Brenton Awa

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

occurred 18 years before he was born

True.
But if you are a cog in the wheel, even a cog added after the wheel was built and functioning, I would expect you’d find out how the wheel operates.  Like if you swear to uphold a constitution, you would read the constitution which you are required to uphold.  Or don’t take the job.  There are after all, other jobs available with lesser, simpler prerequisites.

[HiloJulie]

Like if you swear to uphold a constitution, you would read the constitution which you are required to uphold.  Or don’t take the job.  There are after all, other jobs available with lesser, simpler prerequisites.

Could not agree more. 

It does seem however, with recent times, some of those who swear those oaths as well as those required prerequisites no longer matter - with some of those who are elected or appointed and subsequently confirmed, as well as also with some of their constituents.

I also find Awa's statement “stepping outside lines drawn by people in power when residents like us don’t fit in.” to be a bit ironic and yet very hypocritical - as it relates to other more current actions being undertaken of late.

[leilanidude]

Imagine being a single mother of 2 or 3 kids earning $14.00 an hour working at WalMart on a 28 to 32 hour work week. And then take away her SNAP benefits.
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Not on Oahu. Walmart minimum starting pay for cashier is $20 and going up in 2026. It is $19 in Hilo, just as is Target.

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

a single mother of 2 or 3 kids earning $14.00 an hour working at WalMart … And then take away her SNAP benefits.
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Not on Oahu. Walmart minimum starting pay for cashier is $20 and going up in 2026

$20 x 40 hours = $800 a week x 4 = $3200 a month.
How much is rent on Oahu?  $2000? More?  How much is a baby sitter because she’s working while the kids are home from school?  Deduct that from her paycheck, and taxes.  If she and her kids don’t live extravagantly, like wear clothes from Walmart, or eat food, she still has to afford her welfare queen Cadillac payments.  But at least she buys American.

You do the math.  The math beyond some number $ per hour.

[HiloJulie]

Imagine being a single mother of 2 or 3 kids earning $14.00 an hour working at WalMart on a 28 to 32 hour work week. And then take away her SNAP benefits.
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Not on Oahu. Walmart minimum starting pay for cashier is $20 and going up in 2026. It is $19 in Hilo, just as is Target.

True.

Walmart reports that it has 4,498 employees in Hawaii. While Walmart does not break down the number of part time to full time of the total 4,498 employees for Hawaii, Walmart enacted a goal of having two thirds of its employees classed as full time. In Hawaii that would mean that 2,969 employees ae classed full time, with the remaining 1,529 employees classed part time.

Most of those 1,529 part time employees therefore do not qualify for health insurance coverage as required by The Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act.

Further, while no Hawaii specific information exists as to the number of full and part time Hawaii employees who also receive SNAP and/or Medicaid benefits, it is reported that Walmart is one of the nation's largest employer of employees who are SNAP and/or Medicaid recipients.

So, I have rephrased my question:

Imagine being a single mother of 2 or 3 kids earning $14.00 $20.00 an hour working at WalMart on a 28 to 32 or even a 40 hour work week. And then take away her SNAP and Medicaid benefits and add in all the other items as HOTPE points out.

You do the math.

As the saying goes, That math ain't mathing!

[leilanidude]

Imagine being a single mother of 2 or 3 kids earning $14.00 $20.00 an hour working at WalMart on a 28 to 32 or even a 40 hour work week. And then take away her SNAP and Medicaid benefits and add in all the other items as HOTPE points out.
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Not sure you even live in Hawaii. Everyone knows that at more than 19 hours per week, the employer must provide no-cost individual health insurance and she being a "single mother" with 2 or 3 kids means Quest is free for the kids, SNAP was never taken away (doing the math, she would get $800-$1200 a month) free school breakfast and lunches, free day care and after school care for the kids and would probably qualify for the reimbursed auto insurance as well as she is actively working. She would also file federal taxes as head of household with the dependents and get more back due to the E.I.C. than she ever paid in, by somewhere around $6000+ every year.

[HiloJulie]

Not sure you even live in Hawaii. Everyone knows that at more than 19 hours per week, the employer must provide no-cost individual health insurance and she being a "single mother" with 2 or 3 kids means Quest is free for the kids, SNAP was never taken away (doing the math, she would get $800-$1200 a month) free school breakfast and lunches, free day care and after school care for the kids and would probably qualify for the reimbursed auto insurance as well as she is actively working. She would also file federal taxes as head of household with the dependents and get more back due to the E.I.C. than she ever paid in, by somewhere around $6000+ every year. 

I love the subtle attempt of trying to discredit me with the dig about NOT living here from a guy who brags about having homes in Texas and Florida! How is the weather there? At Barney's palatial liar here in Hawaiian Acres, at this very moment, the SUN is shining!

At any event, the Hawaii Prepaid Health Care Act, requires most private employers to provide approved health coverage for employees working 20+ hours weekly for four consecutive weeks, setting minimum standards for benefits, and requiring employers to pay at least half the premium, with employee contributions capped at 1.5% of wages.

So, she does not necessarily get FREE Healthcare. And what if WalMart decides to only let her work 19 hours a week? Why is WalMart the Nation's LARGEST employer of employees that require SNAP and Medicaid?

As for everything else, well I guess, as you see it, she is living the good life and is "rich, rich, rich I tell you, RICHIE RICH RICH!"

[leilanidude]

I have had a business in Hawaii and know full well what the health coverage law states. The 1.5% cap on employee cost means that virtually zero companies bother to charge the employee. $20hr x 20 hours = $400 which puts the cap at $6. No employer bothers.

Since we were discussing 20+ hour per week single mother with 2-3 kids, don't flip your response to "what if she works 19 or less". In any event, she would herself qualify for Quest if she did not get the company paid insurance.

Forgot to add that at the wage mentioned, she would also qualify for free or vastly reduced utility costs, housing via HUD or Section 8. the list goes on and on. This is why so many of these mothers get trapped into the cycle. They need more kids as the older ones start to age out and they lose benefits.

[HiloJulie]

This is why so many of these mothers get trapped into the cycle. They need more kids as the older ones start to age out and they lose benefits. 

The sheer bigotry and ignorance in this statement alone shows me exactly where your head is at, thus any further discussion is clearly pointless.

[leilanidude]

Nothing bigoted about the statement and the ignorance of the reality of this is on your end, as usual.

You don't understand how Section 8 works, either. The more kids you have, the more bedrooms and monthly voucher $ you get. Have a kid that ages out at 18 and you may have to move to a smaller home because you will no longer get the same amount for housing plus you lose a bunch of SNAP, etc. Have all of your kids age out and you probably won't get much at all on that voucher if you don't lose it completely.

Plenty of 15-18 year old kids suddenly find out mommy/daddy are giving them a late-in-life sibling. Plenty of poor folk in Hawaii have one or more extra kids quite late in life. They certainly are not all by accident.