I referenced this same article in a previous blog, but I think it is important enough to pull out by itself.
“Raising the pay of Wal-Mart’s U.S. workers to a minimum of $12 an hour would lift many out of poverty, reduce their reliance on public assistance, and cost the average consumer, at most, $12.49 a year.
That’s the conclusion of a new study published by the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. The study is primarily concerned with the question of how raising Wal-Mart’s wages would affect poor families, including both those who work at its stores and those who shop at them. The benefits to poor families, the study concludes, would far exceed the costs. “
Read the whole article at Wal-Mart Could Easily Pay $12 an Hour