Wal-Mart Offers More Than Everyday Low Prices

Courtesy of the Democratic staff of the
U.S. Committee on Education and the Workforce

   
      An update of a 2004 report “Everyday Low Wages: The Hidden Price, We All Pay for Wal-Mart,” prepared by the Democratic staff of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce revealed some interesting statistics:

• Wal-Mart is the largest private employer in the United States.

• A Wal-Mart sales associate is paid on average hourly wage of $8.81 per hour.  Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club workers earn $10.30 per hour on average.

•  A 300-person Wal-Mart Superstore in Wisconsin was estimated to cost taxpayers approximately $5,815 per employee in state-supported safety net social services .

• Between 2007 and 2010, while American median family wealth fell by 38.8 percent, six members of the Walton family, heirs of the founder of the chain, saw their fortunes increase from 73.8 billion to 89.5 billion.

• The wealth of these six Waltons equals the combined wealth of 48.8 million families at the bottom of the country’s wealth distribution. Said another way, their wealth equaled the combined wealth of 41.5 percent of all American families.

     We can safely assume that the needs and most of the wants of these six members of the Walton family are provided for. Wal-Mart workers helped ensure that fortunate outcome together with the U.S. taxpayers who paid for the programs that helped meet some of the needs of those low-paid Wal-Mart workers that was unmet because they made less than a living wage.