According to a study released by UBS/Warburg, the world's largest private employer — Wal-Mart — can boost a marginal family's spending power by 10% or more.

Very impressive.

But, that's just the beginning. According to the study…

• Wal-Mart is the world's largest private employer, with 1.8 million people working for it. Of the 1.8 million, more than 1.3 million employees are located within the United States. [To all those who claim that Wal-Mart is exploiting cheap labor from overseas, this is largely inaccurate, since the majority of Wal-Mart employees are U.S. based.]
• Wal-Mart can save the average family more than $2,300 per year. Dan Denning, of the Daily Reckoning notes, "If you're making $200,000 a year, maybe this doesn't mean much to you. But if you're making less than $27,000 a year, an extra $2,300 is equal to a month's pay or more." Very good point. Walmart's effect on lower-income families is quite significant.
• Wal-Mart is responsible for a 0.9% higher wage base, and a 1.3% higher total real disposable income.
• Wal-Mart is responsible for a 3.1% lower consumer price index (CPI).
• Wal-Mart is responsible for a 0.14% lower unemployment rate.
• Wal-Mart is a desired employer for thousands of applicants. When Wal-Mart opened in Chicago, it advertised for 325 jobs. It got 25,000 applicants. In Oakland, CA, 12,000 people showed up for 350 available jobs.

Dan Denning writes…

You'd think people would be grateful.

Instead, the well-to-do conspire to keep Wal-Mart stores away. Lobbying groups form to complain and harass the company. Congressmen fulminate against it. Legislatures try to put it out of business.

The logic now being employed to prevent imports from overseas is also directed at America's most successful company. 'Fair' this and 'fair' that they call for. Competitors want to force Wal-Mart to charge higher prices. Labor unions want to force it to pay higher wages—even though it already pays much more than McDonald's, H&R Block, 7-Eleven, and other low-wage employers.

Reminds me of Atlas Shrugged.

For all the negative press that Wal-Mart receives, it has positively affected the economic lives of millions of people around the globe. Wal-Mart offers inexpensive goods, improves the living standard for millions of families, employs millions of workers, and has made its investors millions of dollars. Does Wal-Mart have problems? Absolutely, all companies have problems. But, let's give credit where credit is due. Wal-Mart deserves to be applauded for the positive economic *good* it has created.