Wal-Mart teaches employees benefit from the taxpayer funded social safety net, despite making $16 billion in profits last year. Because of this, taxpayers and small businesses foot the bill for low-wages paid by a profitable corporation. In 2014, the low wages of profitable companies cost American taxpayers $153 billion in public assistance programs, with the majority of the spending affecting fast food workers. Americans paid more taxes so that companies such as McDonald’s, Taco Bell, KFC, and Pizza Hut could keep their wages low. By raising the federal minimum wage, workers would not be forced to rely on the taxpayer funded public safety net.