GAO report: Billionaires force millions of full-time workers into welfare (food stamps and medicaid)

 We found of SNAP/Medicaid recipients in 11 states or 20% of the US population:

• About two-thirds worked full time
• Most worked for private sector employers
• Workers were largely in transportation, restaurants and food prep, and retail sales jobs
• Some employers in selected states had thousands of beneficiaries on their payrolls

 https://peoplesworld.org/article/more-than-ever-taxpayers-subsidize-low-wages-paid-by-corporate-giants/?emci=249ea3ba-b895-f111-9b33-000d3a11fa30&emdi=605a9c1f-bd95-f111-9b33-000d3a11fa30&ceid=6880951

  the list of the 50 largest employers in the states with the most-complete records of company payrolls and of workers’ forced use of SNAP and Medicaid is also rife with firms that break labor law, not just in wages, but in worker rights.

 The 11 states the GAO report covers together have a fifth of the U.S. population. This report calculated “13.8 million working Americans were forced to enroll in Medicaid and 10.6 million depended on SNAP to make ends meet and feed their families, despite working full-time — up from 12 million and 9 million, respectively, in the 2020 report.”

 “It is time for the Walton family, worth $485 billion, and Mr. Bezos, worth $257 billion, to get off of welfare and pay their workers a living wage with good benefits. No one who works for a company making billions in profits should be living in poverty,” Sen. Sanders continued his analysis.

• Walmart’s annual profits increased 50% from 2020 through the end of 2024, to $21.89 billion. It didn’t share the wealth with its workers: 16,055 workers in the 11 states had to rely on Medicaid in the states GAO sampled. That’s 55% more than in the prior report. And  15,515 workers in those states needed SNAP (food stamps) to survive. 
• Amazon’s annual profits rose 670% in that same era, to $77.67 billion. It was second to Walmart in the number of workers, 12,346 who needed food stamps and the number, 11,338, who needed Medicaid. The overall number of Amazon workers who needed one or both of those forms of federal aid tripled.
• Rideshare firms classify their drivers as “independent contractors,” which means they can’t unionize and also aren’t covered by the minimum wage and overtime pay law. In 2024, that group overtook both Amazon and Walmart in workers needing food stamps: 22,709. Their numbers were negligible five years ago. So was their share of the economy.
• Fast food firms also made the list of top employers of workers who needed food stamps and Medicaid to survive. One big problem those workers have, and the GOP Donald Trump regime and the Republican-run Congress intend to make it worse, is the workers are bounced from pillar to post in trying to exercise their rights. 

Such “joint employers” as McDonald’s headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., and the local McDonald’s franchise holders can each blame the other for low pay and bad working conditions. McDonald’s was fourth in workers in the 11 states needing food stamps (6,709), while Burger King was ninth (2,186) and Taco Bell was 14th (1,569).

• The number of FedEx workers who needed Medicaid more than tripled in five years, from 1,046 pre-pandemic to 3,814, GAO calculated. That put FedEx—which, except for its pilots, are non-union—sixth on the list of top firms whose workers need, and get, Medicaid. It was also sixth, with 4,944 workers, on the numbers of food stamp recipients. That number doubled in five years.

 “Manufacturing had a higher total number of workers enrolled in Medicaid, but construction had a higher percentage of workers enrolled in Medicaid,” GAO reported. But neither individual factories nor construction firms made the list. The seasonal variation in construction work may account for its higher percentage.

National Totals: An estimated 13.8 million working adults were enrolled in Medicaid and 10.6 million lived in households receiving SNAP. [1, 2]

Top Corporate Employers: Major corporations continue to account for the highest counts of workers requiring public assistance, with Walmart and Amazon ranking highest. [1]

Gig Economy Surge: Workers for rideshare and delivery apps (classified as independent contractors) saw a sharp spike, overtaking traditional retail and fast-food giants in several state SNAP recipient metrics. [1, 2]

Industry Concentration: Beneficiaries are predominantly clustered in retail, food service, warehousing, and transportation

https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-26-108703