On Thursday, 7 March 2013 02:39:02 UTC-4, jps wrote:
This little newsbit exemplifies the difference between the stingy

greed of the south and the Walton family vs. the North(west) and the

common sense of the founders of Costco...



"On Tuesday, Costco CEO and President Craig Jelinek came out in

support of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, which aims to raise the

federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour, then adjust it after that for

inflation.



"At Costco, we know that paying employees good wages makes good sense

for business," Jelinek said in a statement. "We pay a starting hourly

wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still

able to keep our overhead costs low."



"An important reason for the success of Costco’s business model is the

attraction and retention of great employees," Jelinek added. "Instead

of minimizing wages, we know it's a lot more profitable in the long

term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity,

commitment and loyalty. We support efforts to increase the federal

minimum wage."



Costco has a reputation for paying its employees above market rate,

with the typical worker earning around $45,000 in 2011, according to

Fortune. Walmart-owned Sam's Club, in contrast, pays its sales

associates an average of $17,486 per year, according to salary

information website Glassdoor.com.



Costco also provides health insurance to a significantly larger

percentage of its workers than does Walmart, the Harvard Business

Review reported in 2006."



...



Consequently, Costco employees don't cost the taxpayers additional

money through supplimental needs like food stamps and health care

delivered through emergency rooms, like so many Walmart employees.



I have both family and friends who work at Costco and they say the

company is both fair and reasonable and expects employees to do their

best, which shows up in how the stores are run and how customers are

treated. This is how American business should be run. Another NW

founded company, Nordstom, works the same way. A fair wage for a good

day's work. They stand with their employees.



From a distance it does appear that certain pockets in the US are much more progressive... such as the Pacific NW, parts of New England etc...while some of those southern states have kept the slave mentality..
This is why you need more national policies on everything from gun regulations to labour issues.