NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Ignore the ding to first quarter earnings: Wal-Mart's decision to raise employee wages, while raising ire among some investors and observers, is a smart long-term investment in its own business. In the most obvious way, this investment enables Wal-Mart to attract and keep better workers, which translates to productive, happier, better-paid workers and better store experiences for customers. In some areas, Wal-Mart stores function as a de facto town square, a center for the community economically and socially.