Posted on 06/20/2016 6:58:31 AM PDT by grundle
Wal-Mart is "hugely profitable," writes the National Employment Law Project (NELP) in a recent commentary, generating "$482 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2016." Here, the writer falsely equates revenue (the money a company takes in before subtracting expenses) and profit (how much a company makes after it pays its costs). It's a common tactic used to shock readers and inflate the perception of a company's finances.
Wal-Mart's actual profit, according to SEC filings, was only 3 percent of its total revenue. That works out to roughly $6,400 dollars in profit for each of the company's 2.3 million employees—a profit that could be wiped out with a $15 minimum wage.
Labor advocates are also fond of appealing to their readers' sense of fairness by arguing that CEO pay at the company proves it can afford a $15 minimum wage. But the math here also doesn't add up. Wal-Mart CEO Doug McMillon earned a combined $19.4 million compensation package in 2015, including salary, stock options, and other perks. That makes for a dramatic sound bite. But if this money was somehow divided between all 2.3 million Wal-Mart associates, each associate would get a one-time $8.43 bonus—that's it.
The fights for $15 have even tried to appeal to conservative hearts by arguing that the higher pay requirement will reduce employees' need for public support programs. It's debatable whether this argument is offered in good faith: California Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D., Sacramento) recently let slip his mask of concern for the taxpayer when he and his fellow legislators pushed to raise the income thresholds for a public program so that recipients of the state's new $15 minimum wage could still qualify for state benefits. So much for ending welfare as we know it.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnbc.com ...
Many of the cashier’s I’ve talked to have had their hours cut to 1-3 days per week. Trying to force them out. Most have not been in the work force more than a few years. The then lesser paid hires are not as qualified education or skill wise.
liberals think profits belong to the workers
profits belong to the owners, the stockholders.
any worker spouting complaints about high profits should be fired on the spot
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