If you don't know by now, the Maryland Legislature has overrode Republican Governor Robert Ehrlich's veto of the Fair Share Health Care Act. This law will force Wal-Mart to pay more for the healthcare of its Maryland employees. Kossack "Norabb" covered this great news last night, and it didn't make the rec. list? I'm surprised by that, people. Therefore, being the rule-following Kossack that I am, I bring you the next step in this story, cross-posted at the Writing on the Wal.
Here is the key part of Wal-Mart's statement in response to the vote in the Maryland Legislature overriding Governor Ehrlich's veto of the Fair Share Health Care bill:
"We believe that everyone should have access to affordable health insurance. This legislation does nothing to accomplish that goal.
"There are 786,000 uninsured people in the state of Maryland and less than one-half of one percent work for Wal-Mart. Clearly, the legislators who voted for this bill have let down hundreds of thousands of Marylanders in need.
"More than three-fourths of Wal-Mart associates have health insurance. And every Wal-Mart associate in Maryland -- both full-time and part-time -- can become eligible for health coverage that costs as little as $23 per month.
Then the company goes on to attack the bill law as partisan politics inspired by that evil special interest, trade unions.
Let's take this pity party apart, one point at a time:
Wal-Mart tells you how much it cares about affordable health care, but it says nothing about the quality of that healthcare. Typical Wal-Mart: treating employees the same way they treat their cheap plastic crap. Wal-Mart's cheapest healthcare plan has a $1000 deductible. The most expensive plan has a deductible of $350. No wonder Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said last year:
"In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums."
About those 786,000 uninsured Marylanders: Thanks for endorsing national health insurance. Hillary Clinton's office will be contacting you for a letter of endorsement shortly.
Next point. More than three quarters of Wal-Mart associates may have health insurance, but Wal-Mart is only paying for the insurance of 48% of them. Again, this is a signal of how lame Wal-Mart's health insurance program really is. If it was any good, more of their employees would elect to enroll. By making companies of Wal-Mart's size invest more money in their own workers by spending more on healthcare, this law will force them to improve the quality of their benefits package. This in turn will draw more workers into their system and off the rolls of state-funded programs. Heck, this law might even help Wal-Mart solve its turnover problem.
Oh wait, Wal-Mart doesn't think turnover is a problem. To them it's part of their business strategy. We'll probably soon hear Wal-Mart and its free-market Libertarian defenders tell the old story of how working at Wal-Mart is really a job for senior citizens, college students and Moms who need flexible schedules in order to be home when their kids get back from school. If the biggest employer in America can't offer actual career opportunities with decent benefits, what is this country coming to anyway?
According to the AP, similar legislation will soon be or has already been introduced in 30 states. What do the party favors look like at a pity party? Perhaps we should take up a collection and send some to Bentonville as it looks like Wal-Mart will be needing a lot more soon.
JR