An Economy Devasted by Years of Conservative Plundering

mneys worWal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday reported lower-than-expected second-quarter profit and said sales at U.S. stores open at least a year rose only 1.9 percent.

"It's no secret that many customers are running out of money toward the end of the month, said Lee Scott, chief executive of the world's largest retailer.

The company, which has more than 127 million customers in the United States alone every week, also said shoppers were spending more on lower-margin items like food and eschewing higher-margin goods such as apparel.

While economists tend to discount the impact of rising food prices in monthly inflation reports -- because food tends to be a volatile component -- consumers still feel the impact of widespread food price increases in their wallets.