As one of the largest corporations in America, Walmart has a huge influence on the lifestyle and economics of many Americans. It caters to consumers looking to save money, and those effected by the recent economic decline. It is also the largest private sector employer in the nation. (Peled) Yet, behind those yellow smiles, is the face of corporate greed.

In an effort to be more fiscally responsible, middle class shoppers, and especially the poor are compelled to shop at Walmart. Over the last decade, as the economy has worsened, and more people are looking to make ends meet and spend less, Walmart has enjoyed record profits. In fact, in 2013 they made a 17 billion dollar profit. (Gandel) However, its employees, many of whom earn a minimum wage are forced to apply for government funded public assistance.

In April of 2014, the Americans for Tax Fairness, a coalition of 400 progressive groups, estimated that Walmart costs taxpayers 6.2 billion in Public Assistance. Essentially, taxpayers are supplementing the salaries of these often minimum-wage, hard working employees. Because these workers earn so little, they can only afford to shop at Walmart. In effect, Walmart is double dipping; not only are they profiting by paying their employees so little, but when their workers pay with government funds, they make a profit on that too. The only way those workers can survive on wages so little is by creating a dependency by working and shopping at Walmart. They might look like saviors, but they are only lowering the living standards of those workers.

The effects of low wages are not only financial. Such employees have to deal with the stigma associated with receiving benefits. In example, sometimes they are called lazy or a free-loader despite, their hard work. Additionally, workers that are not paid a survivable wage have a lower morale than those of similar