Myth Busted: Taxpayers Are Not Subsidizing Wal-Mart's Low Wages

Investor's Business Daily ^ | 4/13/2017 | Staff

[IBD editorial writer]

Wages: It's tax season, which means that union groups are once again out in force claiming that because Wal-Mart (WMT) doesn't pay its workers enough, taxpayers are forced to make up the difference. This is, to put it politely, pure poppycock.

The latest to make this claim is Lonnie Sheppard of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, who says that "every American taxpayer is paying a tax they never heard of: the Wal-Mart Tax."

"What is the Wal-Mart Tax?" Sheppard asks. Wal-Mart pays so little that "thousands of Wal-Mart employees are forced to rely on public assistance programs like food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing. Programs funded by American taxpayers."

Sheppard goes on to write that "According to a 2014 report by Americans for Tax Fairness, Wal-Mart receives an estimated $6.2 billion in subsidies every year, primarily from the Federal Government." If Wal-Mart would only pay its workers more, the argument goes, taxpayers would save all this money.

USA Today's editors apparently didn't bother to look into that ATF report before publishing this piece, so we did. The ATF — a coalition of union and liberal advocacy groups — based its findings on a 2013 report written by Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee. In other words, none of these sources is objective by any means.

[mountn man]

I saw a study that said WalMart could raise wages 50% and the retail price on goods would only go up 1%.

And I suppose you believed it?

Did you ever think to look up the facts yourself, to figure things out?

[mountn man]

http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/020916/walmarts-biggest-liability-labor-costs-wmt.asp

http://money.cnn.com/2015/10/14/investing/walmart-outlook-wages/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/2016/01/16/dcs-minimum-wage-really-does-cost-jobs-at-walmart/#7dc06f2f1e95

[lmr]

I work for Wal-Mart.

It's basically a meager paycheck if you're a cashier or a sales floor 'associate', but, it's usually 'full-time' for most of the employees not only in my store, but in my town.

We might be an exception to what your friends are claiming, but this is what I know from working for Wal-Mart for over 7 months.

The problem with Wal-Mart isn't the hours, at least not here and at least not in my experience. The problem with being employed with Wal-Mart is that it's not a merit-based system. Wal-Mart employs way too many worthless people who don't do much. This is especially true in management. It's not what you know or how hard you work at Wal-Mart, it's what ass you can kiss.

[central_va]

I ran the numbers and the price would go up 5% not 1%. Basically Walmart is a self service warehouse with labor not being a huge factor.

[free_life]

Posted about a year ago here at FR with source, 85% of wage earners in US receive some govt social assistance like foodstamps. This article is bs, there is plenty of corporate welfare making the cheap labor express wealthy.