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Earlier today, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders criticized the paid sick leave policy and minimum wage which Walmart has in place for their employees.

Reviewing Sanders' Criticisms

According to Sanders,' Walmart has enough wealth to take better care of their employees. The self-professed Democratic-socialist weighed in with his concerns in the following public statement:

"Walmart’s decision to provide 48 hours of paid sick leave to some of its employees is a small step forward, but not nearly good enough. Walmart, which is owned by the wealthiest family in America, is not a poor company."

Sanders then stated that Walmart ought to increase the hourly wage which they pay their workers:

"If Walmart can afford $20 billion for stock buybacks to enrich wealthy shareholders, it can afford to raise the pay of all its workers to a living wage. Walmart can and must pay all of its workers at least $15 an hour with good benefits."

Sanders, like many other far-leftists and progressives, frequently advocates for big businesses to heighten the wages and benefits of their employees.

At First Glance vs. Reality

Many people would agree that the policies which Sanders champions for may seem appealing...at first glance. However, matters can become more complicated when reality seeps in; this is something which many conservatives have noted on countless occasions.

Democrats are very well-known for their support of increasing the minimum wage for low-wage workers. For quite some time, $15/hr has maintained as the amount which the left is pushing for. Nevertheless, many Americans regularly acknowledge the counterintuitiveness which inherently comes along with hiking up the minimum wage.

First and foremost is the hit which businesses will take. If businesses are mandated to pay their employees more money each hour, this means that they are losing profit. In order to compensate for this loss, businesses will inevitably cut back in other areas to avoid the aforementioned losses. In most cases, the cut-backs involve reducing employees' hours, laying off workers, and increasing product prices.

Despite the aftermath which accompanies minimum wage increases, Democrats overwhelmingly view it as an advantageous reform for working-class individuals.

Walmart has not openly responded to the public statement of Bernie Sanders.