300->500 threshold strikes me as a relatively minor change akin to inflation, this seems unlikely to be the primary driver.
My impression is that a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet, and stealing from a walmart employed by careless slackers is always a more attractive option than from your neighbor or straight up armed mugging/robberies. I highly doubt the $500 felony threshold is what's green-lighting them vs $300.
No single items over $200 are readily accessible in any WalMart I've been to, certainly not in the last decade. But the whole expensive electronics behind lock and key practice started long ago...
My impression is that a lot of people are struggling to make ends meet, and stealing from a walmart employed by careless slackers is always a more attractive option than from your neighbor or straight up armed mugging/robberies. I highly doubt the $500 felony threshold is what's green-lighting them vs $300.