Wal-Mart to Pull Out of D.C. After Minimum-Wage Vote

[aGameOfThrones]

Wal-Mart is not happy with recently passed legislation to raise the minimum wage in Washington, D.C. So much so that the retail giant has said it will scrap three planned stores in the area.

Following the vote, Wal-Mart spokesman Steven Restivo issued a statement regarding the future of D.C. Wal-Mart stores.

"‪Nothing has changed from our perspective: we will not pursue Skyland, Capitol Gateway, and New York Avenue and will start to review the financial and legal implications on the three stores already under construction. This was a difficult decision for us—and unfortunate news for most D.C. residents—but the Council has forced our hand," he said.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100880377?__source=yahoo|finance|headline|headline |story&par=yahoo&doc=100880377|Wal-Mart%20to%20Pull%20Out%20of%20D

[mad cow]

Good for Walmart,I hope they can get completely out of the 3 stores they have started construction on without too much of a loss.

Maybe they can divide the space up and sell them to some upscale Rodeo Drive emporiums,with a Tiffany's and a Nieman Marcus and an exclusive Wine and Cheese Shoppe.

Maybe a vegetable market with a cute name like 'Green Acres' where the Ward Seven locals can buy their arugala and free-range broccoli.

Oh,and maybe we can get Wolfgang Puck to open a restaurant there.We wouldn't want the inhabitants of Ward Seven to suffer with a Walmart in their midst.

The Twenty First Century version of 'Let Them Eat Cake'.

[Superfly]

If this city council was serious about the plight of the proletariat, they wouldn't stop at this modest wage increase. They should pay $50 an hour! Imagine how rich we'd all be!

[trey4sports]

good for them!

[Keith and stuff]

Good for Walmart. I'm sorry for the people of DC that they will have 3-6 less Walmarts than they might have had. Hopefully this new pay enforcement is overturned. VT is famous for also trying to keep Walmart out. Walmart is now in VT and people love it! Give it a chance.

www.walmart.com/storeLocator/

[tangent4ronpaul]

Good for Walmart!

-t

[DamianTV]

If people were paid a livable wage, they wouldnt have to shop at Walmart to begin with. Actually, I'll take that back. If people had JOBS. Not part time, not some arbitrary number determining the minimum wage, but an actual agreement between an employer and employee for full time work at a reasonable rate that both agreed with. Walmart doesnt want to agree to hire anyone full time or pay them a pittance above minimum wage, then fuck em. You cant negotiate with Walmart. Walmart says its their way or the highway. The highway is looking better and better. We dont need to keep supporting companies because of their artificially low prices when the cause of their low prices is by exporting more and more jobs overseas.

Think of it this way. You work for some company. And you are a valuable asset. They compensate you fairly because they know if you dont, you wont stay. You work hard and earn your keep. And the company benefits by having you work for them. And lets say this job pays well above minimum wage. Well enough that you dont need to shop at Walmart because you have no other choice. Do you think these types of employees are going to be hooting and hollering when they find out that Minimum Wage just went up? I seriously doubt it. So Walmart will either cave in and open stores there anyway or they wont. If they do, the first thing they are gonna do is jack up their prices to compensate for how much they are paying in the increased Minimum Wage. Since those prices have gone up, the increase in the rate of Minimum Wage just went right back to Walmart.

So really, what did raising Minimum Wage accomplish? Absolutely Nothing for the person only able to earn Minimum Wage, but it might get a few more votes for the politicians that voted for the increase.

Fuck Walmart.

[mad cow]

So are you suggesting that Walmart should lose money on every item they sell,every day,and keep their stores open and open new stores in D.C. all the time and lose more and more money out of the goodness of their heart?

How big is your heart?Get back to me when you open a business and pay yourself $1.00/hour and lower your profits to zero to do so and lose money on every sale in order to help your fellow man.

Ward Seven could use some grocery stores,hop to it.

[HOLLYWOOD]

Good bye to 5 gallon buckets of mayonnaise and 500 diapers to the bale.

WALL★MART comes to SOUTHPARK
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-episodes/s08e09-something-wall-mart-this-way-comes

[DamianTV]

Walmart can do what they want, and they usually do. What Im suggesting that out of the goodness of their heart, maybe employ people full time. The owners of Walmart have more total wealth than the the bottom 50% of this country combined. They didnt get that way by having hearts. So I am suggesting Walmart already makes more than enough money as it is and could easily afford to pay their employees better.

Minimum Wage thing is pretty much a separate issue, that did drag Walmart into the mix. Minimum Wage exists because of companies like Walmart that only pay minimum wage and if youre not a manager (at least around here), you are guaranteed to have no health insurance because youre not working full time. But Walmart didnt call for a Minimum Wage increase, they caused the need for it. Problem is continuously inflating Minimum Wage is not a solution because as soon as Min Wage goes up, so does the price of everything, which makes Min Wage increases pointless.

Oh yeah, and as soon as those Obamacare Tax Penalties for not purchasing health insurance come into play, guess who is gonna get fined. It wont be the Managers who can afford it a tiny bit better. Nope, it will be paid by those who cant afford to not shop at Walmart to begin with.

My biggest point being that Minimum Wage increases are the Illusion of Prosperity.

[mad cow]

It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. ~ Adam Smith

The owners of Walmart are indeed rich.They got that way by providing customers with something that they were happy to voluntarily trade their hard earned money for.In the case of Walmart,most of those customers came from what you are referring to as the Bottom 50%.
This is known as free market capitalism.

[Matt Collins]

Looks like the statists have won either way

[Matt Collins]

If people were paid a livable wage, they wouldnt have to shop at Walmart to begin with. Economics FAIL! :rolleyes:



Actually, I'll take that back. If people had JOBS. Not part time, not some arbitrary number determining the minimum wage, but an actual agreement between an employer and employee for full time work at a reasonable rate that both agreed with. Walmart doesnt want to agree to hire anyone full time or pay them a pittance above minimum wage, then fuck em.Do you realize all of the federal restrictions that come with hiring people full-time? It's very expensive for a company to have full time employees, and when ObamaCare comes into play it'll be even more so!

WalMart wouldn't be able to keep their prices low if they had to hire everyone full-time.





You cant negotiate with Walmart. Walmart says its their way or the highway. The highway is looking better and better. We dont need to keep supporting companies because of their artificially low prices when the cause of their low prices is by exporting more and more jobs overseas.Geesh... you need to spend some time on the www.Mises.org website unless you are just trying to be as satirical as possible :mad:

[Superfly]

Damian let me explain this. Say a company allocates $50 of their resources to pay their workers. They employ 5 people at $10 a day (for simplicity's sake). The kindly benevolent town mayor declares that $10 is not a living wage (an illusory term in the first place) and makes a law that no man should make less than $15 a day. The only options the company has are raising prices on their goods, punishing everybody, or lay off 2 of the workers.

The only real way for workers to raise their wages is by increasing their production. Every other way of artificially raising wages is injurious to a large number of people in the long run.

[otherone]

The owners of Walmart are indeed rich.They got that way by providing customers with something that they were happy to voluntarily trade their hard earned money for.In the case of Walmart,most of those customers came from what you are referring to as the Bottom 50%.
This is known as free market capitalism.

lol. When Walmart's bottom line is no longer inflated by my tax dollars going to support their customers, maybe we'll have "free market" capitalism.

[pcosmar]

Fuck Walmart.
Why would I want to spend twice as much to buy the very same product at some other store? Even if I had unlimited funds.

We have a K-mart right down the street,, shitty service and the same products.. And the store is largely empty.

As for "made in the USA" products,, Walmart has them.. at least what they can find that is still made in the US.

Why should I pay $10 more a pair to buy Levy's at Pennies? or a buy my Auto Oil at some place with a higher mark-up? Same product.

It makes no logical sense. We have a minimum wage here, (as nearly everywhere) and Walmart starting wage is above minimum wage.

[Nobexliberty]

Damian let me explain this. Say a company allocates $50 of their resources to pay their workers. They employ 5 people at $10 a day (for simplicity's sake). The kindly benevolent town mayor declares that $10 is not a living wage (an illusory term in the first place) and makes a law that no man should make less than $15 a day. The only options the company has are raising prices on their goods, punishing everybody, or lay off 2 of the workers.

The only real way for workers to raise their wages is by increasing their production. Every other way of artificially raising wages is injurious to a large number of people in the long run.
Minimum wage laws for dummies^^

[shane77m]

DC is denying themselves this.

http://media.peopleofwalmart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/5043.jpg

[amy31416]

If I lived there I'd be really pissed off.

Say what you will about Wal Mart, at least they'd be able to do real grocery shopping for a reasonable price. Imagine trying to do your regular shopping at those crappy corner stores or gas stations--they probably have to do any regular shopping outside the city. They just shot themselves in the foot, big time.

[pcosmar]

DC is denying themselves this.



I really wish they had store locations and dates on some of these photos.

Stores by the beach are going to have people in beachwear. Photos taken around Halloween are going to have costumes.

And I don't know what it is with Pajamas,, But there seems to have been a fad with that.. groups of girls shopping in pajamas all last winter.:confused:

Though the "people of Walmart" is a meme,, they are everywhere.

[Nobexliberty]

If I lived there I'd be really pissed off.

Say what you will about Wal Mart, at least they'd be able to do real grocery shopping for a reasonable price. Imagine trying to do your regular shopping at those crappy corner stores or gas stations--they probably have to do any regular shopping outside the city. They just shot themselves in the foot, big time. More like in their own gut.

[invisible]

Damian let me explain this. Say a company allocates $50 of their resources to pay their workers. They employ 5 people at $10 a day (for simplicity's sake). The kindly benevolent town mayor declares that $10 is not a living wage (an illusory term in the first place) and makes a law that no man should make less than $15 a day. The only options the company has are raising prices on their goods, punishing everybody, or lay off 2 of the workers.

The only real way for workers to raise their wages is by increasing their production. Every other way of artificially raising wages is injurious to a large number of people in the long run.

Increasing their production? And how do you propose that to happen? Work more hours than the human body is capable of? Work faster than the human body is capable of? Employers already squeeze every last bit of speed and efficiency from their workers. There are really only 3 ways to raise your wages:
1) Change jobs, and do it often. This gets you an increase much faster than waiting around for the token raise that never keeps up with inflation and minimum wage increases (which go hand in hand, as Damian correctly noted).
2) Eliminate the middleman (boss / employer), and become self employed. Take all the profits for yourself, rather than working only to have someone else profit from your labor.
3) Lower your expenses by moving to an "undesirable" place that was relatively unaffected by the inflation of the housing bubble.

Damian isn't necessarily wrong, he's just looking at one part of a larger picture. He's not arguing against capitalism, he's pointing out the effects that distortion of the market (inflation, offshoring jobs, etc) has caused. The key here is to adjust your personal strategy accordingly, rather than look at things in a way that stopped being relevant in 1993 (nafta), or perhaps even the mid 1970's.

[Matt Collins]

I'm not a fan of walmart, although I do shop there frequently. My previous post however still stands in their defense.

[Superfly]

Increasing their production? And how do you propose that to happen? Work more hours than the human body is capable of? Work faster than the human body is capable of? Employers already squeeze every last bit of speed and efficiency from their workers. There are really only 3 ways to raise your wages:
1) Change jobs, and do it often. This gets you an increase much faster than waiting around for the token raise that never keeps up with inflation and minimum wage increases (which go hand in hand, as Damian correctly noted).
2) Eliminate the middleman (boss / employer), and become self employed. Take all the profits for yourself, rather than working only to have someone else profit from your labor.
3) Lower your expenses by moving to an "undesirable" place that was relatively unaffected by the inflation of the housing bubble.

Damian isn't necessarily wrong, he's just looking at one part of a larger picture. He's not arguing against capitalism, he's pointing out the effects that distortion of the market (inflation, offshoring jobs, etc) has caused. The key here is to adjust your personal strategy accordingly, rather than look at things in a way that stopped being relevant in 1993 (nafta), or perhaps even the mid 1970's.

Well sure, in a service industry job, where the skill requirements and ability to produce is limited...there's simply not much service employees can expect to do to raise wages...because the jobs just aren't all that valuable in terms of warranting a big salary.

So yes you're right, certain jobs are not worth minimum wage already.

[mad cow]

lol. When Walmart's bottom line is no longer inflated by my tax dollars going to support their customers, maybe we'll have "free market" capitalism.

Yep,along with every single other business in America without exception having their bottom line inflated by your tax dollars.
Now,is that a Walmart problem or a government problem?

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

Increasing their production? And how do you propose that to happen? Work more hours than the human body is capable of? Work faster than the human body is capable of? Employers already squeeze every last bit of speed and efficiency from their workers. There are really only 3 ways to raise your wages:
1) Change jobs, and do it often. This gets you an increase much faster than waiting around for the token raise that never keeps up with inflation and minimum wage increases (which go hand in hand, as Damian correctly noted).
2) Eliminate the middleman (boss / employer), and become self employed. Take all the profits for yourself, rather than working only to have someone else profit from your labor.
3) Lower your expenses by moving to an "undesirable" place that was relatively unaffected by the inflation of the housing bubble.

Damian isn't necessarily wrong, he's just looking at one part of a larger picture. He's not arguing against capitalism, he's pointing out the effects that distortion of the market (inflation, offshoring jobs, etc) has caused. The key here is to adjust your personal strategy accordingly, rather than look at things in a way that stopped being relevant in 1993 (nafta), or perhaps even the mid 1970's.
I agree with #1. When I got my first job I was getting paid more than people who were there for 3 years, then after 2 years new people were getting paid more than me, so I quit.

[nobody's_hero]

There are only two levels of income in D.C. anyway.

Damn-near-broke and Bureaucrat.

[Nobexliberty]

There are only two levels of income in D.C. anyway.

Damn-near-broke and Bureaucrat.
+1689

[UWDude]

Yes... now there will be no more low price stores in D.C., because before wla mart, everything was Neiman Marcus and Macy's.

and an 18 year old kid fresh out of high school might just believe that.

There are actually people here arguing wal mart is the only place for cheap groceries. Get a grip, people.

There was a time before wal mart, when many different stores carried many different items at many different price ranges.

[familydog]

Fuck Walmart.

Indeed.

Wal-Marx generally supports increasing the minimum wage when it hurts their competition. Washington D.C. is such an economic cesspool that increasing the minimum wage will only affect them. Like all corporations, Wal-Marx thrives on government protections.

[69360]

Good.

Employers should pay whatever wage employees are willing to work for.

Sellers should sell for whatever price customers are willing to pay.

The government should have no say in this whatsoever.

[UpperDecker]

Politicians: Good news guys, we are going to be making Wal-Mart pay you a whole lot more!

Citizens: Yay!!!

Politicians: Hey everybody, about that pay increase.....ummm, we, errrrr, kind of lost all of those jobs for you.

Citizens: :/

[DamianTV]

Politicians: Good news guys, we are going to be making Wal-Mart pay you a whole lot more!

Citizens: Yay!!!

Politicians: Hey everybody, about that pay increase.....ummm, we, errrrr, kind of lost all of those jobs for you.

Citizens: :/

Wouldnt matter anyway. If those jobs were still around and the people were paid more, they would go right back to square one as soon as prices of EVERYTHING go up due to raising Minimum Wage costing employers more and the higher cost being used to offset what they have to pay employees.

[otherone]

Yep,along with every single other business in America without exception having their bottom line inflated by your tax dollars.
Now,is that a Walmart problem or a government problem?

you wrote:

In the case of Walmart,most of those customers came from what you are referring to as the Bottom 50%.
This is known as free market capitalism.

The "Bottom 50%" as you put it, are the ones on the government dole. Not too many food stamp, welfare, disability, or social security recipents are shopping at Saks or Neiman Marcus. Now I ask you, who's bottom line is most supported by my tax dollars? Do you see the collusion of government and corporate interests? Hasn't the most recent Snowden revelations about Microsoft etal shown you who's actually running this country?

[Contumacious]

Think of it this way. You work for some company. And you are a valuable asset.

Fuck Walmart.

Yo Vern.

So you work for Walmart as a bathroom attendant/greeter.

You are also responsible for removing pubic hair from the toilet seats .

How much do you want to be paid per hour?

.

[mad cow]

The owners of Walmart shop at Saks and Neiman Marcus and as you yourself pointed out,their wealth is inflated by your tax dollars.

Name a business that does not sell goods or services to government employees or recipients of government benefits.
Go ahead,hate them all.

[Matt Collins]

The owners of Walmart shop at Saks and Neiman Marcus Uhhh... if you have a pension plan or a 401k or stocks or an annuity or mutual fund or almost any type of investment, then you probably own part of Wal Mart.

[mad cow]

Uhhh... if you have a pension plan or a 401k or stocks or an annuity or mutual fund or almost any type of investment, then you probably own part of Wal Mart.

Yep,my bottom line is inflated on the worn-out backs of the American Taxpayer,and the overworked,underpaid workers of Walmart. :cool:

[VIDEODROME]

I'd rather have a Kroger. I think their prices for groceries are reasonable and yes they're even unionized.

[otherone]

Yep,my bottom line is inflated on the worn-out backs of the American Taxpayer,and the overworked,underpaid workers of Walmart. :cool:

I have no love for walmart or their employees. I don't think there should be a minimum wage. Just don't tell me what we have is free market capitalism.