Replies

No, you are misreading what I said, which was that if Wal-Mart raised wages, other employers would have to follow suit to attract employees. I thing I may have also mentioned that government intervention is unnecessary. I personally have nothing against Wal-Mart and occasionally shop there myself. I don't think it is their business to decide what other companies should pay their employees, but I recognize that they could influence those wages through free market methods without government interference.

I think people are reading entirely too much into this statement from the CEO. 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. Not to mention the fact that it would hurt other business competitors by increasing their costs of doing business.

Walmart already pays most if not all of their employees MORE than minimum wage, so while it may affect their cost structure to some degree (compensatory increases), it would not affect them primarily.

I do not agree that the minimum wage should be increased either...I wish the government would abolish the minimum wage altogether as a matter of fact.

I'm just stating that I understand why as a BUSINESS, it might be in WMT's best interest for the minimum wage to be increased...and therefore I understand where this spokesman's statement is coming from.

No, you are misreading what I said, which was that if Wal-Mart raised wages, other employers would have to follow suit to attract employees. I thing I may have also mentioned that government intervention is unnecessary. I personally have nothing against Wal-Mart and occasionally shop there myself. I don't think it is their business to decide what other companies should pay their employees, but I recognize that they could influence those wages through free market methods without government interference.

I think people are reading entirely too much into this statement from the CEO. 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. Not to mention the fact that it would hurt other business competitors by increasing their costs of doing business.

Walmart already pays most if not all of their employees MORE than minimum wage, so while it may affect their cost structure to some degree (compensatory increases), it would not affect them primarily.

I do not agree that the minimum wage should be increased either...I wish the government would abolish the minimum wage altogether as a matter of fact.

I'm just stating that I understand why as a BUSINESS, it might be in WMT's best interest for the minimum wage to be increased...and therefore I understand where this spokesman's statement is coming from.