All hail Wal-Mart, the largest employer in America. It ranked sixth on the Forbes 500 list of companies in 2003. As a result of it’s huge influence on local economies, Wal-Mart has come to expect generous incentives (popularly dubbed “corporate welfare”) from state governments, in return for building in their area (Meyerson, 2003; Associated Press, 2003). Meanwhile, many of their employees are living on welfare.
State preservation of low wages is one of the smallest courtesies the company can expect from government, given its capacity to demand and receive benefits like 100% tax abatement for five years after opening a store, with a 50% abatement continuing for three years thereafter (Associated Press, 2003).
When the the minimum wage level is unrealistic in that it does not meet the actual cost of living for employed persons, social policy has failed. This failure is creating an extra burden on social assistance programs designed to assist the unemployed. In fact, it could be argued that the government is assisting Wal-Mart to maintain its labour force through wage subsidies—not by design, but in essence. God bless America?
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