Welfare reform tends to split Americans down the political aisle.  On the Left, we tend to believe that people have a right to basic necessities, and when somebody is in a hard place, we as a society have a responsibility to help them.  On the Right, they believe the less help downtrodden people receive, the more likely they will be to “pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”  This mindset fails to recognize that some people cannot even afford bootstraps by which to pull themselves up.
Just as significantly, the Right fails to recognize that corporations are the greatest welfare beneficiaries of all through their deliberate use of these programs to subsidize their workers as they pay employees poverty wages and fail to provide benefits.  As the American social safety net helps alleviate the poverty of low-wage workers employed by companies like Walmart and McDonald’s, these huge corporations reap the profits while working people are criticized and their struggles are ignored.
In 1996, President Clinton signed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act which reformed the welfare system.  Presidents Reagan and Bush had already successfully framed welfare recipients as abusing the system through loopholes and illegal means in order to live better than average Americans.  Reagan began the use of the infamous term “welfare queens,” who he claimed drove around in Cadillacs, ate steak and lobster every night, and generally lived the high life.
When President Reagan started the myth of the welfare queen, it created the belief that, “inner-city people,” aka blacks, were on welfare and belonged to a “taking class.”  Republicans to this day still attempt to paint this picture for anyone who will listen.  When you put the racism aside, what they are saying is that the poor are drowning our nation in debt, but we know better.
Many Americans, especially those not immersed in politics, are finally waking up to the reality that corporations are taking advantage of the country.  They are using our most valuable resources, the people, and raking them over the fire.  It is the corporations who are the true “welfare queens.”
Republicans like to throw around this notion that “the United States has the highest corporate tax percentage in the world.”  While the United States does have one of the highest base corporate rates in the world, this argument completely overlooks the fact that our corporate tax code also has some of the world’s most extensive loopholes.
As a result of these deductions, many of the biggest corporations in America, including GE, Apple, and Exxon, not only end up not having to pay any taxes, but they even get a tax refund.  These companies also receive another gift from the government, but one that is seldom discussed during the debate over the corporate tax code, or even acknowledged.
When a company hires employees, several elements factor into their pay.  If a company offers benefits, like health insurance, wages may be lower because of these additional costs to the employer.  In contrast to this standard tradeoff, Walmart and similar companies use their size and power to simply employ many part-time workers, who are offered low wages without benefits, but both of these policies are designed to achieve more than just keeping wage and benefit costs low along traditional lines. By paying such low wages, Walmart is able to guarantee that its employees are eligible for government assistance including Welfare/SNAP benefits and Medicaid.  This approach not only takes the burden of contributing to employee health insurance off Walmart, it directly shifts the costs to the government and taxpayers.  Add these costs to the tax refunds such companies receive, and they are laughing all the way to the bank as their employees are demonized and accused of cheating the system.
A recent twitter war between Walmart and Ashton Kutcher broke out because of Walmart’s poverty-level wages.  Kutcher initiated the fight after a photo of a food drive a Walmart store in Canton, Ohio began to circulate online.  This may sound innocent enough, except for the fact that the drive was specifically for Walmart employees.  A sign above a container read, “Please donate food items here so Associates in need can enjoy Thanksgiving Dinner.”
Kutcher tweeted at Walmart, “Walmart is your profit margin so important you can’t pay employees enough to be above the poverty line?”
Walmart responded, stating “It’s unfortunate that an act of human kindness has been taken so out of context. We’re proud of our associates in Canton.”
Kutcher then gave a stinging blow by responding, “You should be proud of your associates but I’m not sure if they should be proud of you.”
Last year, Walmart made $17 billion in profits, yet claims it cannot afford to pay its employees a livable wage.  Its reliance on the government essentially double-bills tax payers for simply existing.
McDonald’s is another company that pays poverty-level wages, hires mostly part-time workers, and then relies on the government to provide for its employees.  Not only do many employees rely on food stamps/SNAP benefits and Medicaid, but McDonald’s takes it a step farther by offering “tips” on the company’s McResource Line website on how to live in poverty while working for them.
From salon.com:
Among the tips that appear on the site: “Chewing gum can reduce cortisol levels by 16%”; “At least two vacations a year can cut heart attack risk by 50%”; “Singing along to your favorite songs can lower your blood pressure”; and “People who attend more church services tend to have lower blood pressure.” The site also offers dietary tips for physical and mental health: “The tryptophan in cheese will increase serotonin levels and boost your mood”; “Trans fats raise the risk of depression, while olive oil can prevent the blues” and “Breaking food into pieces often results in eating less and still feeling full.” (That last one may be intended as dietary rather than budgetary advice.)
If Republicans truly want to lower the debt, reduce the budget, and make cuts to the social safety net, they must first hold their beloved corporate donors to a higher standard.  A start would be to support an increase of the minimum wage as part of a shift towards ending corporate exploitation of workers, and of the country as a whole.
Video
CNN discusses the Walmart food drive for its employees.