[A. Pole]

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said he's urging Congress to consider raising the minimum wage so that Wal-Mart customers don't have to struggle paycheck to paycheck.

Free market bump!

[absolootezer0]

so just out of curiousity, how much does it cost walmart guys when someone uses their food stamps/ other welfare handouts?

[kittymyrib]

Gee, Lee, go ahead and pay all those worthy employees $10/hr. No one's stopping Walmart from paying their work force what they want. Walmart can afford it, but the small businessman can't and may have to cut employees or go out of business.

[doc30]

Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said he's urging Congress to consider raising the minimum wage so that Wal-Mart customers don't have to struggle paycheck to paycheck. Scott told Wal-Mart directors and executives in a speech Monday that he believes "it is time for Congress to take a look at the minimum wage and other legislation that can help working families."

Two Points: Wal-Mart can raise it's pay on its own. By attaching their payscale to the minimum wage, Wal-Mart is confirming they are willing to pay only the minimum required by law and will only raise pay if the minimum wage is raised.

Another, more important point is that Hillary! is on Wal-mart's board and this may be part of a political scheme to help her political goals. She is getting Wal-Mart to be her mouthpiece> Wal-Mart raises the issue as a trial baloon and Hillary! gets to see how the wind blows before responding publicly for a minimum wage hike. It shows she is politically calculating and proves she will pursue socialist, poll driven policies

[mel]

What a publicity ploy, Wal-Mart can say oh we are for higher wages, but the government refuses to cooperate. Then, they have the memo to hire as many healthy people as they can. Give me a break.

[jackbenimble]

But the government keeps telling us that there are labor shortages and that there are employers who can't find willing workers and that is why we need a guestworker program.

If that were true, wages would be rising for those menial jobs do to the short supply of labor and the shortage would be resulting in all the working people making plenty of money to buy stuff at Walmart. Everybody's wages would be so high that there would be no need to raise the minimum wage and if they did it would be irrelevant.

[Question_Assumptions]

The way Wal-Mart works, yeah, that will work well. Since Wal-Mart insists on its suppliers cutting the cost of their goods every year, regardless of any increases in their cost of doing business, this should only accellerate the transfer of manufacturing jobs to China.

[devane617]

The Lion tamer gets eaten by the Lion.

[Tarpon]

Minimum wage of $30 an hour is fine with me. Anyone want to raise me?