When it hits home...

‘Every year, more and more businesses are speaking out on how climate change is damaging their businesses. Insurance companies were in the lead on sounding the alarm on global warming. Just a few days ago, Coca-Cola’s vice president for environment and water resources, Jeffrey Seabright, told the New York Times that “increased droughts, more unpredictable variability, 100-year floods every two years” were affecting the supply of sugar cane and sugar beets, “as well as citrus for [Coca-Cola’s] fruit juices.”’  [ from http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article37587.htm ]I had already been reading about the hits that insurance companies were taking because of disasters like hurricanes, floods, droughts, wildfires. 

Walmart had said that it had no position on legislation to cut billions to food stamp program (SNAP), the name for food stamps,but now  their earnings are taking a hit. About 20 percent of Walmart’s customers use food stamps.   Now since cuts have taken place, their quarterly earnings are down.  And with additional cuts just passed in the farm bill of $1billion a year, they will be hurt even more.  From http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/cuts-food-stamps-hurt-walmarts-bottom-line?akid=11474.40506.9ZlqPZ&rd=1&src=newsletter954688&t=3   ]  Poor things.  Even their own employees will be buying fewer groceries.  Can you imagine having to cut back on your own food budget by about $90 a month?  That is the average loss for families on food stamps.