The Cost of Walmart
A new report tallies the cost to public coffers incurred by Walmart employees who rely on public-assistance programs to supplement their low wages. The report should provide food for thought for any community seeking to attract the retail giant.
"Walmart wages are so low that many of its workers rely on food stamps and other government aid programs to fulfill their basic needs, a reality that could cost taxpayers as much as $900,000 at just one Walmart Supercenter in Wisconsin, according to a study released by Congressional Democrats [PDF] on Thursday," report Dave Jamieson and Saki Knafo.
"Though the study assumes that most workers who qualify for the public assistance programs do take advantage of them, it injects a potent data point into a national debate about the minimum wage at a time when many Walmart and fast food workers are mounting strikes in pursuit of higher wages."
Published on Friday, May 31, 2013 in
- A 20-Year To-Do List for Cities
- The Argument Against Home Ownership
- As More 'Superstar' Cities Emerge, the Gap With Other Cities Grows
- Does the Plan to Revitalize a D.C. Canal Too Much Resemble the High Line?
- Study: Not All Gentrification Effects Are Equal
- Transit Oriented Development Shifts Into High Gear Near BART Stations in the Bay Area
- Multi-Family Market Grinds to a Halt in New York City
- U.S. Economic Growth Shows Urban-Rural Divide
- Report Makes Business Case for Vancouver-to-Portland High Speed Rail
- The Great O'Hare Race (And its Discontents)
- In Crosswalks, Public Art Meets Transportation
- Shuttering a Large Coal Plant: A Tale of Two States
- Controversial ADU Allowances Approved in Maryland
- The Post-Wildfire Dilemma: Rebuild or Retreat?
- Congressional Report on Transit Spending Stops Short of Accountability
- Public Opinion Differs on New Bay Area Road Diet
- Et Tu, Portland?
- Rethinking Downtown Streets in a Revitalizing Pittsburgh
- 'Community Preference' Housing Policy Under the Microscope on Either Side of the Country
- The Car-Centric World and the Ongoing Expansion of Police Powers
