The Walton Family and Their Fortune

A few fun facts:

• The Walton  family is worth $190.5 billion, making it the richest in the U.S.

• Walmart employs 2.2 million “associates” internationally, 1.5 million in the U.S.

• The company, targeted for paying so-called “starvation wages,” is experimenting with raising their minimum wage from $11 to $12/hour in about 10% of their stores.

• These employees receive $6.2 billion annually from taxpayers, an average of about $4,000 each, a figure that would be greatly reduced if the federal minimum wage goes to $15.

Some people find the concept of a living wage to be controversial, based on their opinion that in a free society, the job market itself should be the force that determines wages.  And, if you and I weren’t subsidizing the Walton family to the tune of $6.2 billion so that their “associates” can feed themselves, I’d say they had a reasonable point.