Latest liberal whine: WalMart pays its employees TOO MUCH! Not poor enough for Medicaid! Waah!

[^_^ 5,021]

... if states now threatening to forgo the Medicaid expansion follow through on those plans, many Walmart employees -- along with others in low-paid, service-sector positions -- run the risk of slipping through the cracks: They are likely to work too few hours to qualify for company benefits, yet earn too much to qualify for Medicaid under their states’ restrictive standards.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/walmart-obamacare-medicaid_n_2280118.html

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

[quote name=' timestamp='1355422555' post='5870012]

... if states now threatening to forgo the Medicaid expansion follow through on those plans, many Walmart employees -- along with others in low-paid, service-sector positions -- run the risk of slipping through the cracks: They are likely to work too few hours to qualify for company benefits, yet earn too much to qualify for Medicaid under their states’ restrictive standards.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/13/walmart-obamacare-medicaid_n_2280118.html

Don't worry. Part-time employees know how to game the system. It is not just Walmart, it is Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Sears, even some union supermarket chains like Safeway.

[decocker 7,198]

Don't worry. Part-time employees know how to game the system. It is not just Walmart, it is Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, Sears, even some union supermarket chains like Safeway.

how are the employees gaming the system and not the employers? let's put it this way, who stands to profit more from said gaming?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

how are the employees gaming the system and not the employers? let's put it this way, who stands to profit more from said gaming?

The Patriot will soon change his screen name to The Servant as he is obviously busy pleasing his masters.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

how are the employees gaming the system and not the employers? let's put it this way, who stands to profit more from said gaming?

Part time employees, at least in California, especially those with dependents, are getting housing vouchers, food stamps, free medical and dental care, heating assistance, lifeline phone service, etc, as long as they keep their income below the thresholds. Often, they will work a few months, part time, and then leave their jobs, until the next benefit year begins. Work full time, they lose many of those benefits, worth thousands of dollars a month. As long as they work the minimum, and don't exceed the maximum, they can receive those benefits indefinitely.

Edited December 14, 2012 by The Patriot

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The Patriot will soon change his screen name to The Servant as he is obviously busy pleasing his masters.

I am on the outside looking in.

[james&olya 1,121]

Part time employees, at least in California, especially those with dependents, are getting housing vouchers, food stamps, free medical car, heating assistance, lifeline phone service, etc, as long as they keep their income below the thresholds. Often, they will work a few months, part time, and then leave their jobs, until the next benefit year begins. Work full time, they lose many of those benefits, worth thousands of dollars a month. As long as they work the minimum, and don't exceed the maximum, they can receive those benefits indefinitely.

It is indeed a perverse system that forces poor parents to quit working their low-wage jobs in order to maintain necessary health insurance for their families!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It is indeed a perverse system that forces poor parents to quit working their low-wage jobs in order to maintain necessary health insurance for their families!

Agreed. Starting a family gets your foot in the door to receive many of these benefits, one of the unintended consequences of the Great Society.

[Póg mo 1,749]

Agreed. Starting a family gets your foot in the door to receive many of these benefits, one of the unintended consequences of the Great Society.

Yes of course, this is why the USA's birth rate has recentlly dropped to record lows.

[Bad_Daddy 2,209]

Part time employees, at least in California, especially those with dependents, are getting housing vouchers, food stamps, free medical and dental care, heating assistance, lifeline phone service, etc, as long as they keep their income below the thresholds. Often, they will work a few months, part time, and then leave their jobs, until the next benefit year begins. Work full time, they lose many of those benefits, worth thousands of dollars a month. As long as they work the minimum, and don't exceed the maximum, they can receive those benefits indefinitely.

"Work at Walmart so you to can be a part of the working poor and can qualify for welfare!" <---- Walmart should use this in one of their adds.

[james&olya 1,121]

"Work at Walmart so you to can be a part of the working poor and can qualify for welfare!" <---- Walmart should use this in one of their adds.

I wish we had a Costco in my area. They have a reputation for paying their employees more reasonable wages and decent benefits. Walmart puts its huge profits into the family fortunes of their extreme right-wing owners. I avoid them whenever possible!!

[decocker 7,198]

Part time employees, at least in California, especially those with dependents, are getting housing vouchers, food stamps, free medical and dental care, heating assistance, lifeline phone service, etc, as long as they keep their income below the thresholds. Often, they will work a few months, part time, and then leave their jobs, until the next benefit year begins. Work full time, they lose many of those benefits, worth thousands of dollars a month. As long as they work the minimum, and don't exceed the maximum, they can receive those benefits indefinitely.

and what would happen if walmart cut out part time employees and refocused on quality full time workers and gave them a decent wage? would they shut down for lack of workers? of course not. the majority of people who are dependent upon the services you mention want to be self sufficient. the majority people who are truly scamming and lazy do not want to be independent of government services, don't work at all. they don't mess with part time jobs and when they do they don't last very long.

i know that california is retarded and hands out money like no tomorrow, but i've known plenty of people with dependants (and they didn't plot their children in order to receive welfare) who have worked long term at places like walmart and safeway (my uncle has worked for safeway over thirty years, you'd think they'd treat him like gold but instead they treat him as a liability, because of the retirement benefits he'll qualify for soonish). these people's problems haven't been not enough hours (though that does happen) because most of them were full time employees. their problems have been their hourly wage. if you make just above the poverty threshold and cease to qualify for medicaid or food stamps - the cost of food and insurance and daycare are not manageable for the average worker with 2.5 dependants. when you are a retail, restaurant, service oriented employee with little to no specialized skills - it doesn't matter if you 'get another job' - the pay scales and hours and benefits are pretty level everywhere you go (exceptions being places like costco).

my point is, you can't lump all working poor into the category of leeches without taking a good hard look at the human resource practices of the employer, first.