Could You Live Off $25k a Year Like Most Walmart Workers? No, You Couldn't.

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.aflcio.org/Blog/Corporate-Greed/Could-You-Live-Off-25k-a-Year-Like-Most-Walmart-Workers-No-You-Couldn-t

11/01/2013 Kenneth Quinnell

Last month, Walmart CEO Bill Simon revealed rather cluelessly that the vast majority of Walmart workers, as many as 825,000 in the United States, earn less than $25,000 a year. The sum is so low the average worker for the country's biggest employer is struggling to make ends meet. By matching its low prices with insultingly low wages, Walmart forces taxpayers to subsidize its workforce through social safety net programs.



Making Change at Walmart is running a new series that highlights how some of the retailer's employees are scraping by on Walmart wages. Here are three of the stories they have shared so far:

Anthony Goytia: The 31-year-old father of three makes about $12,000 a year and relies upon MediCal and food stamps. Some of his teeth were removed because he couldn't afford the dental work to save them. “I don’t need cable or a big house, but I shouldn’t have to resort to selling my plasma and participating in medical trials to be able to feed my kids,” Goytia said. “I have to live payday loan to payday loan.”

FULL story at link.

[Paper Roses]

1. I live on Social Security.....'nuff said.

[grasswire]

2. but that man has three children

I'm not saying it's easy to live on SS. But think how much harder with children to care for.

[n2doc]

3. Unfortunately these sorts of threads tend to devolve into "4 Yorkshiremen" mode

[MattBaggins]

7. but but but

my stubbed toe is worse than your cancer

[sakabatou]

4. And yet they're raking in millions of dollars.

[subterranean]

10. Billions, actually.

$16.9 billion in the most recent fiscal year. Wal-Mart's CEO makes more in one hour than the average Wal-Mart employee earns in a year.

[sakabatou]

11. Profits over people

[klook]

5. If it was just me? Yeah...

I'd make the dollars stretch somehow, eat Spaghetti-Os, live in a slum, go without a car, etc.

But $25k with other mouths to feed? Or with medical problems? Fuggeddabouddit. That's about the amount my spouse and I had to feed, house, and clothe ourselves and 2 kids 30+ years ago. And it was a hell of a stretch then. I can't even imagine trying to support a family on that kind of money nowadays.

God, I hate Wal-Mart.

[longship]

6. $1,000 a month, SS.

Thankfully, my house is paid for. Unthankfully, my food stamps were cut this month. My fridge doesn't work. My car's power steering doesn't work. I am behind in my property taxes. But I just put 150 gallons of heating oil into my tank. That will get me well into January if I keep the thermostat low.

I know what it's like to live on the edge.

R&K

[kestrel91316]

8. I could. It would be a raise.

Self-employment in a deep recession ain't what it's cracked up to be, lol.

[RainDog]

13. word

then you have universities who pay adjunct faculty such low salaries that they have food drives within depts. to help people with their costs of living.

the economic world is seriously out of balance at this time.

anyone with any sense recognizes this issue needs to be addressed by taxes on wealth on the 5%, not just 1%.

but there is no political will to do this because the wealthy own politics in the U.S. and the religious right is the faithful handmaiden to oligarchy because they're too stupid to realize they're hurting themselves and others.

[appleannie1]

9. Hubby and I live on SS. If we had to pay a mortgage or rent, we would be on the street.

We would never be able to feed 3 kids. It is wear 3 layers of clothes season soon. Our car is over 10 years old so we pamper it. It has to last us until we can no longer drive.

[AnotherDreamWeaver]

12. I live on less than half that, but don't have children and grow a garden.

Haven't had a frost yet this year so still squash and tomatoes to bring in. Soon it will be just greens, like kale and chard. I have some lettuce I have been meaning to get transplanted...

(Property is paid off, but going to town costs $30 at the pump, and there are "Homeowner Association Dues" that need to be paid to keep a lean and a collection agency at bay. I have to do some work to get our tax money together, Social Security isn't enough at just over 300/mo.)

[Liberal_in_LA]

14. not in Los Angeles

[loli phabay]

15. walmart etc aside, lived on a lot less before, depends on what you want out of life if you can

Money is relative to the situation you are in.