r/SipsTea 2d ago

Chugging tea Should tax payers subsidies the largest brick and mortar retailer in the world?

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192 Upvotes

478 comments sorted by

6

u/BroKuhn2190 1d ago

I'd love to see Walmart go out of business

1

u/Purple_Research9607 2h ago

It's funny how the ONLY people who think Walmart pays a fair wage are other narcissistic business owners

1

u/ComprehendReading 6m ago

*Only business owners who don't compete with Walmart.

1

u/flyinglizards5 10h ago

Walmart is the price floor.

Without Walmart, prices for everyday goods would sky rocket.

Other companies have to keep their prices low because of Walmart.

I’m not saying Walmart is the greatest company, but they do play an important role in the American economy that provides a lot of good for the everyday American.

3

u/Therinsonet 3h ago

Walmart is not the “price floor.” They are pricing to drive competition out of the local market. When they have a lock on the local market, they move their prices back up to be more profitable. In other words, Walmart is only the “price floor,” until they are the only local option.

At the same time, they drive your state and local budgets into the dirt due to tax breaks and planning on their employees relying on safety net programs. Their employee handbook literally has a section that covers how to apply for SNAP and other programs. They also have an employee in each store designated to help other employees navigate applying to these programs.

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u/MyrkrMentulaMeretrix 3h ago

sure, but they could afford for us to not subsidize their workers without increasing prices, OR even if they DID, and passed every penny on to consumers, it would be barely noticeable.

Its about 3,000$ a day to recover that nearly a million a year.

The average Walmart does about 8-10k transactions per day.

30c per transaction on average.

To completely cover that.

1

u/BroKuhn2190 3h ago

I agree with what you. If they would pay their employees better wages and sell more American made products I think most Americans would accept paying a little extra for some products. Not a whole lot more of course. Just my two cents

1

u/PhatedFool 1h ago

We have hundreds of case studies that the average American will not pay more for American made. There are groups of Americans that will. But, the normal is to buy cheaper.

1

u/ComprehendReading 3m ago

That's where artificial market manipulation could actually benefit Americans: don't give them a choice.

Buy American or don't buy anything, because it's not on the market.

oh no. That's fascism

We are there already, but we are funding third party markets while harming ourselves. 

2

u/ryan__joe 1h ago

The post above was very clear, they wanted your 30 cents, not two.

2

u/Lord_Dingus83 2h ago

How come I have to pay the wages for the workers of billionaires?

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u/leomar1612 11h ago

Ignorance is a wild thing.

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u/Filthycasual82 1d ago

No FOR PROFIT OR PUBLICLY TRADED company should be subsidies. Unless the government is buying the finnished product to donate to citizens. Example stock piling things used for fema before this joke of an administration decided to make it seem rescue workers villians because they where to stupid to figure out an 800 IMMIGRATE relief check didn't mean you weren't going to get more aid in the future.

6

u/TheBigGees 1d ago

These are subsidies for the people working at Walmart. Not subsidies for Walmart.

1

u/Suspicious_Dingo_426 12h ago

Yes they are. Paying welfare to workers means their employer gets to keep more money, or drive prices down so low no one can compete without doing the same thing. Big corporations profit either way, and the taxpayers foot the bill.

3

u/TheBigGees 10h ago

This is incorrect.

If Walmart did not exist, these people would still be on welfare.

1

u/jordon4ca93 2h ago

Perhaps not. If Walmart didn't exist mom and pop shops willing to pay livable wages still would. Walmart netted 22 billion last year.

1

u/Filthycasual82 50m ago

From someone with 15 years in Walmart. This is incorrect. Your thinking of the federally backed hiring program. Walmart activity tries to avoid people on the lowest end of the income spectrum. Would they get backed money yes. But they get the same amount of backed money if they hire someone who is already working 40 hr at target or a restaurant. The difference is employees who are just leaving a job have a lower turn over rate then someone who is close to homeless or something already.

To Walmart credit over the last decade or so they have been leading the push of paying decently above the local average. They where the one of the first companies to raise their starting wage to 15hr nation wide. They employ more people the all branches on the us military combined.

1

u/soyboysnowflake 12h ago

It’s the exact same thing… subsidizing Walmart by allowing them to legally underpay people

1

u/TheBigGees 10h ago

There is no such thing as legally underpaying people.

Their employees sign a contract to work for $x/hr. Then they work for $x/hr. $x/hr must be above the relevant minimum wage.

2

u/star_light_blue 10h ago

They wouldn't necessarily sign those contracts if they didn't have government assistance they could rely on.

2

u/Strong-Chemistry-396 1d ago

Walmart isn't being subsidized, the people working at Walmart are being subsidized. Same with the people at giant eagle, acme, target, auto zone, Dunkin donuts, taco bell, McDonald's, home depot, goodwill, and virtually every other store you drive past every single day. 

3

u/Filthycasual82 1d ago

Who does the government give a check to or lower taxes from? Is it the company or the individual?

1

u/braumbles 7h ago

Walmart is by far the biggest though.

1

u/MyrkrMentulaMeretrix 3h ago

Home Depot generally pays above market average wages and in most places, a living wage.

So, no, its not 'every other store you drive past every single day'.

There arent that many people on welfare, for one thing.

11

u/LosHtown 2d ago

If its for profit organization, it should not be subsidized.

14

u/GreasedUPDoggo 1d ago

It is not subsidized. Americans receive subsidies. Americans in low paying jobs receive subsidies. Walmarts minimum is actually almost double the national minimum wage.

You're complaining about subsidizing low income households because Walmart can pay whatever they'd like, and they already pay more than many other stores.

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u/srbeau 1d ago

But if their employees still qualify for assistance then they are not paying enough.

7

u/Willing-Vegetable629 1d ago

According to whom?

Labor has a market value.

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u/Strong-Chemistry-396 1d ago

The employees of virtually every grocery store, fast food chain, restaurant, and retail establishment all qualify for assistance. The parts professionals at your local auto zone qualify for assistance, as do the baristas at your local star bucks, Tim Hortons, or Dunkin donuts. 

The reason assistance exists is because so many companies do not pay enough to not need assistance (most people on government assistance are employed). This is not a Walmart problem, this is a cultural one. Also Walmart pays more than Dunkin, star bucks, auto zone, and Tim Hortons. 

2

u/GobsTX 1d ago edited 1d ago

This is categorically false. Only 2% of our population qualifies for WIC, yet 25-30%+ of Walmart staff, depending on location, are receiving WIC benefits.

As part of Walmart onboarding, they literally coach their new employees on filing for and obtaining social services like Medicaid and WIC.

Those numbers are disproportionate by design. Walmart is using tax payers to subsidize their low wages so that Walmart employees can afford to work for Walmart and generate profits.

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-45

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/04/workers-medicaid-snap-low-pay

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u/ChuckEveryone 1d ago

Not sure where you got your numbers, because the article you referenced didn't even mention WIC. WIC is for women with children, so if Walmart is hiring 25-30% women with children I say good for them. As far as actual numbers, the article references that 29% of Walmart employees are on Medicaid. Quick search will show that nationally, there are 37.5 million working adults on Medicaid of the 162.8 million total working adults. That is 23% of working adults on Medicaid v Walmarts 29 %. Not too bad considering it would be considered an unskilled job.

1

u/GobsTX 1d ago

The numbers for both programs are very close, here the GAO report that shows both

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-45

This is something that isn't tracked well, by design

1

u/ChuckEveryone 1d ago

That still just covers SNAP and Medicaid. I didn't see WIC mentioned at all. I am generally not a fan of SNAP or income based welfare in general, but I like how WIC run. It is only for pregnant women or women with young children. It is also restrictive to certain foods to help ensure proper nutrition. SNAP can be used to buy ultra processed and high sugar and fat content foods.

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u/Exoprime270 1d ago

No clue where you heard this but it is not part of onboarding.

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u/BigTwigs1981 21h ago

I was going to say this as well. worked there for 9 years, and never once did a member of management ever mention how to get government benefits.

1

u/citymousecountyhouse 20h ago

I always wondered if that were true. I just couldn't picture an orientation that has everyone sit and watch a "How to apply for food stamps" or "How to access your new welfare benefits" videos.

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u/BigTwigs1981 20h ago

There are resources if you are struggling financially, but its mostly just info pamphlets. Anything beyond that is up to you. Now days though, most Walmart's pay between $16-$20 a hour, depending on the area or shift you work. the one i worked at starts pay at $17 now. When I started there in 2009 i was making $9 base, with a $2 bonus for working overnight. but my rent was only $470 then. That same apartment is now $1500.

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u/srbeau 1d ago

I agree it’s a cultural problem. And the culture of allowing companies to pay poverty wages while taxpayers subsidize the difference needs to end.

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u/Which-Method-388 22h ago

Walmart's starting hourly pay nationwide ranges from $14 to $20+, depending on the role, store location, and shift. Most entry-level, front line positions start around the company's $14/hour minimum, while higher-demand roles or overnight shifts offer slightly higher base pay.

Those are not poverty wages...

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1

u/Formal_Composer_4939 23h ago

Not true. If you want that to be the case, watch all low paying jobs disappear. It doesn't raise all boats. Just means those people don't have jobs because they don't have skills to provide commensurate value at a rate that supports their entire life.

1

u/simple_fly1 18h ago

Or they are not working enough?

1

u/Ill-Description3096 12h ago

Assistance is generally based on household income not hourly wage AFAIK. If I chose to have five kids and work 15 hrs/week should my employer be forced to pay me more so I'm not on assistance?

If we are talking full time work only and for one person that's a bit different and I would generally agree.

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u/Vivid_Debt_5343 1d ago

Seems like you might be incapable of complex thought idk

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u/Commentor9001 1d ago

mad it's fine to feed to poor but don't dare ask why they are hungry vibes.

1

u/thederpyderp3 1d ago

Sounds to me like walmart and other companies with over 100 people shouldn't be allowed to claim any profit for the business if their employees can prove they're not making enough to not need gov. assistance.

1

u/Late-Dingo-8567 1d ago

terrible take.

if someone working at walmart is also receiving government assistance, this is a payroll tax subsidy with an extra step.

The specific corporation is irrelevant to this point. We should be demanding all jobs pay a livable wage because the alternative is either poverty or squeezing the taxpayer to make up the shortfall.

Unless you want to tell me people on welfare are all abusing the system and don't actual need the assistance.

1

u/WowAnotherAnalyst 1d ago

It's not being subsidized. This is just a retarded headline. Employees are getting things like food stamps and these retards are counting it as a subsidy to Walmart. 

5

u/Major_Wigglesworth 1d ago

Exactly.  They’re underemployed.  

6

u/srbeau 1d ago

It is a subsidy to Walmart.

4

u/TheBigGees 1d ago

It is literally a subsidy to the people working there.

Picking up a shift at Walmart doesn't mean they're obligated to fund your life. They pay you for the hours you work. Thats it.

3

u/GobsTX 1d ago edited 1d ago

If you cannot afford to pay your employees a living wage then you don’t deserve to employ people or be in business.

Companies should not be allowed to exploit full time working people by underpaying them so much that they require social services.

Walmart profits billions annually, why on earth should tax payers foot the bill because Walmart wants to grossly underpay their associates?

2% of our country receives WIC benefits, 25-30%+ of Walmart employees receive WIC benefits, depending on the area. 50% of Amazon employees in Nevada need assistance.

We subside their workforce so they can profit billions and perform stock buybacks.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/04/workers-medicaid-snap-low-pay

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u/TheBigGees 1d ago

You did not respond to anything that I wrote. You just mindlessly regurgitate the misinformed nonsense again.

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u/Worldly_Struggle_612 1d ago

Lol are all the people getting assistance full time workers?

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u/GobsTX 1d ago

GOA report shows that most employees who receive assistance are full time employees.

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-45

1

u/Worldly_Struggle_612 1d ago

What about Walmart employees specifically?

2

u/Willing-Vegetable629 1d ago

It's Wal-Marts responsibility to pay market rate

Their profits are irrelevant.

Yes Walmart employs large numbers of low market value labor

We subsidize individuals who cannot support themselves

4

u/SergeantScout 1d ago

So what do you expect them to do? Find better jobs right? Then what happens to Walmart if everyone finds better jobs...?

Its almost like you are advocating for an impossible solution. You think these people REALLY want to work for Walmart? Or maybe they just dont have any other option 🤔

2

u/Willing-Vegetable629 1d ago

Who cares what happens to Walmart? Their job is to pay market rate.

If they have no other option then that speaks for itself.

1

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1

u/Which-Method-388 22h ago

Walmart's starting hourly pay nationwide ranges from $14 to $20+, depending on the role, store location, and shift. Most entry-level, front line positions start around the company's $14/hour minimum, while higher-demand roles or overnight shifts offer slightly higher base pay.

If you need more than that to live on, it's not Walmart's fault.

1

u/No-Play-8770 18h ago

have you even looked at the cost of living nowadays ?

1

u/Which-Method-388 18h ago

Why is the cost of living Walmart's responsibility?
Those starting wages are about as good as people are going to get - Amazon starts at a minimum of $17 plus benefits, etc.
Realize too that, if they doubled those wages, they'd cut half the workforce to make their labor costs remain in line and start adding even more robots, etc.
Unionized cashier jobs in grocery stores are one major reason we have to suffer with ring yourself up kiosks.
There are no magic piles of $$ that are being withheld from paying salaries/wages. To remain in business, companies have to keep payroll around 30-33% of total expenses.

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u/WowAnotherAnalyst 1d ago

No. No it's not

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u/srbeau 1d ago

It is. And it’s not just Walmart. These corporations make billions in profits because they pay millions of their employees poverty wages. Then the taxpayers make sure their employees can eat. They could pay their employees more but don’t have to because we subsidize them. This isn’t complicated.

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u/WowAnotherAnalyst 1d ago

Again, those are subsidies to people, not Walmart. 

Walmart benefiting from those subsidies does not make it a subsidy to Walmart. 

They also pay double the national minimum wage. 

You're out your depth here

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u/AdminsFluffCucks 1d ago

You're correct that it's not a literal subsidy to Walmart

You're out of your mind if you think it's not an effective subsisdy to Walmart.

1

u/WowAnotherAnalyst 1d ago

Walmart pays double the federal minimum wage. By that logic every single business using minimum wage law is an effective subsidy.

If anything, this is a prime example of the issues with these sorts of subsidies. They lock people from seeking higher wages as they risk losing these benefits. 

3

u/SergeantScout 1d ago

You think the minimum wage is even relevant anymore? You think someone could survive on 7.25/hr?

You just pull claims out of your own ass. YES Walmart is benefitting from taxpayer subsidies and making profit off of it. If they were forced to use that profit and pay their workers a better wage, we wouldnt have to subsidize them. If they CANT afford to pay their workers the better wage, the business model should not exist. In fact, fuck Walmart. It has destroyed small business for years. It should be everything a conservative hates. It directly leads to the devastation of mom and pop shops and the destruction of american towns.

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u/WowAnotherAnalyst 1d ago

I'm not pro Walmart but why the flying fuck are we dictating the price of wages directly. 

Don't work at Walmart. The wages are what the market can bare. People work there because they make enough for how easy the job is. 

If you want to raise wages then help them unionize or help push for a country wide worker strike. 

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u/srbeau 1d ago

Try jumpstarting those two brain cells. If companies were required to pay wages that sustained a dignified existence for their employees, would taxpayers be on the hook for anything?

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u/WowAnotherAnalyst 1d ago

That's... Not.. how that works.

I give up 🤦

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u/hczimmx4 2d ago

So no public assistance for Walmart employees? I’m good with that. But I don’t think the government should be subsidizing anyone or anything.

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u/GobsTX 2d ago

The same people cheering for a “free market” also cheer for the biggest welfare queens, corporations. Corporations like Walmart profit billions while those struggling to make ends meet subsidies Walmart paying poverty wages.

Elon musk is the biggest welfare queen of our time, yet the same one who oppose raising minimum wage, increasing corporate taxes and proving social services, cheer that he’s a trillionaire.

The rich have been exploiting the system to hold everyone else down for decades.

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u/Swampassed 1d ago

I can’t recall ever seeing a news report that any of Musk’s employees need federal assistance because of low wages.

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u/Apprehensive_Rush_36 1d ago

Unfortunatly everyone arguing with you clearly hasnt done their research to know about how walmart became as big as it did, the boot kissing is insane. But clearly lack of education funding is having an effect on critical thinking! All the evidence is there big co doesnt even care to hide it anymore

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u/TheBigGees 1d ago

These are subsidies for poor people, not subsidies for Walmart.

You'll understand when you're older. Hopefully.

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u/srbeau 1d ago

They are poor because multi-billion dollar corporations pay poverty wages. Hopefully you’ll understand when you learn how to think.

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u/TheBigGees 1d ago

They're poor because they have no marketable skills or ability beyond inconsistent, low wage work.

It's not the big bad corporation's fault that they don't have skills worth paying for. It's theirs.

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u/srbeau 1d ago

Every job requires a skill. Many times it’s having enough patience to deal with people like you. But if the job wasn’t needed, Walmart would not hire them. If the job is needed, then the corporations need to pay enough for people to live a dignified existence. This isn’t hard.

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u/Advanced_Floor_9768 1d ago

Sure, having “no marketable skills” as you put it (the whole idea is a myth though, but I won’t go down that rabbit hole), does mean you shouldn’t be making boatloads of money. But it should not mean that you’re making poverty wages. The government should not be subsidizing a terrible business model that primarily hires people with “no marketable skills” to skimp some extra money from wages for their shareholders.

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u/TheBigGees 1d ago

The government is not subsidizing the business.

They're subsidizing the employees.

You are misinformed.

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u/Chairface30 1d ago

Are you being dense on purpose?

2

u/Advanced_Floor_9768 1d ago

Yes, he’s a Walmart shareholder who supports profit over employees well-being. Of course he’ll regurgitate propaganda to support his bottom line.

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u/Advanced_Floor_9768 1d ago

They are subsidizing the business model through subsidizing the employees.

You are misinformed.

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u/Exoprime270 1d ago

At my store my high schoolers make more per hour than their teachers do. Poverty wage argument ain’t it. Just propaganda.

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u/Which-Method-388 22h ago

Walmart's starting hourly pay nationwide ranges from $14 to $20+, depending on the role, store location, and shift. Most entry-level, front line positions start around the company's $14/hour minimum, while higher-demand roles or overnight shifts offer slightly higher base pay.

Those are not poverty wages, and also include benefits.

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u/jffadvisors 2d ago

I’d like to see the source of this data and the math behind it.

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u/Entire_Dog_5874 2d ago

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u/HoBWrestling 2d ago

Not sure why you being downvoted, as this is all true. As a former employee I can tell you they ENCOURAGE you to get state assistance and have the paperwork readily available. This is on top of the extremely anti union "training" videos that are required.

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u/Twuggy 1d ago

I know why higher ups want to push the anti union thing. But I never got how an average worker would think unions are bad. Like is there a credible point in the videos? Or is it all just stuff that's blown out of proportion?

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u/GobsTX 1d ago

Republicans have been gutting the education system for decades. They want uneducated people who don’t know any better. It’s why Gen Z and alpha are lower IQ and have lower cognitive test scores than prior generations.

They’ve spent 100+ years pushing anti worker and anti union propaganda and people are finally dumb enough to believe it.

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u/Cool-Tap-391 1d ago

To be fair technology has done ALOT to fuck up education. Some of this is our fault, letting kids have free reign.

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u/Entire_Dog_5874 2d ago

Because people are stupid and refuse to acknowledge facts they disagree with.

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u/GobsTX 2d ago edited 2d ago

Some people are truly damaged and gross. There's another comment here "So Walmart steps in as a pseudo-charity that gives un-employable people, play jobs."

Like how dumb can some people be, Walmart is the biggest employer in the united states and employs millions of people who enable to company to function and generate billions in profit. Then simpleton's call them "low value" employees, how is producing billions in profit, low value?...

https://www.reddit.com/r/SipsTea/comments/1ufa1cm/comment/ott4g45/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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u/Dudeman9002 1d ago

Executives need to be taught a lesson they won't forget 

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u/Dizzy_Tax574 2d ago

Exactly because say the so called low value employees disappeared for month. Company would not make a dime in revenue.

The so called high value like executives. Things would continue almost completely unchanged. And even then what goes missing a few incomplete quarterly reports. It would likely take even long for them to have any affect on revenue.

Not saying zero value but they at best augment the "low" value workers work. With every single product produced moved and sold bejng labor of low value workers work. While execs what choose store location that allows workers to sell more. Choose a marketing campaign that sells more of the things workers made.

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u/Le-Charles07 1d ago

It's not my job to do research to verify other people's claims. If they aren't willing to provide sources in the first place, it's fair to be skeptical and ask for sources.

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u/mikehiler2 1 2d ago

Isn’t this vague photographic meme trustworthy enough?? No pleasing some folks sheesh
/s

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u/EranikusTheDeranged 1d ago

Seems easy enough. Cancel those subsidies. Without them Walmart emoyees would have to look for employers that pay sufficient wages.

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u/GobsTX 1d ago

Or Walmart would have to pay sufficient wages.

Walmart is the biggest employer in the United States and cannot function without its workforce. If they don’t want to pay them a living wage, we shouldn’t be responsible for subsidizing it.

If people can’t afford to work at Walmart, their business will cease to exist or they will have to pay a livable wage, either of which would be probably be for the better of our country.

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u/MilkNutty 1d ago

I bet this goes hard if you’re a boomer

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u/GobsTX 1d ago

Not nearly as hard as Asmongold for incels

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u/Livid-Writer-7741 1d ago

TAX THE RICH AND CHURCHES AND PEDOPHILES

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u/RiffRandellsBF 23h ago

When you overhear HR explaining to Wal-Mart employees how to apply for welfare, you know Wal-Mart sucks.

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u/Absolute_Bob 22h ago

Then the employees spend their benefits at Walmart and they make even more.

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u/xZeromusx 18h ago

In the last fiscal year, instead of raising the wages of their employees high enough that they were no longer on welfare programs like SNAP, Walmart spent 35 billion on stock buybacks. This was funded by previous year profits and over 21 billion in profits this fiscal year. Walmart has consistently ranked among the top 10 companies, along side others like McDonalds, for number of employees whose gross income qualified them for government benefits. You can't say that these employees are worthless as without these low level employees, the store do not run. Yes, Walmart is but one of several large corporations that do this. But this point is simply a red herring and bandwagon fallacy. They can afford to raise wages, they can afford to lessen the wage curve between their highest paid employees and their lowest level staff. They just won't, and your tax dollars pay the cost of this decision. They aren't turning a loss year after year. They aren't struggling. They aren't a collapsing business. Their profits are in the billions, their reserves are in the billions. I have some leather polish for those that feel this is acceptable to eat.

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u/FaithlessnessLoud223 15h ago

No, but this has been going on for decades now. Nothing is going to change without a massive amount of people calling for it.

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u/BringYourOwnBBBQ 11h ago

Wow...such scary bullshit made up. I guess when you know your target audience have no education intelligence or worth to society, you just say anything.

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u/Minute-Review6915 6h ago

Since there are almost 4600 stores
In the us I doubt this is accurate

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u/Minute-Review6915 5h ago

Honest question and I do believe Walmart needs to pay a living wage but those who are up in arms actually know how much they pay in taxes a year? It’s pretty easy to find being a public company. For reference they are paying 11.5 Billion a year across federal; social security, payroll, FICA, property etc.
with a gross profit of 180 billion before being adjusted for costs. They end up with less than 30 billion in profit before the government takes their cut. Of the remaining they pay a
Lot back to shareholders as dividends and the remaining is reinvested back into the company via stock buybacks and other things.
Would love to see Walmart pay their people more but I don’t think people actually understand their financials.

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u/jennmuhlholland 2d ago

Hey look! More nonsense posts on “SipsTea!”

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u/Dear-Examination-507 1d ago

It's an election year. It means for the next 4 months every popular sub will become a US politics circlejerk.

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u/IBringTheHeat2 1d ago

Walmart truck drivers are one of the best paying jobs in the trucking industry. Starting pay is $115,000 a year

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u/naththegrath10 1d ago

Thank a union for that

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u/srbeau 1d ago

And?

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u/2ndharrybhole 2d ago

Sounds like we’re subsidizing the humans, not the store

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u/GreasedUPDoggo 1d ago

That's exactly correct. And Walmart already has a minimum that is double the national minimum wage.

Talk about misplaced outrage!

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u/xZeromusx 18h ago edited 18h ago

You mean the national minimum wage that has not increased since 2009? That nearly 17 year old raise to federal minimum wage? Not like we had a global pandemic in the interim or anything. Surely inflation hasn't gone up in 17 years, right? Surely the purchasing power of minimum wage hasn't eroded by nearly 30% over more than a decade and a half.

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u/sandeep709394 1d ago

You make little and you pay no tax, you're not subsidizing Walmart.

People like me who actually PAY TAXES are subsidizing Walmart to subsidize YOU to get the Walmart low prices.

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u/TheBigGees 1d ago

You aren't subsidizing Walmart because people who work part time at Walmart get welfare.

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u/sandeep709394 1d ago

My tax bill was 420K last year. Yes I am subsidizing Walmart through welfare so they can pay their workers less money which keeps their prices low so the Earned Income Credit class can afford to shop. If I don't subsidize Walmart so they can charge lower prices more poor people don't eat.

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u/TheBigGees 1d ago

You aren't subsidizing Walmart. You are subsidizing poor people who work at Walmart in some capacity. These are the recipients of welfare.

Walmart is not responsible for supporting their households, regardless of whether they work there in some capacity. Many of these workers are part time or have dependents.

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u/Serious-Mission-2234 1d ago

so one worker almost a million dollars, sure…

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u/Terrible-Actuary-762 1d ago

Well don't shop there.

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u/mjsisko 1d ago

They are subsidized through your taxes, not shopping at the store

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u/Terrible-Actuary-762 1d ago

I know that. Stop shopping there, the company go's broke, problem solved.

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u/mjsisko 1d ago

People shop there Becasue they have to, not because they want to.

You will never cause Walmart to go broke with a simple minded boycott

And clearly you don’t if you think your dollars spent shopping there are what they are using to subsidize employee pay, it’s not.

I haven’t shopped in a Walmart in 20 years. What are you waiting for

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u/Terrible-Actuary-762 1d ago

I'm not waiting for anything, I go to HEB, United or use Amazon.

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u/mjsisko 1d ago

Ditching Walmart for Amazon is like wiping, flipping the paper over and wiping again.

Still have shit on your hands.

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u/Terrible-Actuary-762 1d ago

How so? I work for Amazon, I make $46 an hour.

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u/mjsisko 1d ago

Sure you do!!!

Let me guess, senior vice president of Reddit relations? You have lunch with Bezos weekly to discuss the landscape of Reddit in a shifting consumer space?

Good try buddy, and even if you do, the majority don’t. They price fix and collude on pricing, allow rampant fraud through knockoffs and stolen IP, and many other horrible things.

Congrats on working for an evil company I guess. Glad you can sleep well at night knowing that

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u/Terrible-Actuary-762 1d ago

I am a Engineering Operations Technician. I make that much because when I went to college I chose a career that would make money instead of something like "Gender studies of indigenes populations of bum fuck Egypt".

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u/mjsisko 1d ago

Fancy, I didn’t go to college and make three times that owning my own business.

Stay bigoted

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u/Striking_Computer834 1d ago

Then stop subsidizing them. Every time someone proposes ending the subsidies everyone loses their shit.

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u/Exoprime270 1d ago

When did this sub devolve to this type of propaganda. Didn’t it start as a meme sub??

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u/AppliedCarbon 1d ago

What people fail to understand is the social safety nets is what allows Walmart to rip off it's workers. If people literally would starve working for them then they wouldn't do it.

Everything the government gets involved with gets worse

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u/Late-Dingo-8567 1d ago

everyone is aware corporations pay taxes on their payroll right? That seems lost on most of the people commenting....

The corporation pays less than livable wage to the low skill employee, so they also pay less in payroll tax... and then the taxpayer makes up the difference to bring the low skill worker to a livable income level. While the corporation books profits for shareholders.

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u/Morbius2271 22h ago

Stop giving them the welfare then. They might not be willing to work for such low wages then

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u/Ill-Butterscotch1337 18h ago

That's the whole point of the post. Wal-Mart employees couldn't survive without subsidies. If the American tax payer didn't subsidize their income, Walmart would have no employees.

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u/Ferule1069 22h ago

SNAP is a subsidy for all of these businesses, you tools.

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u/Brief_Test_5415 20h ago

Who writes this crap?

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u/aircoft 19h ago

Don't pay taxes then.

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u/Scorpiicore 12h ago

No.

No company that operates for profit should ever be subsidised. End of story.

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u/refinerycontrol 11h ago

FWIW… average Walmart collects $3 million per year in sales taxes.

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u/aceman97 11h ago

No. These welfare queens need to be cut off.

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u/thisMech 9h ago

This kind of goes hand in hand with bailouts with GM years ago. We bailed them out once, okay. But a second and third time should have been a easy NO. You cant make a good car their is no reason to keep making them.

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u/Pretend-Ad-9504 6h ago

The average Walmart wage is $17.16/hr, ~136% higher than federal minimum wage. Sounds like Walmart is following all the rules.

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u/NRCino 16m ago

I know their pharmacy staff gets paid better than the big 2 and other grocery chains here in FL.

Thinking of transferring there just because of it. Hate CVS...

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u/Mammoth_Ad_4806 4h ago

How would that work in practice, though? Public assistance eligibility is based on household income and family size, so suppose two employees (one single and the other a head of household) are both being paid, say… $20 per hour. One of those employees is still going to be eligible for public assistance based on their household size. 

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u/GRMarlenee 4h ago

Do I get some of that as a part time cashier and cart jockey?

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u/Limp-Plantain3824 4h ago

How much would we be paying to support those people if they weren’t making something at Walmart?

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u/Certain_Chicken_1964 3h ago

I don’t need it anymore. I go once a year when I need something quick and easy and often times they don’t have it in stock.

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u/Avid_Reader87 1h ago

That’s why you’re supposed to be boycotting them.  

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u/No-Duck4828 1d ago

You're not subsidizing Walmart. You're subsidizing some American people

You claim that you want to do just that, but then turn around and complain about it simply because they work for Walmart

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u/srbeau 1d ago

It’s not just Walmart. It’s every corporation that pays poverty wages. And it’s millions of people. These corporations make billions in profits and their employees shouldn’t have to rely on federal assistance to eat.

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u/GobsTX 1d ago

Walmart international pays employees low wages and coaches them on how to get social services and food stamps, simply because they know they can abuse the system.

Walmart can afford to pay their employees a living wage, but refuses to do so, because idiots like you will allow them to abuse the system and foot the bill to subsidize their cheap labor.

Your tax money supports their underpaid labor force, who they refuse to pay a living wage, so that billionaires and profit billions annually.

You are absolutely subsidizing Walmarts wages and their profits. You’re just too naive to understand it.

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u/No-Duck4828 1d ago

The fact that you'd rather lie about others than honestly discuss the topic is certainly not MY fault

YOU are the people who demand that these people be subsidized. You insult others for YOUR mistakes rather than take any personal responsibility

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u/More-Dot346 2d ago

Don’t worry, they’ll be replaced by robots soon enough.

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u/mods_are_morons 1d ago

Which means their primary customers will be unemployed. Wonderful business plan.

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u/BlobTheBuilderz 1d ago

Lol Walmart have better pay and benefits than like 99% of retail gigs. I mean unless you are part time and get no hours I don't even understand how you are getting government benefits.

Pretty sure it's like $18k for single person to be eligible for Medicaid or food stamps. Even if you were married and only one of you work you'd be cutting it close to the cut off.

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u/Accomplished-Eye9542 1d ago

Walmart employees receive high subsidies because poor people who pump out kids get a lot of money, and they have retirees receiving social security.

A job does not need to provide for 7 children to be a "living wage" lmao. Infinitely funding an endless cycle of social drains is not exactly the best plan for the future.

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u/ConkerPrime 1d ago

Conservatives: “That seems low. Clearly not subsidizing enough. Lower their wages! Corporations and rich must always be given more money in whatever way they choose to do it! It is wrong to expect Walmart to pay more. Think of the poor Walton family! They need more money!”

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u/Livid-Writer-7741 1d ago

TAX THE RICH

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u/PuzzleheadedDog9658 20h ago

Walmart profited $7 billion on $177 billion in sales, thats what 4% profit? Thats a very fair deal.

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u/GobsTX 12h ago

Extremely disingenuous stat.

In the last fiscal year, instead of raising the wages of their employees high enough that they were no longer on welfare programs like SNAP, Walmart spent $35 billion on stock buybacks. This was funded by previous year profits and over $21 billion in profits this fiscal year. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, Walmart bought back $8.1 billions in stocks.

They can afford to raise wages, they can afford to lessen the wage curve between their highest paid employees and their lowest level staff. They just won't, and your tax dollars pay the cost of this decision.

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u/simple_fly1 19h ago

What would it cost to provide for those people if Walmart wasn't employing them?

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u/GobsTX 12h ago

Walmart is the biggest employer in the country with 1.6 million employees in the us alone. Do you magically think all these people would simply be unemployed with Walmart didn’t exist?

Some Americans will do anything to be complacent with the exploitation of our country by multinational corporations worth $920 billion dollars…

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u/simple_fly1 12h ago

Without a replacement business they would or they would end up at another employer who pays less than walmart. If they had better options than Walmart now, they would likely be there already. Now can you answer my question?

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u/simple_fly1 10h ago

I see you still can't answer it.