Full Disclosure- I have never been a fan of Walmart for a variety of reasons. I try not to shop there. However, I am fully aware that I have the financial means to make that choice.
Once again, I heard a legislator on a talk show talking about food stamps. He even ducked a question about why conservatives seem to keep bringing up food stamps and welfare for poor people, yet they are not addressing corporate welfare. That got me thinking, how many of Walmart's employees are on public assistance versus how much in corporate subsidies do they receive. I picked Walmart because they are huge and there is a lot of data out there on them.
Ohio seemed to be the easiest state to get the numbers so lets take a look at my neighbor.
In 2012, the Ohio State Department of Job and Family services found that 16,098 Walmart employees and family were on Medicaid and 14,799 were on food stamps. Walmart earned the dubious distinction of being number one (McDonalds came in second) for employers whose employees are on public assistance. One caveat, these numbers do not differentiate between full time and part time employees.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/1niscE8_qdt3upqA0Aqg8vOS1APuzOvDGh9AV4UOiXwuve9mJW9SQPucu0Gtz/edit
Now lets take a look at corporate subsidies for Walmart in Ohio.
According to data compiled by Good Jobs First:
Good Jobs First has compiled data on Wal-Mart subsidies in the following cities
Cleveland/Steelyard Commons, OH : $4.16 millionColumbus, OH : $2.6 million
Grove City, OH : $19 million
Island Creek Township (Winterville), OH : more than $9.2 million
Lancaster, OH : $1.26 million
Moraine (Dayton), OH : more than $157,000
Ravenna, OH : $1.3 million
Streetsboro, OH : $491,000
Washington Court House, OH : more than $8.3 million
West Chester, OH : $3.4 million
So to be clear, its easier to demonize a worker who is on public assistance than it is to demonize a corporation who is getting millions in corporate subsidies.
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