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In reply to the discussion: Cutting SS/Medicare/Medicaid/Food Stamps in deal with Republicans. Yes or No? [View all]TexasBushwhacker
(20,247 posts)Hear me out on this. If we're going to go with this employer provided health insurance model, it only makes sense that they have to offer it to ALL their employees, even part timers. Otherwise you have people like Papa John that decide to cut the hours of all their employees to part time instead of raising the price of their pizzas 14 cents. Walmart has been doing this for years. The US taxpayers pay for Medicaid and food stamps for Walmart employees to the tune of over $2 Billion PER YEAR. Walmart's net profits last year were $15.6 Billion. Well if you ask me, they owe the US taxpayers some money. Why should we be picking up the tab when they stiff their employees?
Providing health insurance for part time employees isn't unheard of. Whole Foods Market and Starbucks do. With Whole Foods, you qualify for health insurance after you've worked 500 hours, about the equivalent of 12 full time weeks. It doesn't matter how many weeks it takes you to get there, once you hit 500, your health insurance premium was fully paid. It was a high deductible plan, but employees didn't have to pay premiums at all. They even covered families after you worked 10,000 hours - 5 full time years. Domestic partners too.
Now I realize that a company has a fiduciary responsibility to it's stockholders to maximize profits, but even though Whole Foods treats its employees pretty good, its stock has gone up 3000% in the last 20 years. Papa Johns has gone up 1000%. Walmart's has gone up 350%. Don't feel to sorry for Walmart though. The Walton heirs combined wealth is more than the bottom 40% of the US. They can afford to pay their employees decent wages and benefits!