Wal-Mart held a press conference today to announce their support for legislation that would expand the use of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). For readers who may be unfamiliar with the program, The EITC is a tax credit designed to boost the income of low wage workers by lowering their federal tax liability. The EITC is also fully refundable, so if an EITC-eligible worker has a low enough income that he or she owes $0 in federal income taxes, the IRS will actually write them a check (for as much as $4000) to supplement his or her wages. For a more in-depth explanation of the EITC, check out this report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

For many low-income workers, the EITC is the only thing keeping them from abject poverty. For that reason, it's certainly a good program. However, the real problem is that so many workers have such low wages in the first place. Wal-Mart, which pays its workers poverty-level wages and drives down wages throughout the retail sector, is at the heart of this problem. If companies like Wal-Mart paid their employees a living wage in the first place, the EITC would not be necessary. As a result, it is highly irresponsible and downright hypocritical for Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the world and a company that made over $12 billion in profits last year, to request that the American taxpayer subsidize its incredibly low wages. Then again, I can't say I'm surprised.