Listen to this articleA brand new report launched Friday by the U.S. Government Accountability Office commissioned by Sen. Bernie Sanders, revealed that staff of Walmart and McDonald’s are the highest variety of workers who obtain aid from federal help applications corresponding to food stamps and Medicaid.
The Watchdog mentioned they analyzed information from the Census Bureau, and from 15 state companies throughout 11 states and discovered that “millions” of full-time workers rely on authorities to feed themselves. The report targeted on Medicaid advantages and these who obtain food stamps – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The Government Accountability Office undertook the study to reply questions on the relationship between employers and the federal help applications. Washington Post was the first to publish the report.
Walmart ranked amongst the prime 4 largest staff who obtain food stamps and Medicaid advantages in the states whose information was analyzed. An estimated 14,500 workers of the retail big acquired food stamps, in accordance to the report.
The 9 states that responded about the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program advantages had been Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.
McDonald’s was listed in the prime 5 of the 9 states studied and was mentioned to make use of practically 8,800 workers who acquired SNAP help throughout the interval studied.
In six states that reported Medicaid enrollees, Walmart once more topped the record, with 10,350 staff, adopted by McDonald’s with 4,600, in accordance to the report.
The subsequent large companies with giant variety of workers receiving federal aid embrace Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Amazon, Burger King and FedEx, the GAO discovered. (Amazon chief govt Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
“Most working adults in the programs worked for private-sector employers concentrated in certain industries, including restaurants, department stores, and grocery stores,” the GAO’s report mentioned.
“These giant corporations pay starvation wages”, Sen. Bernie Sanders tweeted, itemizing Walmart, McDonald’s, Dollar Tree, Uber, Burger King, FedEx, and Wendy’s.
“This is what a rigged economy is about,” the Vermont senator wrote. “We need a $15 living wage and Medicare for All.”
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Walmart and McDonald’s are amongst the largest and most worthwhile companies in the United States, in addition to in the states included in the report.
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In protection, a Walmart spokesperson mentioned in a press release;
“If not for the employment access Walmart and other companies provide, many more people would be dependent on government assistance”.
“A small percentage of our workforce comes to us on public assistance, and we remove employment barriers and create opportunities for individuals that too many overlook.”
“Walmart has invested more than $5 billion in increased pay, expanded health benefits, and a debt-free college program over the past five years and our starting rate is more than 50% higher than the federal minimum wage, which Washington hasn’t changed in more than a decade. We support efforts to raise the minimum wage while we continue to make investments in our associates,” the spokesperson added.
McDonald’s USA famous “the common beginning wage at U.S. corporate-owned eating places is over $10 per hour and exceeds the federal minimal wage.”
“McDonald’s believes elected leaders have a duty to set, debate and change mandated minimal wages and doesn’t foyer towards or take part in any actions opposing elevating the minimal wage,” the firm mentioned in a press release.
“McDonald’s and franchisees are proud to provide employment, education and skills development opportunities for more than 800,000 crew members across 14,000 restaurants, including providing access to academic advice and degree completion programs, reducing barriers to unemployment and helping 2 million young people develop life skills through our Youth Opportunity Initiative,” the firm added.
In latest years, Senator Sanders has been pushing for the implementation of a $15 federal minimal wage. During marketing campaign, President-elect Joe Biden signaled his intention to assist the proposed wage improve.
Senator Sanders accused the large companies of relying on “corporate welfare from the federal government by paying their workers starvation wages.”
“That is morally obscene,” he mentioned in a press release to The Post. “U.S. taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize some of the largest and most profitable corporations in America.”
