Walmart keeping people poor...

[Little Star]

Kos has a good post about Walmart and the possible Black Friday strike. The part I found most interesting is about how Walmart's low wages keep people needing food stamps and other public assistance to make ends meet. The thing that boggles my mind is how republicans, who hate public assistance, don't care when corporations/companies basically push their responsibility of paying a living wage off onto the tax payer. Yet this consequence never enters into the republican voters mind.

Here is the Kos post. The comments are pretty good too.

Black Friday protest plans are making Walmart nervous.
by Laura Clawson for Daily Kos Labor.

You know what creates an uncomfortable environment and undue stress on people, including families with children? Walmart's ridiculously low pay scale and scanty opportunities for advancement, such that, according to internal company documents:

Low-level workers typically start near minimum wage, and have the potential to earn raises of 20 to 40 cents an hour through incremental promotions. Flawless performance merits a 60 cent raise per year under the policy, regardless of how much time an employee has worked for the company. As a result, a "solid performer" who starts at Walmart as a cart pusher making $8 an hour and receives one promotion, about the average rate, can expect to make $10.60 after working at the company for 6 years.
That, combined with policies intentionally keeping workers at part-time hours so they don't qualify for benefits, is why so many Walmart employees are forced to rely on food stamps and other public assistance to make ends meet. Being kept poor is the sort of thing that causes families with children just a little more distress than being exposed to workers picketing outside of stores.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/17/1162504/-Black-Friday-protest-plans-are-making-Walmart-nervous

[ejpoeta]

1. as far as the republicans are concerned, get rid of the assistance then there is no problem.

make them live on their wages.

[Little Star]

2. And they call themselves compassionate conservatives?...

They have very little compassion and they need to recognize that .

[vinny9698]

3. Chris Hayes has had several Wal Mart segments but he never brings up that point

I am watching his program right now, with a panel consisting of employees, and not once has government subsidized of poor employees has been mentioned. I believe that people would get more involved in supporting the union if they realized that their taxes are being used to give Wal Mart a bigger profit.

[Little Star]

5. That's another thing that stunned me....

I haven't heard one person in the MSM talking/writing about this angle.

[lonestarnot]

4. Slave labor predator employer orca.

They suck everything.

[Skidmore]

6. Poor workers also means a captive consumer class in which

a person's income get's funneled back into the Walmart stores for cheap goods. Walmart is this age's company store without the company.

[boston bean]

7. good points in the article!

Thanks for posting.