I read that article; it seems to support my possibly awkwardly worded argument above that having a charity drive for employees who have had unforeseen events and are currently in hardship does not prove—or is merely weak evidence that—the store pays a wage at which the average competant person would be able to expect to live with above minimal standards of living.
For one reason, to be perhaps presumptious, workers at Wal-Mart probably have less long-term planning ability than workers at higher paid jobs—or at least draw from populations in which the skills are less common, etc—and therefore, even if paid enough to live and save, are less likely to have a “rainy day fund” and more likely to need a charity hand-out should they have a car problem, or health problem, etc. Note that it was charity provided by fellow employees, not the general public, so someone they pay clearly has more than the bare minimum.
I read that article; it seems to support my possibly awkwardly worded argument above that having a charity drive for employees who have had unforeseen events and are currently in hardship does not prove—or is merely weak evidence that—the store pays a wage at which the average competant person would be able to expect to live with above minimal standards of living.
For one reason, to be perhaps presumptious, workers at Wal-Mart probably have less long-term planning ability than workers at higher paid jobs—or at least draw from populations in which the skills are less common, etc—and therefore, even if paid enough to live and save, are less likely to have a “rainy day fund” and more likely to need a charity hand-out should they have a car problem, or health problem, etc. Note that it was charity provided by fellow employees, not the general public, so someone they pay clearly has more than the bare minimum.