The Real Reason for Walmart’s Wage Hike Was it really the tax cut? And should the motivation behind such good news even matter? By CHARLES FISHMAN
| January 12, 2018 When Walmart announced that it was giving all employees raises, bonuses—or both—thanks to the new tax cut, it didn’t take long for the political spinning to start around the news. For Republicans and supporters of President Donald Trump, it added up: This was the trickle-down effect that proponents of the law promised. Many conservative websites headlined Walmart’s explanation—“Walmart Sharing Tax Cut Savings Via Pay Boost, $1,000 Bonuses,†the Fox News story read; others went a step further, offering it as proof that the “Trump tax cut is working.†Some, though, were more skeptical. Tweeters were quick to jump on the fact that Walmart sibling Sam’s Club had also shuttered 63 stores that same day as evidence that these might not exactly be boom times for the retail giant. For these people, Walmart’s announcement was political spin from a famously stingy company eager to prove that only after Walmart got the tax law it wanted would it finally be able to give its employees a little more—and do Republicans a political favor in the process.
So which is it: a real bonus for the company or political gamesmanship?
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https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/12/wal-mart-pay-increase-tax-boost-216307?lo=ap_f2
