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> if Walmart didn't employ these people Walmart earns $13k of profit across each of their 2m employees. One could make the argument that if Walmart had to pay

by runako 4y ago

> if Walmart didn't employ these people Walmart earns $13k of profit across each of their 2m employees. One could make the argument that if Walmart had to pay each employee an extra (say) $3k annually [1], management would instead choose to shut the whole thing down and return capital to the shareholders, which would be a choice available to them. But I don't find that argument compelling in the slightest, and Walmart does not have any compelling IP that would preclude letting management shut it down and have the likes of Target/Kroger fill the gap in the market. 1 - an additional $3k annually would be transformative to the life of the average Walmart employee.

Aunche 4y ago
>Walmart earns $13k of profit across each of their 2m employees. Your numbers are off. Walmart's pretax income was ~$19B, so that's ~$8k profit per employee. >One could make the argument that if Walmart had to pay each employee an extra (say) $3k annually If they were pressured to increase wages, they would adjust their business model to employ fewer, "more productive" employees (e.g. invest more in automation). The government would still have to subsidize the cost of living of those who would have otherwise been unemployed.
atestu 4y ago
Taking the average number of hours worked per year by Americans here https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/productivity/how-many-hours-do-people-work-in-a-year https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/productivity/how-many-hours-d... 3,000 / 1,936 = $1.55 more pay per hour. Nothing to sneeze at when you make minimum wage (which they don’t all make), but hardly “transformative” imo.
- galleywest200 4y ago
  Anything helps when you are in that situation. An additional $3k can pay for the family dog for a full year including vet visits. Or upgrade their child's school supplies. Or get new tires or work boots.
runeks 4y ago
> Walmart earns $13k of profit across each of their 2m employees. One could make the argument that if Walmart had to pay each employee an extra (say) $3k annually [1], management would instead choose to shut the whole thing down and return capital to the shareholders, which would be a choice available to them. Honest question: why not make it $5k or $10k? Is there something magic about $3k that leaves Walmart employees unaffected, and — if so — why will $5k not achieve this?

by runako 4y ago

Aunche 4y ago

>Walmart earns $13k of profit across each of their 2m employees. Your numbers are off. Walmart's pretax income was ~$19B, so that's ~$8k profit per employee. >One could make the argument that if Walmart had to pay each employee an extra (say) $3k annually If they were pressured to increase wages, they would adjust their business model to employ fewer, "more productive" employees (e.g. invest more in automation). The government would still have to subsidize the cost of living of those who would have otherwise been unemployed.

atestu 4y ago

Taking the average number of hours worked per year by Americans here https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/productivity/how-many-hours-do-people-work-in-a-year https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/productivity/how-many-hours-d... 3,000 / 1,936 = $1.55 more pay per hour. Nothing to sneeze at when you make minimum wage (which they don’t all make), but hardly “transformative” imo.

galleywest200 4y ago
Anything helps when you are in that situation. An additional $3k can pay for the family dog for a full year including vet visits. Or upgrade their child's school supplies. Or get new tires or work boots.

runeks 4y ago

> Walmart earns $13k of profit across each of their 2m employees. One could make the argument that if Walmart had to pay each employee an extra (say) $3k annually [1], management would instead choose to shut the whole thing down and return capital to the shareholders, which would be a choice available to them. Honest question: why not make it $5k or $10k? Is there something magic about $3k that leaves Walmart employees unaffected, and — if so — why will $5k not achieve this?