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Comment by bruceb | Hacker News Reader

"In addition to increasing wages, Walmart last year dropped the dollar-per-day fee employees paid to participate in the company’s subsidized university degree program, a move that boosted participation by 44%, said Ms. Morris."

Participation might have increased but I wonder if completion rates decreased.

If you can't pay $365 a year for college, even on Walmart wages, might not actually be that driven to complete courses/degree.

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In 2020, the average wage of an hourly worker in a Walmart store was $14.76. Over a year, that $1 a day comes out to a month's car payment, or child care. I believe you can be driven to complete college courses and still not be able to afford it given the average pay at Walmart.

The parent poster's point remains. Regardless of how much of an impact $1/day (or $30/month) can have, if your financial/living situation is such that amount makes a difference, you probably don't have the free time/mental energy to finish college courses in your spare time.

from the article > Walmart last year dropped the dollar-per-day fee employees paid to participate in the company’s subsidized university degree program, a move that boosted participation by 44%

Apparently it had a significant difference.

The OP comment that you are attempting to disagree with says "Participation might have increased but I wonder if completion rates decreased." and you are citing participation using the exact same quote he did as if it was new information.

Right, but the GP was talking about completion rates. People might have been enticed into attending those programs (it's free, after all), but actually following it through is whole different matter.

Agreed. I was considering attendance, but completion would be a much different (and meaningful) metric.

$30 a month is gas for a few days or food for a few days. When you're poor, you're more focused on survival and that amount can put a lot of fear and hesitation into someone.

I think a company charging their employees $1 a day for a perk speaks more volumes about the character of the company than it's employees.

It is to weed out lack of commitment, which can be very common for people entering these low entry level jobs

I don't event live in the US, but I see it as a smart move

How does this weed out commitment? Or in other words - if you don't want to stick around what is the negative of paying the 1$ a day? Presumably if you're only in it for the benefits then the benefits far outweigh 1$?

Even at $1 a day, there is still a barrier associated with participaing. Having to log in, find out how to change the setting/talk to someone. Fewer barriers are better, I bet the net graduation rates increased, even if the completion to participation ratio dropped some.

I agree that if you can't be bothered to figure out how to contribute the $1 a day, then you're probably not all that driven.

Or you have high rent, another mouth to feed, sick parents to take care of, or any of hundreds of other things that could make every last dollar important.

> If you can't pay $365 a year for college, even on Walmart wages, might not actually be that driven to complete courses/degree.

Some people _can_ pay that much money and blow off the whole thing.

The notion that disposable income is a useful metric to measure one's "drive" is one of the most managerial, tone-deaf, over-privileged, peak-hacker-news comments I have ever seen.

Please reconsider your position on this. Or at least, please - don't become a manager.

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