If Walmart Paid its 1.4 Million U.S. Workers a Living Wage, it Would Result in Almost No Pain for th

[AlabamaLibrul]

A study released this week found that if the nation's largest low-wage employer, Walmart, were to pay its 1.4 million U.S. workers a living wage of at least $12 per hour and pass every single penny of the costs onto consumers, the average Walmart customer would pay just 46 cents more per shopping trip, or around $12 extra dollars each year.

Consider that the next time you hear some corporate mouthpiece warning of massive job losses if some minimally progressive policy were enacted. You never see them arguing on the cable news shows that increasing the minimum wage will hurt Walmart’s or McDonald's bottom lines; it’s always about the jobs that will be destroyed. According to the ubiquitous spin, large corporations, the embodiments of American-style capitalism, are so vulnerable to the meddling of no-nothing bureaucrats that any government intervention into the “free market” drives corporations away to sunnier locales or threatens their very existence. However well intentioned, it all ends up costing workers their jobs.

http://www.alternet.org/economy/150685/if_walmart_paid_its_1.4_million_u.s._workers_a_living_wage%2C_it_would_result_in_almost_no_pain_for_the_average_customer?page=2
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It of course dodges the issue of their Asian workers, namely those who produce goods for Walmart, but it's a good read.

[yourout]

1. It probably would help them as more people would have money to spend at Walmart.

[AlabamaLibrul]

2. "These poor and low-income workers could expect to earn an additional $1,670 to $6,500 a year"

A 2004 study by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce estimated that just one Walmart store with 200 “associates” costs taxpayers over $420,000 per year in government assistance to the poor.

"Your twelve dollars per year can take an entire store off public assistance!"

[blondeatlast]

14. And imagine what millions of workers pumping more of their wages into the economy

(even if only at Wal-Mart with their employee discount) would do.

[onehandle]

3. Yes, but the Waltons would no longer be able to wipe their asses with solid gold toilet paper.

Liberals ideals are so selfish.

[AlabamaLibrul]

4. This would assume them passing on every single penny of costs to the buyer

Twelve dollars in increased prices over the year. Each person that shops there would be paying one hour for one person per year more, on average.
So everybody that works in an (American) Walmart can get a living wage.
Food for thought on the high cost of low price.

Of course this is nothing new.

[Ian David]

7. The Waltons don't wipe their asses with solid gold toilet paper.

They have people to wipe their asses FOR THEM with solid PLATINUM toilet paper.

[baldguy]

5. They wouldn't pass the cost onto their customers.

They'd pass 100x the cost onto their customers - then blame the the price increase on the laws that required them to pay a living wage.

Divide & conquer.

[Ian David]

6. Not to mention I might actually set foot in a Wal-Mart again. n/t

[blondeatlast]

15. that just might do it for me too, but I find myself getting claustrophobic in their stores

even if they are huge.

[xchrom]

8. Recommend

[Modern_Matthew]

9. K&R from one of the 1.4 million. nt

[crickets]

10. Great article, AlabamaLibrul.

There's a lot more discussed in addition to the wage discussion: where the US ranks in corporate tax collection, benefits of worker safety rules outweighing the 'costs' of implementation, offshoring of jobs a result of conscious crafting of trade agreements, etc.

Good find.

[tk2kewl]

11. or instead of passing the cost on to the customer they could...

cut dividend payments and reduce executive salries

[Hotler]

12. Americans don't help each other any more. It's all about....

I have mine. Fuck the rest of you.

[Scuba]

13. Walmart employees are the biggest demographic on....

...Wisconsin's Badger Care (low income) program. So the taxpayers are effectively subsidizing WalMart by purchasing health care for their employees.

Medicare for All would alleviate that problem. There is NO free market solution that would do so.