S. The company reveals that Walmart's mistreatment of its employees is harming the company's reputation in the eyes of consumers, leading some of its most loyal customers to shop elsewhere (Negative Perception, 2014). Walmart management often denies accusations against its organization, but at the start of the 2015 holiday shopping season, the company experienced its worst stock decline in more than 15 years; the drop of six to twelve percent should not be ignored (Hanauer, 2015). Critics blame Walmart's poor employment practices and low wages for driving away the middle class on which the company heavily depends (Hanauer, 2015). Low corporate wages contribute to the “disappearance” of the middle class (Hanauer, 2015). Walmart employees often cannot afford to shop with the company; this of course contributes to falling income (Hanauer, 2015). This concept is consistent with the basic law of capitalism: “When workers have more money, businesses have more customers – and when businesses have more customers, they hire more workers.” It is this positive feedback loop between customers and businesses that is the fundamental driver of economic growth” (Hanauer, 2015). It's obvious to me that Walmart is no longer living up to Sam Walton's goal of being the best consumer products retailer.