I received the following comment on my last post.
Angus, fair point. On the contrary note, is it fair to investors in Walmart to not produce the best return possible? Do the demands of the Walmart employees hold greater weight than the demands of people who fund the operation? And given your answer is yes, why not raise the wage of Walmart employees by $20 an hour each? Going one step further, into which buckets to employees that hold stock option fall?
In any capacity, thanks for the thought provoking post…
When I started to reply to this thought provoking comment I realized I had more to say than would fit in a reply.
Investors do not fund business, customers fund the operation.
First: $20 an hour times 1.2 million employees times 2050 hours a year is more than $49 billion and would bankrupt the corp.
Second:Fact: all profits/dividends to investors are reliant on the minimum wage worker.
Third: $1 per hour times 1.2 million employees times 2050 hours a year makes 3.5 billion. That is possible, that’s fair, that’s still poverty, yet a 2 income household is not poverty.
Fourth: That is also $3.5 billion boost to the economy since at poverty level every cent earned is immediately spent.
Fifth: In addition, this is just one company, if every company raised minimum wage the customers that fund the operations would raise corporate profits.
Sixth: Also, minimum wage earners are not heavy investors so I do not understand what that has to do with anything.
Seventh: Extreme positions poison the dialog and prevent progress. Thanks for bringing it up.
PS Please do not suppose my answer is “given”. I reserve the right to give my own answers.
Angus Croix 