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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Commissary, anyone?[/quote]

I’m convinced that so many Service Members struggle when they leave because the cradle-to-grave socialism of the military takes away a lot of day-to-day anxieties. Of course, those anxieties are replaced by other ones - seeing active combat, year-long deployments, etc.

But when socialism works well (see: U.S. military life), people often flounder when they are removed from that structure and tossed into the cold reality of the U.S. civilian economy and society.[/quote]

People flounder when trapped in a capitalist economy, you say? [/quote]

No, people flounder when they have been infantilized and dependent on others and now have to grow up and live independently.

Even our national parks know this; don’t feed the wildlife, they stop learning to forage for their own food [/quote]

That belief only works if capitalist society provides people the means to live independently.  Ever tried supporting a family of four on Walmart wages?  They deliberately underpay their workers, knowing that SNAP benefits will make up the difference.  The government is subsidizing these large corporations.

Seems like the corporations should learn how to forage for themselves.[/quote]

If you are a Walmart shelf stocker trying to feed a family of four, it isn’t capitalism that put you in this situation, but a series of poor choices.

And for the record, Walmart pays very well for people who move up the ladder, like $75k - 130k for middle managers. Upwards of $300,000 for super store managers.

Trying to live of minimum wage with a family is hard, because it isn’t meant to be a career but an entrance into employment. [/quote]

Not everyone can be a super store manager. For every manager, there are dozens of employees.  They aren’t all going to get promoted, not because they’re incompetent but because there aren’t enough job openings.

So it isn’t “poor choices”, it’s simple mathematics, although the just world fallacy is comforting to people who are born on third base and think they hit a triple.[/quote]

After 5 years of service a person at Walmart can make roughly $50,000/year as your basic run of the employee. Team leads make even more. That’s starting salary for most teachers. Not bad for someone with zero skills other than unboxing and working a register.

And again if you are doing this without a partner/spouse and three kids, that isn’t capitalism’s problem, but poor life choices. [/quote]

I live in a lower COL area (mid-range) than DC. I have a friend (divorced, 2 teen age kids). She had left college when their daughter was born premature and ended up working retail. She divorced her husband when it turned out he was giving the house payment money to an affair partner (they had split costs and had separate accounts). She is also an enrolled tribal member (grandmother 100% Native American) which at intermittent times has meant some extra money. In the last year her income has grown so that she no longer qualifies for any benefits. She said it's extremely difficult. She even has affordable housing, a small house from a private landlord who does not gouge tenants and maintains properties well. And kids are old enough to not need childcare (which used to be traded with her sister anyway).  She says it's pretty much fried tofu and vegetables and rice for meals. I asked her what her annual income is, she wasn't totally sure (different sources, she has 2 jobs, there is child support, and there is occasional tribal money) but when we added it up it was somewhere around $56k. Not enough. [/quote]

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