Libs on DC council screw the poor.

H

Horn6721

Hook'em
So Walmart would have built 6 stores IN Dc. Stores that would have brought jobs to the poor as well as affordable groceries and goods to the poor who live in DC.

What did the city council do? Crafted the " Large Retailer Accountability Act of 2013" which forces retailers with over 1 billion in sales and that operate stores of 45.000 sq ft or more to pay 50% more that city minimum pay, meaning $12.50/ hr versus the city minimum of $8.50.

And then those compassionate council members carved out so many exemptions that the new law ONLY applied to Wal mart, certainly not to any retailer who have union workers.
The law wouldn't even allow an employee to accept a lower wage for say. more flexible hours.

The details of the law make it clear they want to send a message to Wally's for having the nerve to hire non union workers

Walmart immediately announced they cancelled plans for 3 of the stores and would reconsider 3 that are in beginning stages. Wal mart won't get hurt by this.

The only people the council hurt are the poor who would have benefited from employment opportunities and having access to lower cost food and goods.
It is that Democrat compassion for poor people on display.
 
I am certainly no expert on DC city politics or the negotiations (probably counted in years) between the council and Walmart, but you have to know there is a lot more to the story than what you posted.

First of all, $8.25 is not even close to a living wage in DC. It might be fine for teenagers working part-time, but it is not even close to what is needed if trying to support yourself or a family. Not in DC. Hell, not in most places. People making this amount will still need food stamps and/or other government aide.

Also, as you know, Walmart is hated by many people. One reason is they run smaller stores out of business. So Walmart does create jobs but also causes others to lose jobs.

It just isn't as clear cut as you make it out to be.
 
Actually, it is very clear cut as the OP stated. DC decided they would set what was a "fair" wage. Stocking shelves and saying "hello welcome to WalMart" requires no skills and little effort. Anything more than minimum wage is ridiculous.

Welcome to the socialist District of Columbia.
 
the issue as I see it is not that DC is trying to increase what Wal Mart pays their employees but that they are doing so via laws/rules that only applicable to Wal Mart. Increase the minimum wage in DC across the board and no big deal. If the issue is that $8.25 isn't a living wage then why should anyone in DC be able to pay that?

Make the rules and let everyone play by the same rules.
 
Eastern
The law called the Large Retailer Accountability Act forces any retailer with 1 billion in sales or more and stores that average 75,000 sq ft to have a minimum of $12.50/ hour even though the minimum is $8.25 for all other businesses BTW this act would include stores like Safeway but it doesn't , why?.


so let's use your argument, that 8.50 is not a living wage in DC> Then why wouldn't the city council make $12.50 for everyone?

either your argument is right and everyone should be forced to pay $12.50. But they aren't forced to. How can that be?
AND why would the city council in this bill exclude any retailer who has union workers?
and No stores like Safeway, who should also be forced to increase minimum wage do not have to pay $12.50 minimum wage but they do have union workers.

Walmart had announced the likely average rate would be over $12.00 anyway so why the law that singles them out?

Now if you Eastern, can explain why this bill was so carefully written with so many exemptions that right now it only applies to Walmart is fair I'd like to read it.
 
Dems don't want people employed. They want everyone depending on the govenment for every need.
 
Eastern you posted:
"but you have to know there is a lot more to the story than what you posted."

You may be right
so provide the "lot more" that would explain why the DC council would not raise the minimum wage from $8.25 to $12.50 for ALL employers in DC since you say $8.25 is not a living wage/

Explain why the DC council would exempt , for example Safeway, whose parameters would meet the parameters set forth by the DC council that will apply to Walmart.
 
On a long drive yesterday, I listened to XM 127 Left Radio just to hear what were their views/beliefs. Here is what I learned:

- Wal Mart is evil. They are exploiting the poor with low paying jobs. Thom Hartman
- The conservatives are pro-life only because they need more cheap labor. This is response to science and technology proving that newborns can survive after 20 weeks in the womb. Mark Thompson
- George Zimmer did not deserve a trial. He is guilty for getting out of his car. Ed Schultz
- The filibuster is an awful legislative procedure even though democrats used it effectively 58 times the last time the republicans held control. Ed Schultz
- An innocent verdict in the Zimmerman trial will not result in riots because he will face death any way. Mark Thompson
- The final on Mark Thompson, "a stripper and a trucker make better adoptive parents than a teacher and a doctor."
The socialistic idiocy is scary. Their hatred of Wal Mart is only a small part of what liberal policy means to the future of a free society.
 
Either Walmart or the taxpayers are going to get screwed. Walmart pays wages beyond the expertise level of the job and profits suffer or they pay low wages and we fill in the rest with government benefits.
 
Larry you left out an option Walmart doesn't open and those people remain unemployed on the government rolls and there is no Walmart for them to buy cheap crap
 
Well, I seemed to have opened a can of worms.

It seems to me that Walmart's reputation (whether deserved or not) is causing an issue in DC. I believe they do generally pay less wages than comparable jobs...not so much less that nobody works there...but still less. And they do drive out other already established businesses. Not everyone will think that is bad...but many people do.

The Council vote was 8-5. Not really an overwhelming vote. Seems likely that some liberals did vote against this. Also, it is still possible the Mayor will veto the vote (I don't know what he may have already said about that).

I am not defending the City for picking on Walmart. I am pretty sure they really do want those jobs. It would be interesting to know what Safeway, Home Depot, IKEA, etc. pay employees in that area. As far as I know, other than large grocery stores, there are not big retail establishments in DC proper (certainly in the suburbs).

Walmart does hire people of all ages...good for them. But that means many, if not most, employees are trying to make a living. This is not the model for McDonald's, for example.

DC is not forbidding Walmart from opening stores. I think they just want to make sure that Walmart does not take a hard line on wages like they do on many other issues. It seems likely that other businesses are not being picked on because they don't have Walmart's reputation.

I am not a Walmart hater. I do occasionally shop there. However, I do know they negotiate very tough. They are tough on wages, tough on suppliers, and tough on cities where they want to open. DC is now being tough with them. Doesn't really seem wrong to me.
 
How in the discussion about the merits and demerits of Walmart as a business are we missing that this law was written to apply ONLY to Walmart?
If $12.50 is so important a wage why not include all businesses?

Why exclude the competition to Walmart? The law started out targeting biz that did over 1 billion in sales but that would have included biz like Apple and Starbucks so then they added store size of 75.000
But that would have included stores like Safeway so they then excluded stores with union workers.
Interesting to note the members in the wards where they stores would have been built voted against the bill, citing that the bill effectively hurt their people the most.

they had to work hard to get to the point it only applied to Wal mart/
Why exclude any employer?
 
I don't know what else to say 6721 other than to state my point in a different way.

IMO, there are people on the Council that don't like Walmart. They might be misguided....they might be selfish...they might be a lot of things. Walmart has a reputation that is causing these feelings. That is why this law does not apply to Safeway, etc. You might not like that reason, but that is just how I see it.

While somewhat off topic, why does Walmart want six stores in DC? Seems a little excessive to me....but not really the point.
 
Eastern
Fair answer. I hope the voters in DC stop to think of what the council members who chose to vote for a law that singled out one entity actually did.

If you read the reports on what Walmart originally planned they were going to be a combination of sububran stores and urban stores. not all 6 would be the giant Wal marts.Some of the renderings were pretty attractive facades, not the warehouse looking monstrosities.

I don't go to Walmarts much but I know they do offer goods at lower prices which does help lower income people.
yes they do it by hammering vendors and some vendors choose to not sell them while others choose to be exclusive to them. I think that is what a free market is all about.

Even though Walmart is the largest private employer in the world not everyone works there so many of the people shopping there benefit from the lower costs.
Should we rail against all employers who do not pay a living wage as starting pay?

That is my complaint about the DC council They worked hard to single Walmart out. It seems clear the unions helped them craft that law .
 
I agree with you 6721. The voters of DC can throw out those Council members if they want. That would indicate the Council did not follow the wishes of their constituents and I would applaud that.

And what Walmart does is part of our free market....I am just pointing out their issues and not really trying to pass judgment.

Interesting comment you made about the unions. Maybe they think that the low pay end of union labor will indirectly benefit.

While I am NOT advocating changes in minimum wage standards, I will say this. If someone is working full time, don't you think they should be able to support themselves? I am not talking about the $30,000 millionaire, just to live in a meager apt, eat healthy food at home, and pay a reasonable amount of bills. Seems like a reasonable request but an extremely difficult standard to enforce. Oh well.
 
". If someone is working full time, don't you think they should be able to support themselves?"

don't you think that what they make should be based on what job they are doing rather than the number of hours worked?
Minimum wage entry level jobs are only the beginning point. NO ONE who cares stays at minimum long.

I can tell you that in the arena of big box, fast food, discount retailers advancement to better paying jobs is remarkably easy. If one starts out at entry level but does that job, shows up and on time the opportunity to move up is there.
and as one shows responsibility then one can move up and up.
Of course being responsible is hard work.

As far as unions and that law DC council just passed, think about it.
The law is written so that a big box retailer who does over 1 Bil and whose stores average 75,000 BUT who use union workers would exempt from the $12.50 mandated minimum wage.
Now why would that be? The only article I could find said Safeway ( which would be Wally's direct competition and does use union) starting minimum is less that $12.50
IIRC it was $11.67 or near that.


Clearly DC singled put Walmart for political reasons and in the process screwed the poor people who live in DC
 
Another thing that needs to be pointed out, Walmart Employee discount cards offer a 10% discount on everything including food.

Having worked at Walmart a number of times and during certain Holiday seasons, that 10% adds up really quickly.

Spending $200/week in groceries gives you $20 x4 weeks gives them an exrtra $80/month or $0.50 hour.

That $80/month has already been taxed so it is not taxable and or saves them additional Sales Tax, so in real dollars and cents it is more that $0.50/hour.

Not to mention that almost weekly they buy breakfast lunch or dinner for their employees, call that another $20/month.

At Christmas they are given a special one time certificate for 25% anything in the store including computers or big screen TV's.

Nice little bonuses that I don't get in my job.....
 
NJ
if you took this from my remark?" But to suggest that they just don't work hard enough is not fair. "
let me clear it up for you.

I was not suggesting that people who can not for whatever reason function in the real world are ' not working hard enough">

But to my point and to include people who might seem less than functional have you ever noticed downs syndrome people working? They are diligent and responsible to the best of their ability. many stores value them.
But to the subject which I think you know was about the other 90-96% of people who can function

for the VAST majority of entry level employees, showing up on time. working without constant complaint and showing up when scheduled WILL result in a pay increase. heck even showing up most of the time but staying in the job will get you a pay increase so you no longer are at minimum wage

You do agree with that?
 
The problem is the attitude that someone should provide you a living just for walking in the door. The same people will be complaining about Medicare and SS when it comes time to retire.

If WalMart is your only route, roll up your sleeves, work hard and do not complain. Ask for a career path to a manager position. With effort, you will not only make a living, you will also have benefits greater than most companies. It will take time though.

If you want a job that requires no real skills, don't ***** about the pay.
 
They really showed Wal-mart!
rolleyes.gif


Not surprising that DC unemployment rate lags behind the rest of the state by more than 3 points. sigh. It must be exhausting for a thinking liberal (if one exists) to continue ignoring the results of their policies. In general, red states continue to add jobs and blue state economies continue to stagnate.
 
Regardless of what the government or anybody else does, if you do not try to improve your skills or abilities, do not ***** about your pay. I stand by what I said.
 
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