You might ask whether a company burning untold sums on a gilded ballroom has something to hide. In the case of Amazon they have a lot of irons in Hades’ fires. 

Halloween is scheduled to be the last day that food assistance benefits are funded by the federal government. Ensuring children and families have food on the table is a basic human right. 

Yet, the Trump Administration is threatening to cut off SNAP benefits on November 1st, which would leave 42 million Americans without food assistance. What some people don’t seem to get is that the money often covers the gaps left by low wages paid by companies as large as Amazon and Walmart. Those corporations depend on workers’ low wages being subsidized by federal programs like SNAP. Otherwise some of their employees couldn’t afford to eat. 

In fact, a 2023 national survey conducted by University of Illinois Chicago of 1,484 Amazon workers across 42 states found that 48% relied on some form of public assistance to meet basic needs, like food and rent. Workers reported using at least one publicly-funded assistance program in the months leading up to the survey, including 23% of Amazon workers who said they relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

These numbers show that even while working for one of the richest companies in the world, many workers remain trapped in cycles of economic instability.

Trump and Amazon’s practices are two sides of the same coin, taking from working families across the country. Denying food to children and families is about as cruel as you can get — whether that is through low wages or defunding food assistance. 

The good news is that both Trump and Amazon’s abuses can be stopped when the people stand up and push back.  Amazon raised its minimum wage to $15 in 2018 following worker demand and pressure. The working class holds a lot of power to expose the oligarchs who align themselves with Trump.

-Sheheryar Kaoosji