Walmart's raping of the disadvantaged continues

For those of you who haven't seen the TV ads yet (which curiously show a nebulously interracial couple), Walmart is getting into the check cashing business.

Don't have check cashing establishments around your home? You probably live in an area that's doing OK. They're a staple of neighborhoods that aren't doing so well, financially, along with stores that sell liquor, menthol cigarettes and cheap comestibles barely deserving the term "food."

If you have a check that's made out to you, say, your paycheck, they'll cash it--for a fee. Seems reasonable enough. Walmart offers a "discount" service of "only" $3 for a check up to $1000; $6 for checks up to $5000.

But why would you need to cash it? Why couldn't you just deposit it into your bank account? Banks cash checks for free--assuming you've got cash in your account to cover it. Assuming you've got a bank account.

It's yet another instance of being charged a fee for not having enough money.

Most banks expect a minimum deposit--they charge fees if you fall below the minimum. If those fees are higher than the $3/check, or up to $12/month (or more) Walmart is charging, then saving money means, well, not saving your money.

Not that saving your money is Walmart's aim--the ad shows you all the things you can buy, like mp3 players and computers, presumingly from them, with the "up to $200 per year" you could "save."

And who are these people, the ones who cannot afford to stockpile even one paycheck in a bank? I was one of them. Not for financial reasons, though--I didn't have any ID--I couldn't prove, to the satisfaction of a bank, who I was. Curiously, the rules at the check cashing stores were different. Mediocre, even questionable identification was sufficient to turn a check into cash, but insufficient for saving it in your own name.

These are also Walmart's own employees, most of whom are part-time, at their management's preference.

Assuming a biweekly paycheck at double minimum wage, full-time, after taxes you're still likely to come in under the $1,000 check to meet the $3 price. To restate that, after two weeks of full-time work, you're taking home less than $1000, which is a crime in itself. After 26 paychecks, throw in your tax refund check and you're paying $85. If you work for Walmart, that's paying your money back to your employer for the privilege of them paying you.

That's assuming you don't get an employee discount.