The Way Of Walmart

Walmart is the largest private employer in America.  Overall, it is second only to the U.S. government.  Yesterday, Walmart announced it would be raising its minimum wage to $11 per hour, and paying bonuses of up to $1,000.  Their announcement was treated as Big News, but was actually more P.R. Kabuki theater.

Any raise is always nice, but keep in mind that hardly any Walmart "associates" work 40 hours a week.  Most get 20 to 30 hours a week.  Even if they all worked 40 hours, $11 an hour translates to less than $23,000 a year -- not exactly tall cotton.  And again, annual income for most Walmart workers is far less than that.  The one-time bonuses will be paid to those not at minimum wage, and will range from $200 to $1,000.  Again, fairly nice but not really significant.

Of course, the BLOTUS (Bloated Looter of the United States) gave immediate credit to himself and his tax cut scam, which is straight political BS/spin.  Back in 2015, Walmart announced an increase in their minimum wage to $9 per hour, with a $10 per hour minimum to follow in 2016.  Were those wage increases based on any tax cut?  No, just years of steady economic improvement following the Crash.  Yesterday continued the trend, up another $1 an hour.

At the same time, yesterday Walmart abruptly and immediately closed 63 Sam's Club stores with zero notice to employees, just a note on the locked doors.  As many as 11,000 people were instantly laid off.

Will Trump take credit for that too?