Small Towns Struggling After Obama Forces Closure Of 100s Of Walmarts The Obama administration has started a huge domino effect. Large stores around the country are closing down because of the upward pressure on the minimum wage. Its adversely affecting employers, employees, and residents of small towns. In the tiny coastal town of Oriental, North Carolina, some residents say they are feeling cheated by Walmart. Renee Ireland-Smith said her familys grocery store was forced to close in October after 45 years because it could not compete with Walmarts low prices. Two weeks ago, she said shed learned that Walmart was also now closing. This town was fine before, Ireland-Smith said. Now its broken. On Jan. 15, Walmart announced that it was closing 269 of its stores globally, including 154 sites in the U.S. for business reasons. The decisions were made after an analysis of the stores financial performance and their alignment with the companys long-term goals, Walmart said in a news release at the time. Shares of Walmart have fallen nearly 30 percent in the past 12 months. The U.S. closings which include all Walmart Express locations are happening by the end of January or beginning of February. Walmart which employs about 2.2 million people worldwide said about 10,000 of its U.S. associates would be affected by the closings. More than 100 of those stores are located in the nations smallest communities. Many of those communities will now have no nearby grocery stores or pharmacies. This is completely ridiculous, and Obama is to blame. Should he be impeached immediately? Should the minimum wage hike be reversed? 