I'm not sure I understand your question or agree with its premise. The subsidy comes in the form the government benefits (WIC, SNAP, ACA, etc) that would otherw

I'm not sure I understand your question or agree with its premise. The subsidy comes in the form the government benefits (WIC, SNAP, ACA, etc) that would otherwise be covered by an employer out of the revenue they generate from sales. Whether the safety net subsidizes Costco or not I can't say, as I don't have the data around how many Costco employees use these benefits from the government. Basically, the low prices you see at Wal Mart couldn't exist if the company paid their workers a wage that reflected the benefits given by the government. Additionally, Wal-Mart receives a significant amount of money in the form of the SNAP payments themselves from their customers. It's basically like the government food store, except the family that runs has a net worth of more than $100B. I don't understand your second sentence. Costco has employees that they pay $0?