Amazon Has Become Pathetically Reliant on Food Stamps to Power Its Empire
"These are families that are really barely able to make ends meet, and yet they are working, and they are working a lot." The post Amazon Has Become Pathetically Reliant on Food Stamps to Power Its Empire appeared first on Futurism .
Amazon Prime has evolved into a cornerstone of American trade, akin to a public utility rather than an individual business. The logistics network has surpassed the US Postal Service in parcel dispatch, providing essential goods to small enterprises, laborers, and educators at lightning speed. Like any public service, Amazon Prime incurs a significant taxpayer-funded expense.
A recent Fortune investigation disclosed that Amazon workers have been substantially reliant on government aid through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Medicaid from 2020 to 2025, with the count nearly tripling. Despite posting staggering profits, Amazon's workforce of 12,346 employees in 11 states received help from SNAP, while an additional 11,338 relied on Medicaid.
These federal benefits effectively function as a subsidy, enabling executives to reap record profits while offering low-wage workers subsistence-level incomes. Amazon is far from the sole company grappling with this issue; Walmart, Uber, McDonald's, and Dollar General also had top-heavy employment in SNAP and Medicaid. The General Accounting Office's survey highlights the challenging reality of working-class life in the world's richest nation.
As of 2024, nearly 14 million working adults were enrolled in Medicaid, and 10.6 million benefited from SNAP. Astonishingly, 71.3 percent of those receiving government support for groceries worked at least 35 hours a week. GAO director Kathryn Larin emphasized that these are families barely making ends meet, working long hours.
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