Posted on 06/20/2007 8:42:58 AM PDT by gas0linealley
Wal-Mart (WMT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) jumped into the consumer banking wars with a plan to open 1,000 Wal-Mart MoneyCenters in stores nationwide by the end of 2008.
The idea is to give Wal-Mart customers access to low-cost money services, including check cashing, money orders, bill payment and money transfers.
(Excerpt) Read more at thestreet.com ...
Never have I seen a US corporation do so much for the poorest Americans and get so vilified for it.
Its amazing.
Not just check cashing, but money order fees. I know a few people who don't have bank accounts and spend a lot of time and money getting money orders for bill paying each payday. Maybe if WalMart offered a low balance/low charge account, they could save themselves some money.
YES FOR WALMART!
I bought my last order of checks from them. You could buy a single box of duplicates for something like $5. I hate getting ripped off by banks. “Oh a box of checks, that’ll be $17.”
My sentiments exactly.
The poultry plants here do not have paychecks drawn on a local bank, so many people have to use check cashing services every week. The payday loan places charge 3-5% of the check amount, but WM charges a flat $3. That can be a big difference to someone feeding a family on that paycheck.
And this is a good thing!
Preventing illegal aliens from sending money might discourage some from coming here if it could be done effectively. However, to do so you're going to have to provide identification which shows proof of legal status any time you use such services, and that would justifiably piss off a lot of people who don't like the idea of the government or anyone else tracking everything they do.
In my opinion, the problem isn't companies facilitating the transfer of money, the problem is that the illegal aliens shouldn't be here in the first place.
Western Union has been around longer than illegal aliens have been a serious problem, and such companies do provide a valuable service. It is true that the service is likely being used more by illegal aliens than by legal residents, at least as far as international transfers are concerned.
If those companies are lobbying against enforcing our immigration laws because the lack of enforcement is profitable for them, then that is a serious problem.
However, I'm not sure there is a good solution, other than to remove the problem by enforcing our immigration laws.
Would you rather that people had to provide a passport, or another form of ID that is accepted by the federal government and shows legal status before being able to wire money outside the country? I guess if it is limited to sending money outside the country it wouldn't be too restrictive.
Of course there are plenty of ways to get around it. Wiring money just seems like the easiest method that doesn't leave much of a trail.
I totally agree with you. The elitist class despises other people making their money go further, the rest of the bitter haters seem to be unions, left wing politicians who claim to be friends of the poor, and the media.
Walmart graciously gives the lowest price to those who need it most...the ones who lost a good job to a foreign worker now making products for Walmart.
Actually, the proper term would be "presume," Mr. Assume.
Typical....
EXACTLY! I worked for a tax firm this past spring, and I saw all sorts of WHITE people who didn’t have bank accounts... who didn’t want a check from us for their tax refund because they had no place to cash it.
This is a HUGE deal and it’s going to do a lot of Americans a favor. Just because it might help illegals send money to Mexico is no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Those people might as well argue that Walmart should be put out of business because their low prices make it easier for illegals to live in the US.
My grandmother uses Western Union all the time to send money to my aunt. And my LEGAL immigrant husband sends child support back to his home country (but we do it through a bank account). So, not all of these things are necessarily bad.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.