Raymond Burse |
The State of Kentucky minimum wage is set at $7.25 per hour; these 24 employees now earn $10.25 per hour. Yes, he lowered his salary more than 25% a year to help only 24 people!
When asked why he did it, President Burse related that he was the youngest of 13 children in his family, and that while growing up to sacrifice was a normal part of life.
Christy Walton |
Alice Walton |
The kid's inheritance, Walmart, is estimated to employ about 2.2 million people worldwide, catering to the needs of 100 million customers each week. They employ approximately 1% of all working Americans, 1.4 million people. In their 2014 annual report they claimed yearly sales of more than $476 Billion. If they were a country they would stand as the 19th largest economy in the world, with a profit margin of 3.41%, around $16.2 Billion.
Jim Walton |
Let us look at the Waltons as an example of what just one U.S. company could do. If these four billionaires gave up 25% of their yearly profit, about $4 Billion would be available to provide all of their U.S. employees with an immediate $2,850 pay raise each year. Economists believe this money would be immediately spent on basic goods and services. And, they would probably purchase many of these goods from Walmart stores, essentially putting the money back into the Walton's pockets.
S. Robson Walton |
Mr. Greedy |
For those who are about to scream, "These are entrepreneurs and job creators they shouldn't have to give up anything!" Let me remind you that the only reason the four Waltons have this much money is that three of them happened to be sired by one man named Sam; and the richest of them married the son who liked to fly experimental airplanes!
The minimum wage at Walton's money mill needs to be raised to $15 per hour. And it needs to be done now. The only possible answer to why the Walton family does not is greed...simple, unadulterated, unvarnished GREED!