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Wal-Mart calls for minimum wage hike
CNN/Money ^ | 10/25/5

Posted on 10/25/2005 2:29:37 PM PDT by Crackingham

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."

"The U.S. minimum wage of $5.15 an hour has not been raised in nearly a decade and we believe it is out of date with the times," Scott said. "We can see first-hand at Wal-Mart how many of our customers are struggling to get by. Our customers simply don't have the money to buy basic necessities between pay checks."

Given increasing gas prices and other economic pressures on Wal-Mart customers, Scott went on to say that Wal-Mart shoppers will further be challenged to "support themselves and their families."

"While it is unusual for us to take a public position on a public policy issue of this kind, we simply believe it is time for Congress to take a responsible look at the minimum wage and other legislation that may help working families," he said.

Tracy Sefl, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Watch, a group that's been highly critical of the retailer, said Scott's comments on raising minimum wage were "laughable and out of left field."

"I find it disingenuous and laughable that Lee Scott makes these remarks while the company hires lobbyist such as Lee Culpepper who oppose raising the minimum wage," Sefl said.

"We would be the first to applaud real change. But when a comment on raising minimum wage is dashed off and it flies in the face of Wal-Mart's own corporate stance, that's laughable," she added.

(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: congress; minimumwage; walmart
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To: Ethrane; A. Pole
So do you or do you not believe that corporations have a public duty or responsability to the nation that provides them with military, diplomatic and judicial support and infrastructural (to include providing a market atmosphere for exchange) support?

Or do you believe that shareholder wealth is the only driving factor in a corporation and if so, where do ethics come in, especially if having ethical conduct will hamper shareholder wealth?

121 posted on 10/25/2005 10:42:28 PM PDT by jb6 (The Atheist/Pagan mind, a quandary wrapped in egoism and served with a side order of self importance)
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To: Ethrane; KarinG1
If you take it purely from a business perspective, increasing the minimum wage will increase the amount of money some poor shoppers have to spend at Walmart...therefore as a businessman, he would support it.

Regardless of the fact that this is an unethical socialist intervention by the government? Says a lot then.

122 posted on 10/25/2005 10:44:12 PM PDT by jb6 (The Atheist/Pagan mind, a quandary wrapped in egoism and served with a side order of self importance)
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To: Extremely Extreme Extremist

It's called corporate welfare, if you look, for example, at who are now the biggest pushers for socialized medicen, its the biggest companies in America.


123 posted on 10/25/2005 10:45:56 PM PDT by jb6 (The Atheist/Pagan mind, a quandary wrapped in egoism and served with a side order of self importance)
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To: Ethrane
....then maybe we can talk.

Nah, don't think so, can't make sense of you post. I think you were replying to someone else, that or you put words in my mouth I did not say. Either way, G'day.

124 posted on 10/25/2005 10:46:16 PM PDT by SandwicheGuy
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To: Crackingham

Why not $20.00 and hour? When is enough enough. What about giving eveyone a house on the beach. Do not go down this road. The Free Market will handle it or we will wind up a third world country.


125 posted on 10/25/2005 10:49:29 PM PDT by Brimack34
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To: mnehrling
If you raise the minimum wage to 10.00 per hour, that is still minimum; prices and wages will be base-lined against that. (ie, after the initial short term impact, there will be a net ZERO gain in spending power..)

Long enough for the average corporate planning session. Remember, our genius CEOs usually only plan out a little past their noses, two or three quarters, rarely a year at best.

126 posted on 10/25/2005 10:55:09 PM PDT by jb6 (The Atheist/Pagan mind, a quandary wrapped in egoism and served with a side order of self importance)
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To: Crackingham

RAISE YOUR OWN WAGES WALMART! JEEEEZZZ


127 posted on 10/25/2005 10:57:28 PM PDT by Lauretij2
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To: Willie Green; Wolfie; ex-snook; Jhoffa_; FITZ; arete; FreedomPoster; Red Jones; Pyro7480; ...
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!

128 posted on 10/26/2005 5:05:17 AM PDT by A. Pole (Thomas Jefferson: "Merchants have no country.")
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To: PoppyRocks
And if you live in a community where there are no jobs better than Walmart or McDonalds offer, people should do what?

Then they should pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Like that:


129 posted on 10/26/2005 5:14:08 AM PDT by A. Pole (Thomas Jefferson: "Merchants have no country.")
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To: xcamel

Slim to none. You can thank unions for that.


130 posted on 10/26/2005 5:16:52 AM PDT by Ace of Spades (Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?)
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To: Crackingham

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


131 posted on 10/26/2005 5:23:00 AM PDT by absolootezer0 ("My God, why have you forsaken us.. no wait, its the liberals that have forsaken you... my bad")
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To: Lauretij2

Why doesn't this genius just run for office and implement the plan himself. Some of these CEOs lately! I am starting to wonder if you have to pass a moron exam before you qualify to lead a company.


132 posted on 10/26/2005 5:36:16 AM PDT by The Toll
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Comment #133 Removed by Moderator

To: Ace of Spades
I only thank unions for costing americans 3-4 million jobs, pricing america out of the free markets, creating a government "of the union, by the union, for the union", and around a trillion dollars in pure waste. Then there is the 30% added cost of living thanks to the cancer of socialist labor unions...(all this from less than 13% of working america)
134 posted on 10/26/2005 6:04:52 AM PDT by xcamel (No more RINOS - Not Now, Not Ever Again.)
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To: Crackingham

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.


135 posted on 10/26/2005 6:05:09 AM PDT by kittymyrib
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To: Crackingham
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

136 posted on 10/26/2005 6:15:13 AM PDT by doc30 (Democrats are to morals what and Etch-A-Sketch is to Art.)
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To: Crackingham

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.


137 posted on 10/26/2005 6:18:40 AM PDT by mel
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To: Crackingham
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.

138 posted on 10/26/2005 6:36:27 AM PDT by jackbenimble (Import the third world, become the third world)
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To: SandwicheGuy
In #77:

Hey, thanks for explaining economics so lucidly. You have obviously given this a lot of thought. Could you help me out with one more thing that has been troubling me, I would like your help in understanding this. Why is the earth flat?

I guess that wasn't you, right?

139 posted on 10/26/2005 6:37:25 AM PDT by Ethrane ("semper consolar")
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To: Crackingham
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.
140 posted on 10/26/2005 7:02:24 AM PDT by Question_Assumptions
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