The person who wrote that article needs to watch the documentary called "The High Cost of Low Prices" done by the Public Broadcasting Corporation. The documentary talks about how the company pays its workers so little that many of them are on food samps and other public assistance. When Walmart opens in a small town the local business owners go out of business because they cannot compete.

In it's drive to offer low prices the company forces producers to move all their opeations overseas or else Walmart will not sell their stuff. One has to look at what happened to the U.S. company Rubber Maid. Walmart told it to lower its costs or else it would not sell it products. Rubber Maid innovated and streamlined its production so much that it became the "Company of the Year" for a major business magazine. That was not good enough for Walmart and they stopped selling Rubbber Maid products.

Rubber Maid went bankrupt, the Chinese came in and bought all the machinery and patents and shipped it back to China. Now Rubber Maid is being made in China and sold at Walmart once again.

So when Rubber Maid destroys the local economy there is nothing left but to work for them. But in the end those same workers earn even less becasue they have to subsidize Walmart with their taxes. Walmart gets a lot of tax breaks and incentives when they go to a town.

People should also read the boook "Nickel and Dimed" about a woman with a Ph.d who went about the country working at minimum wage jobs. She has a section about Walmart; it's great read.

There is not anything for todays 20 year olds (who would be the GRANDCHILDREN OF BABY BOOMERS).
Baby Boomers ate it all.

In fact, the GREAT GRANDCHILDREN OF BABY BOOMERS ARE NOW BEING BORN

Rather up to the lazy young tikes to go out there and get it instead of sitting on their arses blaming another generation. I'd have em all in the army, square bashing, instead of sitting around feeling sorry for themselves. I agree with Silverboy, the only handouts they should get is a good slapping. NO Handouts! Plenty of jobs in China.

It's getting senseless with the generational categories and attempts to define them so let's do the basics here:

To be a 'Baby Boomer' we want to think of children born Post-WW2. After WW2 all the men returned home, peace ensued, and... well suddenly around 1945 a lot of couples were having babies (and maybe playing 'catch-up' too).

There is a cultural sense too. 'Boom Babies' weren't just the big generation born to the WW2 folks but we think of 'Boomers' as the 'Hippy Generation'.
This would be those who were young adults during a significant cultural revolution in the mid to late 60s and let's say to about 1973.
Baby Boomers were those college kids.

My Dad would be a classic 'Baby Boomer'. WW2 ended and Grandpas service in the army was done and the new family got underway. My Dad is born in 1950.
My Dad was college age in the classic 'Summer of 69' at the height of the 'hippy culture'

So understand that my father is now turning 65 next year. Retiring.

Children of classic 'Baby Boomers' had children in their 20s.
Their children are now 40 and 45 years old.

Were they 'Generation X'.
NO!
The children of Baby Boomers were NOT dubbed 'Generation X'.
Generation X was a term (and a kind of complaint) popularized by Douglas Copeland to describe the 'little brothers' and the younger cousins of the Baby Boomers.

Example of a typical Generation Xer would be my uncle who, although born to a WW2 couple came later in their life in 1959

So 'Generation X' wasn't part of the 'Hippy Culture'. They were kids. 8 year olds.
10 year olds.

They were not the 'next generation' really. They weren't the 'big baby boomers' either.
Hence 'X'
Generic
No-Name Brand
'Unnamed'.

The children of Baby Boomers didn't even get a name for their generation.
We weren't called anything.

Someone started calling those born in around the mid-90s 'Generation Y' and these terms were usually made up by Baby Boomers who don't give a damn about any other generation anyways.

Now 'Millenials'.

Are you saying this is what? They are NOT the 'children of Baby Boomers' because most Baby Boomers are now 65 years old.

There is not anything for todays 20 year olds (who would be the GRANDCHILDREN OF BABY BOOMERS).
Baby Boomers ate it all.

In fact, the GREAT GRANDCHILDREN OF BABY BOOMERS ARE NOW BEING BORN

Old white man for Chinese women, especially younger ones?
The Lucky Harry Larry poster would be pleased to help them out; once he told me he is eager to have 365 children with them - each day a new child.
The size of the Chinese population will definitely grow bigger that way.

By Doug Altner

Observe any hiring center for a new Walmart and you will see thousands of individuals eager to become a Walmart associate. Many already have jobs at fast food restaurants, supermarkets, or other retail stores. LaShawn Ross, 29, worked for McDonald’s and Winn-Dixie before taking a job at a brand new Walmart in Pinellas Park, Florida. Ross aptly summarizes the sentiments of many applicants: “They are huge, so I know there is a huge amount of opportunity.”

Yet, a few pundits, policymakers, and activists insinuate that these people should not be excited, but outraged at the company for its wages—and some groups are even calling for protests on Black Friday.

Walmart “can easily afford to pay $15 an hour,” says Robert Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley, who is also urging shoppers to “[B]oycott Walmart on the most important sales day of the year, November 29.” “Their net income was $17 billion,” says Vincent Orange, a D.C. city councilman who voted to force Walmart to pay a minimum wage of $12.50 per hour in the nation’s capital, adding, “You don’t want to share a little bit with the citizens? Come on.” OUR Walmart—a union-backed activist group—accuses the company of showing disrespect to its employees because it doesn’t pay so-called living wages.

Well, nobody has to work at Walmart if he feels underpaid or underappreciated. He can always seek another job. So why do 1.4 million Americans choose to work at Walmart, many for well under $12 per hour?

Many entry-level Walmart jobs consist of comparatively safe and non-strenuous work such as stocking shelves, working cash registers, and changing price labels. Walmart also pays competitive wages, which, for these jobs, are generally under $12 per hour, because these positions require little or no work experience or technical skills. For anyone with modest credentials, these jobs provide good work experience—experience which they can use to eventually land a higher paying job.

Listen to the critics, though, and you’ll hear Walmart portrayed as if it is holding its employees down. But in fact the company offers incredible opportunities for any hard-working, ambitious person who wants to work his way up in retail. Three out of four Walmart store managers started out as hourly associates, and those managers can earn up to $170,000 per year. Some former hourly associates, such as Patricia Curran, have worked their way up to top executive positions. Curran was named by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 most powerful women of 2006. Walmart even encourages associates to complete training courses during fully paid work time and offers raises to associates who complete these courses.

Little wonder that when Walmart opens a new store, it’s not uncommon for as many as 10,000 people to apply for just 300 jobs.

For Walmart, the pay, opportunities, and perks it offers must serve its goals for long-term growth and profitability. It offers training and development because it judges this to be good business. Such programs reward talent, motivate employees and recruit managers with extensive firsthand knowledge of store operations. With regards to wages, the company pays what it needs to in order to recruit an enormous number of competent and content associates. And it recognizes that it does not make business sense to pay more than it needs to.

This is what many Walmart critics detest: the company will not offer higher wages and benefits when it calculates that it will not be good business. According to these critics, every Walmart employee should be paid at least $12-$15 per hour, regardless of the role he fills, regardless of whether he has the skills or experience to justify such a wage, regardless of whether he is a model employee or a slouch, regardless of how many other individuals are willing and able to do his job for less, regardless of whether raising wages will be good for the company’s bottom line. In effect, their premise is that $12+ per hour wages shouldn’t have to be earned or justified; they should be dispensed like handouts.

Walmart’s relationship with its employees is win-win. Every wage that it pays is one that the employee accepts and a large number of individuals have successfully worked their way up the retail giant. So, let’s stop attacking Walmart for paying market wages.

Doug Altner is an Analyst and Instructor at the Ayn Rand Institute.