# Do some progressives love the welfare budget? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 2, 2016, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769 "2016-03-02T20:59:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/141 "2016-03-04T19:07:28Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > My current employer pays more than Wal-mart, but we still have some full time people on SNAP (usually ones with several kids). It wouldn’t surprise me if a high percentage of Wal-mart fulltimers are receiving benefits. > [@Shodan](#): > > Thanks. I assume that means 'private" employer. The federal government employs more people by a fair bit than Wal-Mart, but thanks. > > Now for the other part - that 90% of Wal-Mart’s full-time employees receive SNAP benefits. > What percentage of your company’s full-time employees receive SNAP benefits I’d have some trouble finding that out company-wide due to my own limited resources and the fact HR where I work tends to be rather closed-mouth about other peoples’ business… but based on what I know of the store where I work, I’m \*guessing \*around 10-20% It’s not all single mothers - most the families I know in that situation (my co-worker works full time, family on government benefits) are in stable, two-person marriages but one of the adults is unable to find work outside of odd jobs for neighbors. Once you’re over 40 or 50 trying to find a new job is real hell. My employer seems to genuinely not care about hiring people past 40 and we have quite a few in that category. I have an 83 year old coworker, in fact (part-time, to supplement her retirement), and 3 or 4 others past 65. The biggest problem with the older folks is whether or not they are physically capable of doing the work. > [@Shodan](#): > > I’d say a bit more than unlikely. The average full time hourly rate at Wal-Mart is $13.38, vs. a US national average full time hourly wage of $12.96. ([Cite](http://news.walmart.com/news-archive/2016/01/20/more-than-one-million-walmart-associates-receive-pay-increase-in-2016)). OK, the _average_ wage is not what the grunts on the salesfloor are getting - higher level managers, store directors, and others get significantly higher pay than the average worker in their stores. The store director getting $50,000/year doesn’t help the sales associate laboring at minimum wage Then there is the whole “minimum wage” thing - that varies from state to state. Minimum wage in Indiana is $7.25/hour. Less than 10 miles from where I work, in Illinois, it’s $8.25/hour. You might start working at a store in Indiana at $7.25/hour but your pay will never be that low in Illinois. > [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](#): > > How many of these Walmart employees are living in a stable, two income household? You might be a two adult household with NO kids, but if one of those two either can’t find work or is unable to work you’ll be sunk in dire poverty just as much as if you were a high school drop out single mother with 5 kids. Except if the household has no kids the adults will get _even less_ aid - basically, just food stamps. That’s it. No other help. OF COURSE any household with two or more incomes is less likely to be poor than a household with only one income. > [@elbows](#): > > More importantly what percentage of it’s employees are actually working full time hours? I thought part of their deal was more part time employees, because then no benefits, way less full time workers! Yep, that’s another issue - businesses that only hire part-timers. Particularly egregious are employers who hire people part time but then schedule them 30-25 hours a week, which is really more full time than not, but they can still deny benefits to those people. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/142 "2016-03-04T19:48:00Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Yep, that’s another issue - businesses that only hire part-timers. Particularly egregious are employers who hire people part time but then schedule them 30-25 hours a week, which is really more full time than not, but they can still deny benefits to those people. Are you under the impression that businesses somehow owe employees full-time positions or hours? ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2016, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769/143 "2016-03-05T00:03:00Z")
> [@GloryDays](#): > > The people who have children I understand. However, if you cannot provide for yourself, why make children? Obviously, children should not go hungry at all. There is something called self-reliance. You know, sometimes bad things happen to people AFTER their children are born. > [@GloryDays](#): > > The people that are on it, should get a job. If you cannot, then try harder. America is about work. Are you under the impression that the economy almost collapsed in 2008 because not enough people wanted to work? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-some-progressives-love-the-welfare-budget/747769.md?page=7)