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quote:
Originally posted by bananahead
Hawaii's Act 82 (2014 legislature) increased the state's minimum wage to $7.75 per hour beginning January 1, 2015 and to $8.50 per hour beginning January 1, 2016. Walmart workers pay will increase to $9 per hour in April 2015, and then to $10 per hour in February, 2016.
$10/hour in 2 months.... 40 hours a week... $400 gross, ca$1600 month ca$20,000+/yr is NOT starving wages...
It is starvation wages if you are trying to support a couple of kids on that, and every single Walmart employee here I have ever known had a family. Plus Walmart will not ever give employees a set schedule, until you are higher level manager, so no way to take a second job. Target hires lots of just out of school first job people, but Walmart employees probably average a good 10 years older. The reason people stay there is because if you are a 40 year old woman with a couple of kids and a high school diploma, it is one of the few places that will hire you.
As far as your math goes: take even just 25% of that total out for various taxes, especially social security, rent for a dumpy studio apartment on this side is a minimum of $500 a month, so after just paying taxes and rent you are already down to $700 a month for all other expenses: food, medical, utilities, clothing and transportation. A person working full time and supporting only themselves would be just scrapping by on that pay of $175 a week in a place where a gallon of milk costs almost $6 on sale.
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Walmart is raising it's minimum hourly wage for full time employees to $13/hour and PT to at least $10 at all its stores in February. Employees will also have fixed schedules and will know them at least 2.5 weeks in advance. They have raised their wages so much in the last 2 years that their last drop in earnings report was significant enough it caused a drop in the entire stock market. They will have to raise their prices to remain profitable- I imagine their employees are also their customers so some of these higher wages will be recouped that way. Most of their customers are on EBT so everybody's EBT will buy a little less.
I'm ALL for higher wages but some people don't realize that the money has to come from somewhere.
The current CEO of Walmart got his start in the company working as a part time associate, went to college, later became a full-time employee, eventually got his MBA and worked his way up the corporate ladder. The pay and benefit increases started about the same time he became CEO. If his theory works- that better wages leads to better employees which leads to a better customer experience which leads to better profits, all without a government wage mandate, then capitalism still works.
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hey well, if a costco does come, all the walmart workers can go and get the 1.99 lunch hot dog special!
Then they can use the savings to afford healthcare and dental right?
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Walk into a Walmart and do a random survey of hourly employees. Ask them if they get a 40 hr work week. If you think a majority do,you will probably be enlightened by your results.
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quote:
Originally posted by Unclemel
Walk into a Walmart and do a random survey of hourly employees. Ask them if they get a 40 hr work week. If you think a majority do,you will probably be enlightened by your results.
What does that matter? Lots of people in Hawaii work part-time jobs. Not everyone wants a full-time job.
Go to any of the mom-and-pop stores and ask the same question, but also ask if they are receiving over $10 an hour...
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"They will have to raise their prices to remain profitable"
My humble suggestion be that wally world start stocking their shelves
I used to shop there rarely - just getting what I needed and knew they stocked
Ive just quit going all together after a few trips all the way to Hilo only to find empty shelves - amazon turns out be the better option for me - means I just need to be a little better at planning ahead - I think the wally world business model has expired ....
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2...-increases
It will be interesting to see how Walmart responds if they don't win their court case against Puerto Rico. Will they raise their prices to make up for the tax? Or will they pull out of the commonwealth entirely to send a warning to other municipalities?
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"The new levy raised the estimated cumulative income tax on Wal-Mart Puerto Rico Inc. “to an astonishing and unsustainable 91.5% of its net income,” according to the company’s complaint, filed in federal court in San Juan Friday."
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And I thought Hawaii taxes were outrageous!
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It's okay, they are the 1%.
It reminds me of a few years ago France raised the income tax on millionaires to 75% and then after 2 years scrambled to reverse it back to the 50% rate after all the millionaires either left, retired, or abandoned business altogether, causing a net loss to tax revenue and damage to the economy that is still being calculated.
Like the quote often attributed to Margaret Thatcher: "The problem with socialism is that eventually you run out of other people's money to spend." The France experiment demonstrated that in their country, 50% is sustainable (do not misrepresent that as being good for the economy), but 75% is disastrous.
