There is a big income divide. Keeping it up ends up many people doing without as they realize they can't afford it and really don't need it anyway. And so is why there is no Red-Lobster in your small town! They where not able to lower their cost to match the poverty wages of the town so they had nothing because the people make nothing!
~~~~~There is a gulf between what capitalism can deliver to workers and what it is delivering for workers. Inequality – in all its forms – has subverted the way our economy functions. We need solutions that fit the scale of the problems. Technical solutions may be necessary, but there will not be sufficient. So long as economic inequality leads to such wide gaps social and political power, workers will always be on the losing side. “Power to the people” is an old slogan. But it may be more resonant and relevant today than ever.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/may/01/broken-capitalism-economy-americans-fix