Why things are the way they are....

The reason the south is struggling is because they stupidly believe that if they work for less, they'll become wealthier.

Empires crumble and die,the very nature of the way empires are build means that they will crumble. the American empire is past it's day.

The thing that has to change ,especially of the really top earners,is the m entality that there is not enough,for you to be comfortable the I have to suffer.If I pay you a decent wage then I have to take a few millions less. Until that changes then nothing will change. Perfect example - walmart - the Waltons have so much they couldn't possible spend it but they pay their people minimun possible. They could double eve ybodies wage and still make more than they can spend. In practical terms wh at's the difference between $60b $55b. Kochs are another bunch. Low wages means control is easier.

Empires crumble and die,the very nature of the way empires are build means that they will crumble. the American empire is past it's day.

The thing that has to change ,especially of the really top earners,is the mentality that there is not enough,for you to be comfortable the I have to suffer.If I pay you a decent wage then I have to take a few millions less. Until that changes then nothing will change. Perfect example - walmart - the Waltons have so much they couldn't possible spend it but they pay their people minimun possible. They could double eveybodies wage and still make more than they can spend. In practical terms what's the difference between $60b $55b. Kochs are another bunch. Low wages means control is easier.

******** ?? So dont work at mcdonalds? I never did? I know, due to our government of the people changing it to a government for the people mcdonalds is becoming a viable job. That in itself is not mcdonalds fault. As a company, they have automated to the point of not needing people bearly at all. They offer an affordable product by tweaking down every cost they have, from using byproducts like fish eyes, to payroll. As they did this, they offered starter jobs to millions and millions, built the ronald mcdonald houses, etc... It's still the easiest franchise there is allowing anybody with 40 grand to own their own buisiness.

Naw, this isnt mcdonalds fault, this is a schooling propaganda issue. We are tauhgt wrong (no pun intended lol).

Remember this Democrat?...Its not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.

Thats why im neither republican or democrat, these two parties flip flop as time goes by as they try to sway voters to their party. Constantly rebranding their names, constantly changing beliefs to get votes.

And that double everyones wage crack only being a tiny piece of the money? Show the numbers. Id love to see them.

Besides, isnt mcdonalds traded on the market? If it is...then exactly who are you going to take the money from?

The problem in a nut shell -- nothing is ever anybody's "fault."

what are you ranting about? I wasn't talking about McD's.

I never have or never will work there,shit I won't even buy anything from t hem-ever.McD's is another predator,like walmart. A side from the food being crap I will not support a business that moves into a neighborhood and sues a long term family coffee shop out of business because the name was also M cDonalds.Happen in my area a will back,until that time I may have had may a couple of fries,after that never again.

Yes it is, they are part of the giant predatory franchise machine.Identica l crap from identical stores anywhere on the planet.

You still living the fantasy that some one who works for 20K and NEEDS some government assist is a leach and is destroying the US while something lik e McD's that doesn't need government assist but gets it,won't pay a decent wage, is just another job creator that deserves it. You know,the world is not the simple b/w that you seem to imply

Walmart employs 2.2 million people. Maybe low, but lets say average wage is $10.00 per hour. That makes their payroll $22.0M/hr to average things out since not all employees are working all at once let's say 30 hr/week. That makes the payroll 660.0M dollars a week, times 52 is 34.32 Billion dollars a year. Not including any payroll taxes at all.

2013 FY net income was 16.999 Billion dollars.

Walmarts payroll is already TWICE it's annual profit. So how can they double it and still have money left?

Can anyone get these numbers closer? I'm just guessing on the average wage, hard to average in the greeter, the truck driver, store manager, and the CEO all at once.

Remove 333 to reply

In 2010, WMT revenue was just under 447 billion., and profits for that year were just under 17 billion.

According to ilsr.org: "two-thirds of Wal-Mart workers - or about 900,000 employees - are paid less than $12 an hour. More than one-fifth earn less than $9. Overall, Wal-Mart's hourly workers earn 12.4 percent less than retail workers as a whole.

Bringing these employees up to a minimum of $12 an hour would boost their annual income by $1,670 to $6,500 (depending on whether they are full- or part-time and their current pay rate). That amounts to a 37 percent increase on average for those earning less than $9, and a 14-16 percent increase on average for those making $9-12 an hour.

The study found that 41 percent of this additional income would flow to families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line.

Setting a $12 minimum wage at Wal-Mart would increase the company's payroll costs by $3.2 billion a year. Some of this would likely be offset by increased labor productivity due to higher morale, lower turnover, and lower absenteeism. The rest could be absorbed through reduced profits. Wal-Mart posted a profit of $16.4 billion in 2010.

If Wal-Mart opted instead to pass the full cost on to consumers, it would need to raise its prices by 1.1 percent. The study found that 28 percent of this price increase would be borne by families at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty line, but the cost per family would be modest. The average consumer, who spends $1,187 a year at Wal-Mart, would pay an additional $12.49.

In passing, the study provides some interesting data on where Wal-Mart's sales come from. Although Wal-Mart is commonly thought of as a chain that serves poor and low-income shoppers, 35 percent of its sales come from families earning more than $70,000 a year. Nearly one-fifth of its revenue derives from those with incomes of $100,000 or more."

So a raise to $12/hr is practical. Vinny said double. not practical. Remove 333 to reply. Randy

Possibly correct but without the actual payroll figures, it's a baseless claim.

Your getting your quotes mixed up. I never typed this...

The reason I wouldnt type it is the "waltons" or whover started the buisiness "STARTED" the buisiness! They owe us jack shit. Our lazy asses sit around crying we need them to pay more..for what? if it wasnt for them, I wonder how much povery we would have.

MOST people at wallmart bring nothing to the table except a warm body. No skills, no idea, no innovations, just body heat. How much are these people worth as part of the overall product? I bet I could automate 99% of the jobs at wallmart with a handful of edm toolchangers and a few computers with voice recognition. This is handout mentality this group has.

If you think wallmart sux, stop going there. Its called a boycott. No...not a handout, a boycott is where people actually do something.

My job unfairly pays moldmakers. We make 3-4 bux over low skilled machine operators. Someone force my boss into paying me more!

So for me the numbers don't mean much. I believe your land is your land...your buisiness is your buisiness, etc... No..not hartless, just fair. We all have a chance, others have succeeded with less. Remember great grandpa..."The world doesn't owe you a living sonny!"...ooops, I gues now it does gramps lol

welcome to 2013.

Nor does the world owe business owners inexpensive labor.

They owe there workers a decent wage.

Old Sam may have started the business,and he used to a pay reasonable wage, but then they started to grow and old Sam figured out that being predatory was easier and more profitable then competitive. Walmart moves into depressed areas,with tax payer assist,offers prices so l ow,often artificially low, that the locals can't survive.They pay the staff so little that they NEED welfare just to survive.Walmart have people on st aff to help their underpaid worker navigate the local government social pro grams. It has been estimate that a SINGLE Walmart super store cost taxpayers up to $8500 per year per employee,and that doesn't count the taxpayer bribe to o pen the store in the first place.

You do know,don't you? that Walmart stores in some places are running an in house food drive so that the employees they won't pay a decent wage to wil l have something to eat on thanksgiving before they are forced to show up f or work

A whole lot less,Walmart stores are not good for the local economy

Ya know,not everybody is an innovator,most are just workers

You may,at the moment have a fairly reasonable job,but as you said,automati on is everywhere and you may be the next person replaced by a smart edm wit h voice recognition.

I have never,and as best as I can guess,will never even go into a Walmart l et alone buy there.

Go talk to your boss. You seem to think a decent wage to Walmart type worke rs means that everybody should be paid enough to by a new 'vette every year .No it means enough to feed the kids, and maybe be able to buy at the crapp y store you work at.

Inexpensive is relative.

A person with NO skills is worth...uhhhh, should I say it?

"MOST people at wallmart bring nothing to the table except a warm body. No skills, no idea, no innovations, just body heat."

Most employers don't want employees that can think and reason. They want employees who never question what they are told to do and never question what they are given to do the job. Cheap Chinese vises are good just take the time to make them work because initial purchase price is everything! Never question the boss when he wants to know why it took 10 more this time to setup the job than when you used the Kurt vise last time. Tell him you will try harder next time and that he's right as always. Do it with a straight face and lie your ass off. It's all about sucking up and not rocking the boat.

********** Obviously i struck a nerve amongst the know-nothing handout group....

Most employers want people who can make them money. I have no clue what your bosses tell you, prolly stfu tard, but thats none of my buisiness. In fact, that whole paragraph seemed to let us all know your place in a shop. in florida...we just fire people like you, as opposed to telling you to stfu and tolerating the loss you incur.

************

Employers will be happy when more employees finally understand it's all about initial purchase price not about seeing the big picture.

*********** no comment, your too far gone. ***********

If it was about the big picture Mastercam wouldn't have a monopoly on the market. When you see the big picture you don't use Mastercam. Mastercam is the perfect product for you, Vinny. You need to quit or get fired again and go back to using Mastercam. Do it. Do it now!

********* Are you a chick? Honestly? ***********

Don't watch this video because it's way above your head:

"The real philanthropists in our society are the people who work for less than they can actually live on because they are giving of their time and their energy and their talents all the time so that people like you can be dressed well and fed very cheaply and so on."

-Barbara Ehrenreich

Thats ridiculous. Maybe the ones who do it on purpose.

Im confused, are you saying people at wallmart have hidden useful skills, but decide to work for less so I can have cheap goods? hmmm, maybe...its more like slaves in other countries are being used by wallmart, me and you for that purpose?

As per the usual....

Many of them have an education that id vastly superior to yours.

Usually, they move on, generally within a fairly short period of time....

And then someone else is "retrained" (at the taxpayer's expense).....

I don't shop there, something about enabling a junkee.