archive-date = May 16, 2008}}</ref> A study in 2005 at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT) measured the effect on [[Welfare economics|consumer welfare]] and found that the poorest segment of the population benefits the most from the existence of discount retailers.<ref>{{cite web |author = Hausman, Jerry |first2 = Ephraim |last2 = Leibtag |date = October 2005 |url = http://economics.mit.edu/files/1765 |title = Consumer Benefits from Increased Competition in Shopping Outlets: Measuring the Effect of Wal-Mart |publisher = [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology|MIT]]/[[United States Department of Agriculture]] |access-date = August 4, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120816233917/http://economics.mit.edu/files/1765 |archive-date = August 16, 2012}}</ref> 
In 2006, American newspaper columnist [[George Will]] stated that In terms of economic effects, "Wal-Mart and its effects save shoppers more than {{US$|200&nbsp;billion}} a year, dwarfing such government programs as [[Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program|food stamps]] ({{US$|28.6&nbsp;billion}}) and the [[earned income tax credit]] ({{US$|34.6&nbsp;billion}})".<ref>{{cite news |last = Will |first = George |url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301573.html |title = Democrats Vs. Wal-Mart |newspaper = The Washington Post |date = September 14, 2006 |author-link = George Will |archive-date = July 28, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130728114309/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/13/AR2006091301573.html }}</ref>