Tim, there are 29400 and change Walmart employees in the state of Wisconsin. That is where the figure of 11% comes from. For other states, the claims are somewhere between 10% and 15%. Not sure where they got their numbers so I didn't use them. But they do seem consistent.
1 - Walmart reduces the public assistance they receive by employing and paying them.
Other businesses in that sector don't have a high of percentage of their employees that need aid. What Walmart does is limit hours so those employees don't qualify for benefits. In other words, Walmart is gaming the system. Sam had a habit of that. At first, he was paying employees about half minimum wage because no store had 50 or more employees. It took years for the labor department to finally get him to change that.
2 - Walmart isn't making anyone pay the assistance. Its the state and federal government's decision to do so. There decision to do so, doesn't justify control over wages.
Walmart is gaming the system and shifting the support of its employees to the taxpayer. Period.
3 - Raising the minimum wage significantly would make Walmart, and probably to a greater extent other employers, hire fewer people.
I suppose that depends on what you mean by "significantly". There is no proof that any of the minimum wage increases that have been instituted have resulted in fewer people being hired. Especially for a company like Walmart who is always chronically under-staffed. Just try to find an employee if you are looking for something...
A typical store can't operate with fewer employees without negatively impacting sales.
Again, if everyone is facing the same increase in labor costs, then raising prices is viable. You like to pretend that things like a minimum wage increase only affects a few companies, putting them at a disadvantage. But it doesn't. So your handwaving isn't productive. A clear case of garbage in, garbage out.
All your theorizing flies in the face of reality. Despite the cries of conservatives, raising the minimum wage by small amounts, something that is always done, has no measurable negative effects, aside from a slight increase in inflation. It does provide a boost to the economy because it puts more money in the hands of those who spend their entire paycheck. |
