VaughanJB
Scrappy VIP
So this is how it works: Take Walmart as an example. Walmart posted 169bn of profit in 2025. Walmart employs a lot of people, but it's careful to manage these employees in line with the law. This means, it can be difficult to get a job at Walmart that has more than 30 hours of work in a given week. That's because 30 hours is the threshold for when benefits kick in. Walmart also know the numbers as they relate to qualification for both SNAP benefits and Medicare.
In Nevada, for example, 29% of Walmart workers, and almost 50% of Amazon workers, qualify for SNAP. This is because a) They can't get the hours; b) They are paid a low wage. These companies know that the tax payer, through welfare programs, are going to step in to help these workers make ends meet, and put food on the table. But it doesn't end there, it is estimated that 24% of SNAP benefits is spent at Walmart. Meaning, Walmart pays a low wage and profits from that, and it also picks up additional profit from sales using those government funds.
There are several arguments at play. Some will say that nothing is making these people work at the likes of Walmart for little money. On the other hand, when the likes of Walmart enters a market they tend to kill off competitors and become one of the only mass employers in the area. This is much the same with Amazon. So alternative jobs can be scarce, and hard to come by.
With 169bn in profits, one wonders if Walmart shouldn't be doing more. However, the reality is they are executing a business plan, and there's nothing illegal about it. This is a story of ethics and morals, not law. There is no good reason for Walmart to raise wages for the lowest on the totem pole. As it is, they can pay as little as possible, and allow their workers to claim SNAP and Medicare. They then take 24% of that money through their checkouts, generating more profit.
Which is all to say, nothing is simple, and often times reducing difficulties or circumstances to the lowest common denominator obscures reality.
This is the world we live in, a world where SNAP recipients have been under attack. We hear a lot about people abusing the system, but we never hear about the likes of Walmart and Amazon.
In Nevada, for example, 29% of Walmart workers, and almost 50% of Amazon workers, qualify for SNAP. This is because a) They can't get the hours; b) They are paid a low wage. These companies know that the tax payer, through welfare programs, are going to step in to help these workers make ends meet, and put food on the table. But it doesn't end there, it is estimated that 24% of SNAP benefits is spent at Walmart. Meaning, Walmart pays a low wage and profits from that, and it also picks up additional profit from sales using those government funds.
There are several arguments at play. Some will say that nothing is making these people work at the likes of Walmart for little money. On the other hand, when the likes of Walmart enters a market they tend to kill off competitors and become one of the only mass employers in the area. This is much the same with Amazon. So alternative jobs can be scarce, and hard to come by.
With 169bn in profits, one wonders if Walmart shouldn't be doing more. However, the reality is they are executing a business plan, and there's nothing illegal about it. This is a story of ethics and morals, not law. There is no good reason for Walmart to raise wages for the lowest on the totem pole. As it is, they can pay as little as possible, and allow their workers to claim SNAP and Medicare. They then take 24% of that money through their checkouts, generating more profit.
Which is all to say, nothing is simple, and often times reducing difficulties or circumstances to the lowest common denominator obscures reality.
This is the world we live in, a world where SNAP recipients have been under attack. We hear a lot about people abusing the system, but we never hear about the likes of Walmart and Amazon.
I ask that because you wrote this...."As it is, they can pay as little as possible, and allow their workers to claim SNAP and Medicare." Their 65+ workers are eligible to file for Medicare anyway. From what I had heard and this search verifies it...these are the only circumstances under which a person is eligible for Medicare:
