Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, the independent democratic socialist running for president as a Democrat, accused the wealthy Walton family, which owns Wal-Mart, of paying its own workers so little they rely on welfare to get by.
"The major welfare abuser in America is the wealthiest family in America, the Walton family," Sanders told a crowd in Keene, New Hampshire on Tuesday,
Bloomberg News reported.
Sanders made similar statements in Iowa a day earlier heading into that state's caucuses.
The Walton family demonstrates the nation's "rigged" economy, Sanders said since its employees' wages are sometimes so low they have to apply for food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing.
"I say to the Walton family, get off of welfare. Pay your workers a living wage," Sanders said.
Sanders called it unacceptable that the Walton family is richer than the bottom 40 percent of Americans, Bloomberg said.
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