Don't misunderstand, any increase in the entry level wages with an employer of Walmart's size is good. The lower the wage, the more likely people will need public assistance of some kind. Whether you want to call these subsidies to employees rather than employers, it is still subsistence money, not munificent remuneration. Having the government deliver it means employers pay less directly and still have workers live through the night to show up the next morning, which is why it's rightly called an effective employer subsidy, just as specialized and targeted massive tax breaks and loopholes are direct subsidies.