Wal Mart's Exploitive Practices Attacked By Website

Wake Up Wal-Mart ^

[Clintonfatigued]

Because of Wal-Mart's inadequate wages and benefits, Wal-Mart employees are eligible for $2.5 billion in Federal assistance, which comes from your tax dollars.

[Aliska]

from the U.S. Labor Department.

The gubmint cooks their figures just like everybody else who can get away with it.

I never watch those stupid shows, but I confess to listening to talk radio too much. At least they talk about the real world and not trotting sad people out to spill their family problems on tv for ratings and money.

[Toddsterpatriot]

The Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think-tank, argues that between 1979 and 2000 the real income of households in the lowest fifth (the bottom 20% of earners) grew by 6.4%, while that of households in the top fifth grew by 70%.

I had to go back to my old tagline to respond to this one!! EPI is a lefty think tank with notables such as Robert Reich and several high ranking union chiefs on their board. Any other left wing agenda items you're loving today? Gay marriage maybe? You a member of the ACLU?

So, since 1979, even the lowest qualified, educated, motivated 20% of earners in America still managed to grow their real income by 6.4%? Yes, that's terrible. Is that the same people in the bottom 20% today as in 1979? No?? I'm shocked. I thought the poor got poorer while the rich got richer?

Back in 1979 the average income of the top 1% was 133 times that of the bottom 20%; by 2000 the income of the top 1% had risen to 189 times that of the bottom fifth.

Yeah, difficult to believe that hard work continues to pay more than ever.

In the 1990s 36% 64% of those who started in the second-poorest 20% stayed put moved up, compared with 28% 72% in the 1970s and 32% 68% in the 1980s. Terrible!!!

The Republicans, by getting rid of inheritance tax, seem hell-bent on ignoring Teddy Roosevelt's warnings about the dangers of a hereditary aristocracy.

Damn those Republicans!!! Don't they know that the best rich person can't spend his inheritance as well as the worst government bureaucrat? And giving all your money to the Feds would be a great way to boost the savings rate in this country. We know that poor people and the government do a much better job of saving than those horrible rich people.

Thanks for the post. Got anything from the Communist Party USA website to post?

[durasell]

Aliska -- your concern just about breaks my heart. But the fact of the matter is, you are talking about very, very large and complex economic systems. And Wal-Mart is only one small piece of it. But it is the environment we are living in right now and people will either have to learn to adapt or sink ever lower.

[jb6]

Skip Navigation Links		Latest Numbers
	U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
	Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

	www.bls.gov		Search | A-Z Index
BLS Home | Programs & Surveys | Get Detailed Statistics | Glossary | What's New | Find It! In DOL

	Change Output Options:	From:		To:
	include graphs NEW!

Data extracted on: May 31, 2005 (2:50:50 PM)

Consumer Price Index - Average Price Data

Series Id:  APU000072601 Area:       U.S. city average Item:       Utility (piped) gas - 40 therms
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1995	29.872	29.729	29.240	29.177	29.184	28.980	28.980	28.799	28.907	28.573	27.982	29.280
1996	29.570	29.645	28.604	28.858	30.486	30.614	30.641	30.571	30.539	30.092	30.676	31.438
1997	32.904	32.974	31.587	30.512	30.383	31.018	31.149	30.809	31.472	31.789	32.777	32.316
1998	31.438	30.739	30.665	30.403	30.773	30.164	30.052	29.944	29.968	30.091	30.653	30.967
1999	30.699	30.202	29.694	29.490	29.948	30.131	30.440	30.823	31.752	31.574	32.369	31.585
2000	31.664	31.823	31.710	32.055	32.715	34.735	36.072	35.814	37.758	39.771	40.125	42.775
2001	49.734	48.441	46.747	45.460	45.144	42.519	40.637	39.006	37.446	35.505	36.596	36.256
2002	36.316	34.951	34.877	35.566	35.739	35.698	35.686	35.740	36.117	37.139	38.643	38.843
2003	40.227	41.129	46.058	44.412	43.934	44.952	44.716	44.019	44.207	43.936	44.055	44.586
2004	46.048	45.774	44.640	44.769	45.376	47.169	47.608	47.962	46.817	47.252	50.969	51.358
2005	50.932	49.626	49.038	51.533

---

Series Id:  APU000072511 Area:       U.S. city average Item:       Fuel oil #2 per gallon (3.785 liters)
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1995	0.913	0.915	0.906	0.900	0.901	0.895	0.885	0.879	0.870	0.873	0.879	0.905
1996	1.007	1.001	1.020	1.065	1.038	0.969	0.935	0.934	0.980	1.063	1.097	1.121
1997	1.136	1.127	1.079	1.046	1.031	1.001	0.957	0.945	0.945	0.956	0.970	0.979
1998	0.966	0.948	0.933	0.915	0.903	0.874	0.853	0.838	0.827	0.834	0.841	0.827
1999	0.834	0.828	0.828	0.853	0.852	0.845	0.857	0.877	0.939	0.976	1.018	1.088
2000	1.189	1.614	1.359	1.286	1.263	1.249	1.250	1.246	1.407	1.453	1.477	1.528
2001	1.509	1.463	1.394	1.367	1.343	1.322	1.257	1.238	1.285	1.227	1.193	1.117
2002	1.123	1.112	1.119	1.158	1.163	1.136	1.127	1.135	1.174	1.203	1.221	1.267
2003	1.396	1.641	1.766	1.491	1.372	1.305	1.279	1.283	1.284	1.297	1.331	1.360
2004	1.508	1.558	1.541	1.519	1.533	1.537	1.536	1.607	1.671	1.882	1.958	1.895
2005	1.859	1.962	2.078	2.120

---

Series Id:  APU00007471A Area:       U.S. city average Item:       Gasoline, all types, per gallon/3.785 liters
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1995	1.190	1.181	1.173	1.197	1.256	1.281	1.252	1.222	1.206	1.185	1.161	1.160
1996	1.186	1.181	1.219	1.305	1.378	1.354	1.328	1.298	1.293	1.287	1.308	1.318
1997	1.318	1.312	1.293	1.288	1.284	1.286	1.263	1.310	1.334	1.300	1.271	1.236
1998	1.186	1.137	1.097	1.106	1.146	1.148	1.134	1.108	1.091	1.099	1.086	1.046
1999	1.031	1.014	1.048	1.232	1.233	1.204	1.244	1.309	1.334	1.329	1.319	1.353
2000	1.356	1.422	1.594	1.561	1.552	1.666	1.642	1.559	1.635	1.613	1.608	1.544
2001	1.525	1.538	1.503	1.617	1.812	1.731	1.565	1.509	1.609	1.442	1.324	1.200
2002	1.209	1.210	1.324	1.493	1.508	1.489	1.496	1.508	1.507	1.535	1.534	1.477
2003	1.557	1.686	1.791	1.704	1.587	1.558	1.567	1.671	1.771	1.646	1.578	1.538
2004	1.635	1.715	1.809	1.875	2.050	2.083	1.982	1.941	1.934	2.072	2.053	1.926
2005	1.866	1.960	2.107	2.325

---

Series Id:  apu0000706111 Area:       U.S. city average Item:       Chicken, fresh, whole, per lb. (453.6 gm)
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1995	0.897	0.893	0.917	0.911	0.891	0.908	0.919	0.908	0.939	0.930	0.948	0.939
1996	0.941	0.940	0.933	0.947	0.949	0.968	0.972	0.990	1.006	1.021	1.003	1.002
1997	1.016	1.008	1.009	1.002	1.007	0.993	1.005	0.988	0.992	0.984	1.018	1.001
1998	1.022	1.007	1.032	1.029	1.032	1.016	1.033	1.059	1.074	1.076	1.084	1.060
1999	1.072	1.064	1.057	1.057	1.026	1.041	1.045	1.043	1.080	1.055	1.078	1.053
2000	1.059	1.046	1.064	1.069	1.052	1.069	1.089	1.086	1.087	1.090	1.065	1.078
2001	1.091	1.090	1.103	1.101	1.095	1.106	1.102	1.110	1.107	1.115	1.133	1.109
2002	1.091	1.111	1.110	1.110	1.094	1.066	1.077	1.035	1.074	1.027	1.044	1.048
2003	1.004	1.031	1.049	1.053	1.031	1.033	1.027	1.023	1.022	1.022	1.068	1.050
2004	1.062	1.060	1.100	1.120	1.039	1.060	1.077	1.092	1.078	1.078	1.039	1.030
2005	1.026	1.038	1.061	1.070

---

Series Id:  APU0000712311 Area:       U.S. city average Item:       Tomatoes, field grown, per lb. (453.6 gm)
Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
1995	1.323	1.300	1.081	1.299	0.985	1.102	1.252	0.938	0.950	1.041	1.097	1.507
1996	1.103	1.084	1.467	1.867	1.379	1.127	1.031	1.006	0.980	1.084	1.182	1.210
1997	1.213	1.314	1.654	1.348	1.175	1.300	1.141	1.130	1.091	1.162	1.370	1.617
1998	1.452	1.356	1.515	1.398	1.472	1.393	1.515	1.312	1.241	1.573	1.689	1.798
1999	1.904	1.476	1.395	1.298	1.284	1.304	1.287	1.232	1.272	1.279	1.300	1.405
2000	1.443	1.286	1.364	1.487	1.366	1.318	1.282	1.262	1.319	1.387	1.503	1.567
2001	1.414	1.313	1.336	1.433	1.243	1.356	1.257	1.185	1.168	1.267	1.468	1.404
2002	1.451	1.298	1.292	1.319	1.332	1.299	1.243	1.181	1.158	1.236	1.430	1.655
2003	1.711	1.565	1.619	1.555	1.401	1.398	1.460	1.513	1.438	1.436	1.480	1.533
2004	1.472	1.510	1.529	1.519	1.510	1.331	1.253	1.312	1.321	1.715	2.337	2.467
2005	1.660	1.428	1.548	1.710

 

Frequently Asked Questions | Freedom of Information Act | Customer Survey
Privacy & Security Statement | Linking to Our Site | Accessibility

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Postal Square Building 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20212-0001

Phone: (202) 691-5200 Fax-on-demand: (202) 691-6325 Data questions: blsdata_staff@bls.gov Technical (web) questions: webmaster@bls.gov Other comments: feedback@bls.gov

[Rushgrrl]

well, of course, but that is logic speaking. Most people today (and lots here on this site, even) lack that sort of logical thinking by assuming that unless you can afford to rent an apt (all by yourself no less! even if we couldn't when we were starting out), and afford your own car (public transportation is obviously beneath them) AND be able to afford to have whatever recreation they want w/out having to budget, then you're just being abused by the company you work for. Piss on that, I say. When I first started working (before I had any marketable qualifications), I worked for minimum wage also, and I shared apts with other people, had roommates, shared vehicles and walked when I could. Frankly, this is all about people who don't have skills, who are complaining about trying to raise five kids on the income at walmart. Gimme a break. It's all PERSONAL choice! I'm SO sick of the mentality that people are NOT to blame for their situations, but the companies they work for ARE to blame for each persons personal choices. It's digusting and that so many on here get sucked in to this mentality says a LOT. Bash it if you must, but at least do it for a GOOD reason and not one that's propaganda put out by unions!!

[durasell]

The Economist is probably one of the most conservative magazines in the country, though it's home office is in England.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Gee, there's inflation? I guess it's a good thing my graph was of real (adjusted for inflation) wages.

Any luck finding proof of your under $25,000 assertion? Or did you imagine it?

[jb6]

Skip Navigation Links		Latest Numbers
	U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics
	Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

	www.bls.gov		Search | A-Z Index
BLS Home | Programs & Surveys | Get Detailed Statistics | Glossary | What's New | Find It! In DOL

Data extracted on: May 31, 2005 (02:54 PM)

---

Consumer Price Index-All Urban Consumers

Series Catalog:

Series ID : CUSR0000SAH1

Seasonally Adjusted
Area : U.S. city average
Item : Shelter
Base Period : 1982-84=100

Data:

Year	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Ann
1953	21.7	21.8	21.8	21.9	21.9	21.9	22.0	22.0	22.1	22.2	22.2	22.3
1954	22.3	22.3	22.4	22.4	22.5	22.5	22.5	22.5	22.6	22.6	22.6	22.7
1955	22.7	22.7	22.7	22.7	22.7	22.7	22.7	22.8	22.8	22.9	22.9	22.9
1956	22.9	22.9	22.9	22.9	22.9	23.1	23.2	23.3	23.3	23.3	23.3	23.5
1957	23.5	23.7	23.8	23.9	23.9	23.9	24.0	24.0	24.1	24.2	24.2	24.3
1958	24.3	24.4	24.4	24.5	24.6	24.5	24.5	24.5	24.5	24.4	24.5	24.5
1959	24.5	24.5	24.6	24.6	24.7	24.7	24.7	24.8	24.8	24.9	25.0	25.0
1960	25.0	25.1	25.1	25.2	25.2	25.2	25.2	25.3	25.3	25.4	25.4	25.4
1961	25.4	25.4	25.4	25.4	25.4	25.4	25.5	25.4	25.5	25.5	25.6	25.6
1962	25.6	25.6	25.6	25.6	25.7	25.8	25.8	25.8	25.8	25.8	25.8	25.8
1963	25.9	25.9	26.0	26.0	26.0	26.0	26.1	26.1	26.1	26.2	26.2	26.3
1964	26.3	26.4	26.4	26.4	26.4	26.4	26.5	26.5	26.6	26.6	26.7	26.7
1965	26.8	26.9	26.9	26.9	26.9	26.9	27.0	27.0	27.0	27.1	27.2	27.2
1966	27.3	27.3	27.4	27.6	27.7	27.9	27.9	27.9	28.0	28.2	28.2	28.3
1967	28.4	28.5	28.4	28.5	28.6	28.7	28.8	28.9	28.9	29.0	29.1	29.2
1968	29.3	29.4	29.5	29.6	29.6	30.0	30.3	30.5	30.5	30.7	30.9	31.1
1969	31.3	31.4	31.8	32.1	32.3	32.4	32.7	32.9	33.2	33.4	33.6	33.8
1970	34.0	34.4	34.8	35.0	35.3	35.5	35.6	35.9	36.2	36.3	36.5	36.8
1971	36.8	36.6	36.4	36.4	36.5	36.9	37.0	37.2	37.4	37.5	37.7	37.8
1972	38.0	38.1	38.2	38.3	38.4	38.6	38.8	39.0	39.0	39.1	39.2	39.3
1973	39.4	39.5	39.6	39.7	39.9	40.0	40.1	40.5	41.0	41.6	41.8	42.1
1974	42.4	42.7	43.0	43.2	43.5	43.9	44.4	44.9	45.5	46.0	46.3	46.9
1975	47.3	47.7	47.9	48.2	48.3	48.7	48.9	49.0	49.3	49.6	50.0	50.3
1976	50.5	50.6	50.7	50.7	50.9	51.2	51.6	51.9	52.2	52.3	52.4	52.4
1977	52.9	53.2	53.5	54.0	54.3	54.7	55.2	55.5	55.9	56.2	56.6	57.0
1978	57.5	57.8	58.3	58.8	59.4	60.0	60.7	61.3	62.1	62.8	63.3	63.5
1979	64.0	64.9	65.5	66.3	67.1	68.0	69.0	70.1	71.1	72.3	73.5	74.6
1980	75.9	76.8	78.1	79.3	80.5	82.3	81.3	81.4	82.0	83.4	84.7	85.8
1981	86.3	86.3	86.7	87.3	88.6	89.9	91.5	92.5	93.9	93.8	94.0	94.3
1982	94.4	94.7	94.2	95.3	96.8	98.0	98.5	98.9	98.4	98.4	97.9	96.5
1983	97.2	97.5	97.6	98.4	98.7	99.0	99.4	99.6	100.1	100.3	100.7	101.1
1984	101.4	101.8	102.3	103.0	103.2	103.6	104.3	104.7	105.1	105.5	105.8	106.4
1985	106.7	107.4	107.8	108.1	109.2	109.6	110.1	110.8	111.0	111.5	112.3	112.7
1986	113.2	113.5	114.3	115.0	115.2	115.6	115.9	116.3	116.9	117.5	117.8	118.1
1987	118.6	119.1	119.5	120.3	120.7	121.0	121.1	121.9	122.4	123.1	123.4	124.1
1988	124.6	125.1	125.5	126.0	126.3	126.8	127.2	127.8	128.3	128.6	129.2	129.6
1989	129.8	130.4	131.0	131.4	132.0	132.4	133.2	133.7	133.9	134.8	135.4	136.0
1990	136.3	136.6	137.6	138.2	138.6	139.6	140.7	141.8	142.1	142.4	142.6	143.2
1991	144.2	144.5	144.8	145.2	145.6	145.9	146.4	146.7	147.2	147.7	148.2	148.9
1992	149.4	149.6	150.0	150.2	150.6	151.1	151.4	151.7	151.8	152.5	152.9	153.2
1993	153.8	154.1	154.3	155.0	155.3	155.8	155.9	156.2	156.5	156.9	157.3	157.8
1994	158.2	158.8	159.4	159.5	159.9	160.1	160.4	161.2	161.6	162.1	162.6	162.5
1995	163.1	163.5	164.0	164.5	165.1	165.5	166.0	166.3	166.9	167.4	167.9	168.2
1996	168.7	169.1	169.6	169.9	170.4	170.7	171.4	171.8	172.1	172.5	173.0	173.1
1997	173.8	174.3	174.6	175.1	175.6	176.0	176.5	177.0	177.4	177.9	178.4	178.9
1998	179.4	179.8	180.3	180.8	181.4	181.8	182.1	182.8	183.4	184.0	184.5	185.0
1999	185.1	185.3	185.7	186.3	186.6	187.0	187.5	187.8	188.4	188.6	189.2	189.5
2000	190.6	190.9	191.6	191.9	192.4	193.1	193.6	194.1	194.7	195.3	195.8	196.1
2001	196.8	197.5	198.4	198.8	199.6	200.5	200.9	201.9	202.0	202.4	203.5	204.2
2002	205.1	206.0	206.4	207.0	207.4	207.8	208.2	208.9	209.4	209.7	210.3	210.7
2003	211.5	211.5	211.6	211.7	212.6	212.7	213.3	213.7	213.9	214.7	215.0	215.4
2004	215.9	215.9	217.1	217.9	218.4	218.9	219.4	219.5	220.3	220.7	220.8	221.3
2005	221.7	222.4	223.7	223.8

 

Back to Top

www.dol.gov

Frequently Asked Questions | Freedom of Information Act | Customer Survey
Privacy & Security Statement | Linking to Our Site | Accessibility

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Postal Square Building 2 Massachusetts Ave., NE Washington, DC 20212-0001

Phone: (202) 691-5200 Fax-on-demand: (202) 691-6325 Data questions: blsdata_staff@bls.gov Technical (web) questions: webmaster@bls.gov Other comments: feedback@bls.gov

[Toddsterpatriot]

The gubmint cooks their figures just like everybody else who can get away with it.

Well, I'll trust "cooked" government numbers over a story about someone who lives on your block!

[jb6]

I'll get it to you, but it'll be a case study page and chapter, once I get home. You can look it up yourself from there. Count on it.

Yeah, real lovely how much housing and fuel has gone up, just the 3%, right? Sure.

[bfree]

Hey, try using a link rather than bogging down the site with all the charts and photos.

[Toddsterpatriot]

I hope you're not spending too much on your MBA. Because if you don't know that Real Earnings are adjusted for inflation, then you're getting a poor education!!

[jb6]

Oh, I'm sorry, you're the bandwidth police? Free Trade, to include information, or are you putting up tariffs? Can't compete with the bandwidth need, outsource.

[bfree]

Well jerk maybe the mods will take care of it.

[Toddsterpatriot]

Yeah, real lovely how much housing and fuel has gone up, just the 3%, right? Sure.

And you think the real inflation number should be what? Based on what?

10 year bonds are yielding 4% today. Obviously inflation is raging out of control!! LOL!

[Aliska]

No, that is just you twisting things. I believe in free choice for people to shop and work where they wish, and you seem to believe in dictating where people should shop and work.

There's my "twisted logic" again. I do not repeat do not dictate anything to anyone. I do not repeat do not tell anyone not to shop at Wal Mart. I do not repeat do not tell anyone not to work at Wal Mart. I do tell some people in my limited way how I see things shaping up for our country and Wal Mart is part of the equation.

You want to feel bad for others, then get off your rear and do something useful rather than complaining about Walmart. Go volunteer to help people, many agencies need volunteers.

Now who is dictating to whom? "Go volunteer" is an imperative statement, the language of fascism.

I will do what I choose. I paid my dues. And it's none of your business how I choose to help people, but it usually isn't through any agency which is funded by the government or charity with an agenda. I did consider tutoring children through the schools, but for personal reasons, that is not an option at this time.

The last volunteer thing I did was scrub toilets. I don't care to do much of that again.

[bfree]

I'm beginning to se why your son doesn't talk to you very much.

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Excuse me!

My parents don't help me,since they are living in Germany and are both retired and have no money to give to me ,neither do my parents in law!

I have no money stashed away and find your comments insulting!

I do get a discount of 10%,but I don't buy everything at WALMART,so don't give me that BS!

I qualify for the programs,but would only receive about 50$ in food stamps,if I chose to apply for them or only a minimal assistance for health care!

It is possible to make it on the income I receive from my work,if you know how to budget your money and only purchase what is necessary!

I have learned this from my parents and believe me we didn't have much money when I grew up,but my parents managed to provide for us just fine and I learned a valuable lesson that my kids are learning as well!

Money isn't everything it's what you make out of your live and with the money you have!

We own a cheap old clunker of a car and have an old mobile home we were able to to purchase with my wages,but I don't see why that would be any of your business!

My Dad taught me that "where there is a will there is a way "and you know he is right!

[Mrs.Nooseman]

I agree!
:)

[durasell]

Question: Does Wal-Mart pay for college courses if you want to continue your education in a field related to retail?