U.S. Politics

[Tommy]

Hey, half a million people just got a $4k a year raise on average. Not bad.

[ukilledkenny]

Yeah, that's pretty good. They should see an uptick in morale for sure. Maybe going there won't be like a trip to the dentist now.

[Miamipuck]

Yeah, that's pretty good. They should see an uptick in morale for sure. Maybe going there won't be like a trip to the dentist now.

Why?

[Tommy]

Higher salary = better quality of employees.

[ukilledkenny]

Why?

I usually don't have to but every now and then my only choices to get something are wait a few days for amazon or go to wally world.

[Tommy]

Walmart is depressing. You walk by the people doing clothes shopping and you just want to kill yourself.

[Badger]

Walmart is depressing. You walk by the people doing clothes shopping and you just want to kill yourself.

Nothing worse than seeing Jim Harbaugh buying a pallet of khakis.

[Miamipuck]

I usually don't have to but every now and then my only choices to get something are wait a few days for amazon or go to wally world.

I hear you. I used to go in there only on really off hours, for stupid errands, like 3-4 am on weekends and would get in and out of there in 10-15 minutes. Then they cut back staff and the lines were 10-15 deep. I left a cart there of bullshit I didn't want to wait to get. I have to go to a different town, one of the only Walmarts near an affluent area, then there are no lines.  I may do that 1 time a year max. I hate that freaking place.

[Miamipuck]

Walmart is depressing. You walk by the people doing clothes shopping and you just want to kill yourself.

Hahahah clothes shopping there is weird. I shop for boxer briefs and white socks, very rarely. Those are the only clothes I ever bought there. All my work and leisure clothes I buy at really good outlet stores. At least down here they have ridiculous outlet stores, in comparison, they suck in NY (just outlet stores).

[Johnny English]

Higher salary = better quality of employees.

Hang on, isn't this the point where you and dcm are supposed to tell us all about how they'll simply lay thousands of staff off and replace them with self service counters or robots or Mexicans or something?

[Ignatius J Reilly]

Hey, half a million people just got a $4k a year raise on average. Not bad.

Where did you see that $4k number?

[Tommy]

Hang on, isn't this the point where you and dcm are supposed to tell us all about how they'll simply lay thousands of staff off and replace them with self service counters or robots or Mexicans or something?

Oh don't you worry. These companies will figure out ways to make the money back. Now other retailers will be under pressure to raise wages. Walmart can afford a decrease in net profits, but maybe Target can't. For the PR they'll raise them, but think for a second that there aren't analysts working on new and creative ways for automation to cut the number of employees. The companies have a responsibility to their shareholders first and foremost, and shareholders don't like decreases in profits.

[Tommy]

Where did you see that $4k number?

I just did some quick math in my head. Average increase of $2 per hour. Average workweek 20 hours. $40 a week. 52 weeks a a year.

... and I got a new number: $2k.

In my original calculation I put down 40 hours a week.

[Ignatius J Reilly]

It says full time wages will go up an average of 6 cents per hour on average.  The workers making minimum wage will make an additional $1.75 per hour, but most of them are part time.  So at 20 hrs a week, that's $1800 a year.  Still good on Walmart and makes a difference, but let's not oversell it.

[Ignatius J Reilly]

I just did some quick math in my head. Average increase of $2 per hour. Average workweek 20 hours. $40 a week. 52 weeks a a year.

... and I got a new number: $2k.

In my original calculation I put down 40 hours a week.

$1.75 is the max increase, not average.  They are boosting the minimum.  Again, it makes a difference for people trying to get a job, but it states in there that according to Walmart, the average full time wage will go up 6 cents an hour.