I've read most of the posts and there is one thing I am not hearing.
Many of you have described Cabelas and Walmart etc as "greedy". They are public companies and their reason for being is to make as much money as they can. It's called return on equity. And I don't see them making anywhere near the return that some other companies make, say Apple or Microsoft. So they are not being outrageous in how much they are making. Retailers profit margins are notoriously thin.
If there are complaints about the level of quality vs price, the quick and easy response would be to stop shopping in that store or buying that brand. Over a relatively brief period of time, management would get the message. But given their level of success, I don't think that's what Americans (and elsewhere) are doing. The successful price/quality equation is created by the consumer.
I'm in the wholesale business and supply retailers both large and small with footwear. I have watched over the last 30 years the almost complete destruction of the American and Canadian footwear production industry. But it was driven by consumer demand for lower prices. Take two very similar shoes, price one at $90 and another at $80, we all know which will sell best.
And the cost difference was/is significant. To get a similar quality orthopedic shoe to one I have made in China now, the price from a North American factory (if they still existed) would be close to double. It's true in athletics and fashion footwear as well.
The lower prices spread across a large array of consumer products represent dramatically more money in the pocket of most consumers.
If we don't like the product quality or the politics of production, we have options. Most Americans however, have voted. What matters most is price.
That may be enlightened self interest or it may be an economic disaster that we still haven't seen the worst of yet. I don't know.
But the decision has always been in the hands of consumers.
