Pic Of The Moment: Today's Big Number

[EarlG]

One Walmart's Low Wages Could Cost Taxpayers $900,000 Per Year, House Dems Find

Follow @demunderground

[ctsnowman]

1. The media will cover this

as long as there isn't a wardrobe malfunction or so other serious event.

[SoapBox]

5. I'm sure ABC will cover it!

...Jonathon Karl! Special assignment!!

ya...right.

[Major Hogwash]

2. Be careful Earl!!

Hillary is on the board of directors of Wal-mart.

[George II]

25. No she isn't - please don't engage in Fox News politics.......

http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/leadership/board-of-directors

[onehandle]

3. Easy solution. Eliminate food stamps and other government aid programs. They'll sort themselves out.

Last edited Mon Jun 3, 2013, 10:32 PM - Edit history (1)

Do I have to think of everything?

[libodem]

4. That is telling it like it is!

Dammit!

[Coyotl]

6. BOYCOTT Wal*Mart! Support your local unions!

[donnasgirl]

7. How many stores in each state

http://www.politifact.com/ohio/statements/2011/jan/12/robert-hagan/rep-robert-hagan-slams-wal-mart-over-workers-needi/,

Somebody much smarter than myself will have to crunch the numbers but just imagine what this country could do with the money, as I said in another post it is high time to stop the talk and do something about this.

[donnasgirl]

8. Stop the madness

http://priceofoil.org/fossil-fuel-subsidies/ 10 to 52 billion a year for oil subsidies.

35 billion a year in agricultural subsidies

It is time to put all this money to good use, 1 stop closing schools would be a great start.

[AndyA]

9. $4,006,800,000

Last edited Mon Jun 3, 2013, 06:04 PM - Edit history (1)

4 Billion, 6 Million, 800 Thousand per year to American taxpayers.

How much debt would that address? How much would that help Medicare and Medicaid? How many bridges could be repaired? How many children could attend early education programs? How many people could have their health care costs covered? How many disabled veterans could that money fund job programs for? How many displaced homeowners could get relief?

It's mind boggling that we pay this EVERY YEAR. Walmart = corporate welfare.

[fasttense]

10. And all that money that suppose to be paid to Wal-Mart workers

goes straight to Wal-Mart's bottom line and into the pockets of the lazy, waiting around the pool for their checks, Waltons.

[donnasgirl]

11. Just think

What that money could do for the people who are affected by the fires, storms, our elderly, our veterans, the list is to long to mention.

[bobclark86]

13. Yeah, that $4 trillion number is bullshit.

As the budget is only $3.8 trillion, and that's including defense and ALL the Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for EVERYONE... it's quite obvious that $900k at one particular store doesn't extrapolate out.

Don't get me wrong — not defending Walmart, but I know a bullshit number when I see one. I know the GOP loves to play the made-up shit game, but we should be better than that.

If you meant billion, though, I'd be closer to believing it, but would still need to see some evidence other than one store (with HuffPo as the source, probably cherry-picked).

[AndyA]

15. It was a typo.

It's easy enough to do the math: $900K per store times the number of Walmart stores, which is somewhere north of 4,000.

The $900K figure came from the House Democrats: http://democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/sites/democrats.edworkforce.house.gov/files/documents/WalMartReport-May2013.pdf

[JaneyVee]

14. It's 4 BILLION, 6 MILLION, 800 THOUSAND

[AndyA]

16. Fixed, it was a typo.

Too many things going on when I was typing.

[JaneyVee]

19. Still a boatload of money. Should be split amongst workers as raises.

[alp227]

12. WAL FARE as usual.

If one store sounded like a leech...wait til you hear about the $12 MILLION cost of Wal Fare just one year in washington state! A St Petersburg Times editorial in 2005 reported: "Wal-Mart has more workers enrolled in the state Medicaid program -a medical insurance program for people living in and near poverty -than any employer in Florida."

[Bjorn Against]

17. I just wanted to point out to anyone who has not noticed...

Walmart's logo is an asshole.

[Newest Reality]

26. We should have realized that,

considering the stuff that comes out of it.

Good catch!

[Half-Century Man]

18. But Walmart has done so much for us all......

First they get rid of the confusion thats a part of any small town by making all the other stores close so no one has to decide where to shop today. Then they make everyones life simpler and quieter by not supporting manufacturers on this Continent so the factories close and we are all given much needed time off. Now here they are given the idle government workers something to do with their empty days.

And all they ask in return is everything.

[HangOnKids]

21. Alice Walton Is A Lush With Multiple Drunk Driving Arrests

Oh and she killed a mother of 2 with her car as well. Will you please think of the rich drunks? They need Grey Goose money.

[Bradical79]

20. The graphic isn't accurate

Yeah, Walmart is a horrible company but the graphic created is simply untrue and doesn't match up with what the article says. There's a really big difference between a mathematical estimate that reflects a highly unlikely outlier scenario at a single Wisconsin store, and saying that this store actually exists and is costing tax payers $900,000. Not sure if the person who created that graphic misread the article or what. I just don't think we need a bending of the truth to paint Walmart in a negative light. It's a pretty easy target.

Also as an aside, like most articles on popular news sites talking about studies, I wish more info was given on how the methodology behind the arrival at their numbers. Did they have estimated numbers on how the employees broke down demographically (part time vs. full time, retirees, college students, people working second jobs, number of children, single vs. married, etc.) these are all important factors in what sort of benefits one receives. The article suggested they worked with pretty detailed data, but everything is very vague. I think there are ways to communicate some of these important details without cluttering the article up with too much unneeded info that people won't understand.

[niyad]

29. I think everyone understands just fine.

[healthcarechris]

22. Walmart History says it all

According to this article http://www.ihealthcareupdates.com/walmart-cuts-part-time-employee-health-insurance/ Walmart has a history of shifting the burden of providing health insurance plans and coverage of its employees to the government and states they are in. This is something that has been recorded on record by many states. They have also cut the health care plans they previously provided to some of their employees. One can only assume the states will face the burden, or these individuals will become part of the Medicaid Expansion provision under the affordable care act this January.

In the state of Florida, Wal-Mart is the number one corporation in the state with the most number of employees and family members (12,300) eligible for Medicaid, according to a 2005 Tampa Bay Times story. Wal-Mart ranks second for dependents enrolled in Florida Healthy Kids or KidCare, trailing Miami-Dade County employees.

In the state of Missouri, Wal-mart the states largest employer also has the most employees and family members enrolled the state’s Medicaid plan, in the first quarter of 2011.

Pennsylvania, according to 2006 Philadelphia Inquirer report Wal-mart had the highest percentage of employees enrolled in Medicaid. 1/6 of the Wal-mart employees in Pennsylvania employees were enrolled in Medicaid. This costs the state more than $15 million a year

[niyad]

28. welcome to DU--and thanks for the link

[dtom67]

23. the 1% solution...

Get rid of foodstamps and governmnt aid.....

[Newest Reality]

27. After all,

it has been said that the people who are getting any social benefits are literally stealing from others.

So, yeah, the big problem is the needy, it seems.

[The Wizard]

24. But but but

What about the Chinese labor force that produces the goods on Wal-Mart shelves? What will those slave laborers do? We have returned to the Gilded Age, and it will take organized labor to narrow the gulf between the wealthy elites and the rest of us. Occupy occupy occupy. An honest days pay for an honest days work: What a concept.