Walmart Has Enough to Give Workers a Happy Thanksgiving
By Elizabeth DiNovella
Black Friday is disturbing on so many levels. I hate to watch those commercials that use a 1970's era home movies aesthetic while advertising the store will be open Thanksgiving Day. Seriously?
Whats worse than sitting through the Black Friday commercial onslaught is the realization that I, as a taxpayer, am subsidizing the biggest retail chains as they pay their workers such paltry sums. These wages are so low that too many of these employees end up on food stamps or Medicaid.
I do not have a problem with a strong safety net. It should be bigger and stronger, as far as Im concerned. But I do have a problem with the billionaire Waltons relying upon our social services to wiggle out of better wages and full-time hours for their workforce.
According to a study released by Congressional Democrats this year, Walmart can cost communities hundreds of thousands of dollars as their employees use public-assistance programs.
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http://www.progressive.org/walmart-has-enough-to-give-workers-a-happy-thanksgiving