Wal-Mart employee “can’t afford” $15/week for health insurance, but can afford cigarettes

wordpress ^ | November 12, 2012 | Dan from Squirrel Hill

[grundle]

Dan from Squirrel Hill's Blog

Wal-Mart employee says he “can’t afford” $15 a week for health insurance, but has no trouble paying for cigarettes

CBNC reports:

Wal-Mart Stores’ U.S. employees will pay between 8 percent and 36 percent more in premiums for its medical coverage in 2013, prompting some of the 1.4 million workers at the nation’s largest private employer to say they will forego coverage altogether.

“I really can’t even afford it now, so for it to go up even a dollar for me is a stretch,” said Colby Harris, who said he makes $8.90 per hour and takes home less than $20,000 per year working in the Walmart store’s produce department in Lancaster, Texas.

Harris, a 22-year-old smoker, was set to see his cost per paycheck rise to $29.60 from $25.40. He says he has decided not to sign up for coverage.

The same article also refers to Wal-Mart’s “two-week pay period.” So this guy is saying that he “can’t afford” to pay $15 per week for health insurance, and yet he somehow manages to pay for his cigarettes.

I wonder how much he spends on cigarettes each week. The article doesn’t say – but I’m guessing it’s more than $15.

[GeronL]

Taxpayers will end up paying for his.

I expect almost all retail-restaurant operations will cut employment, hours etc to avoid ObamaCare provisions

[NautiNurse]

He's contributing significantly to other people's health care costs through the exorbitant taxes he's paying for cigarettes.

Taxes ($1.01 federal tax, $1.41 TX state excise tax, plus state and local sales tax) represent over 56% of the cost of a pack of smokes. Add in the tobacco settlement funds to states in perpetuity. This young man is paying predatory tax rates.

Sounds like a perfect setup for black market industry.

[SkyDancer]

Yeah, same here. I ask myself how people could burn up that much money. Might as well burn your money and eliminate cancer.

[SkyDancer]

You have to be kidding. $85 a carton????

[beckysueb]

He probably smokes a pack a day at a cost of about 6 bucks a pack.

[MarineMom613]

11.75 pk in NYC and up. Black market 10.00 pk. Carton 117.00 per ctn.

[1st Division guy]

some where around $60 last i looked depending where you live.

[beckysueb]

Around 50 to 60 dollars a carton in your average red states, much higher in the blue states.

[LearsFool]

He’s already paying for govt health insurance, right? Isn’t that what exhorbitant cigarette taxes are for?

[Idaho_Cowboy]

As irresponsible as that sounds. Isn't part of being an American not being told that you have to quit living decadently so you can by essentials from the government. It won't seem so funny when we are being told that things aren't luxuries.

Who decides whats a luxury and whats not?

The libertarian in me says if he places a higher marginal utility on his smoke let him.

[Zhang Fei]

11.75 pk in NYC and up. Black market 10.00 pk. Carton 117.00 per ctn.

Many of the guys who used to sell drugs are now selling cigarettes bought from other states. They make less per dosed, but it's a legal drug and at worst, they get nailed for tax evasion, which is nothing like drug possession. Also, the cigarette market dwarfs the drug market, so they do make it up in volume.

[Drew68]

11.75 pk in NYC and up. Black market 10.00 pk. Carton 117.00 per ctn.

I just got back from the United Kingdom where a pack of Marlboros was about £8 or thirteen bucks. And everyone smoked!

[ogen hal]

I really don’t care what anyone does if I don’t have to pay for the results in any way. I don’t even want pay for their burial.

[SkyDancer]

Wow! Doing the quick conversion from Aussie$ to USD that’s a bundle!! And the same people complain about high prices of other stuff?

[TigersEye]

I’m surprised it took 12 posts to point that out. Wal-Mart won’t force him to buy insurance but in 2014 0bama will.

[Hot Tabasco]

Of course nobody will want to sell him insurance when he finally does develop a sickness and find it’s cancer.

Yes they will after he has served his qualifying period..........

[WKB]

I looked before I posted and I was surprised myself. :>)

[Drew68]

But smokers should be paying several times the ‘standard’ health insurance rate simply based on the fact that smokers are not as healthy as non-smokers.

It's a myth that smokers use more healthcare than non-smokers. For most of us, the overwhelming majority of our health care costs will be incurred during our last two years of life, whether one is a 17-year old dying from leukemia, a 55-year old dying from smoking-related lung cancer or a 95-year old dying from simple old age. In fact, some argue that smokers actually cost society less by dying younger, saving society decades of elderly-related health costs, retirement benefits, pensions, etc.

[ravenwolf]

It is not about diapers or smokes, it is about socialism.

[Hot Tabasco]

Of course there was no mention of his gasoline usage or alcohol comsumption..............

Gotta blame him for sumthin so it might just as well be smoking since everybody else drinks and they would never consider ostracizing someone for that little indiscretion.......LOL!