--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I pay low wages. I can take advantage of…" description: "\"I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment.\" — Sam ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/sam-walton-4376_advantage_i-pay-low-wages-i-can-take-advantage-of_3105195.jpg" --- # I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're going… ![“I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment.” quote by Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/sam-walton-4376_advantage_i-pay-low-wages-i-can-take-advantage-of_3105195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/sam-walton-4376_advantage_i-pay-low-wages-i-can-take-advantage-of_3105195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/afa/sam-walton-4376_advantage_i-pay-low-wages-i-can-take-advantage-of_3105195.jpg) > “I pay low wages. I can take advantage of that. We're going to be successful, but the basis is a very low-wage, low-benefit model of employment.” [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges exploiting low-wage labor as a core business model for profit. **In simple terms:** Profits rely on paying workers very little. Key Takeaway Consider ethical alternatives to low-wage models. Themes business ethics labor profit strategy Mood critical reflective Type advisory analytical When to use this quote - retail management - startup budgeting - employee relations - market competition Key Concepts exploitation cost leadership social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - Is short-term profit worth long-term ethical costs? - How can businesses balance cost and fair wages? A Different Perspective Low wages can damage reputation and long-term sustainability. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advantage/) [Bases](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bases/) [Being successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-successful/) [Benefits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/benefits/) [Employee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employee/) [Employment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/employment/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Low Wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-wage-690757/) [Low Wages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/low-wages-442486/) [Lows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lows/) [Models](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/models/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Successful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/successful/) [Wage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wage/) [Wage Low](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wage-low-1436759/) [Wages](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wages/) [Wages Advantage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wages-advantage-5399302/) ## Related quotes > [The overtime threshold is to the middle class as the minimum wage is to low-wage workers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hanauer/the-overtime-threshold-is-to-the-middle-class-as-the-minimum-wage-is/) [Nick Hanauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hanauer/) > [By holding down natural wage growth in labor-intensive industries, immigration serves as a subsidy for low-wage, low-productivity ways of doing business, retarding technological progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-krikorian/by-holding-down-natural-wage-growth-in-labor-intensive-industries/) [Mark Krikorian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-krikorian/) > [Yet it ought to be clear that a minimum wage law is, at best, a limited weapon for combatting the evil of low wages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/yet-it-ought-to-be-clear-that-a-minimum-wage-law-is-at-best-a-limited/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Our minimum wage is too low. So we need to raise it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-lujan-grisham/our-minimum-wage-is-too-low-so-we-need-to-raise-it/) [Michelle Lujan Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-lujan-grisham/) > [Certainly other things we can do, we gotta promote after-school employment, give kids an opportunity, raising the minimum wage was part of that, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-gonzalez/certainly-other-things-we-can-do-we-gotta-promote-after-school/) [Matt Gonzalez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-gonzalez/) > [Yet it ought to be clear that a minimum wage law is, at best, a limited weapon for combatting the evil of low wages,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/yet-it-ought-to-be-clear-that-a-minimum-wage-law-is-at-best-a-limited-2/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [We will always be a fair wage nation in a low wage region.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-shorten/we-will-always-be-a-fair-wage-nation-in-a-low-wage-region/) [Bill Shorten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-shorten/) > [“The first thing that happens, for example, when a law is passed that no one shall be paid less than $106 for a forty-hour…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-first-thing-that-happens-for-example-when-a-law-is-passed-that-no/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [A low wage business is always insecure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-ford/a-low-wage-business-is-always-insecure/) [Henry Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-ford/) > [Raising the minimum wage and lowering the barriers to union organization would carry a trade-off - higher unemployment. A better idea is to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/raising-the-minimum-wage-and-lowering-the-barriers-to-union/) [Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/) > [Wal-Mart has always paid low wages, or, as Sam Walton put it, 'as little as we could get by with at the time.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-dedman/wal-mart-has-always-paid-low-wages-or-as-sam-walton-put-it-as-little/) [Bill Dedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-dedman/) > [Most poor people earn more than minimum wage when they are working; their problem is not low wages. The problem comes when they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/most-poor-people-earn-more-than-minimum-wage-when-they-are-working/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [If workers are overworked, or companies hire temps at low wages, this fundamentally comes down to the quality of life for a person. 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Give them what they want - and a little more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/exceed-your-customer-s-expectations-if-you-do-they-ll-come-back-over/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Nothing else can quite substitute for a few well-chosen, well-timed, sincere words of praise. They're absolutely free and worth a fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/nothing-else-can-quite-substitute-for-a-few-well-chosen-well-timed/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [I was asked what I thought about the recession. I thought about it and decided not to take part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/i-was-asked-what-i-thought-about-the-recession-i-thought-about-it-and/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Capital isn't hard to find; intuition, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-walton/capital-isn-t-hard-to-find-intuition-yes/) [Sam Walton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-walton/) > [Commit to your business. 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