Wal-Mart about to get the shaft in MD

[Strut10]

Have you seen the latest from the People's Republic of Maryland?? Legislators there have passed a bill requiring all private employers with over 10,000 employees (read: Wal-Mart and Wal-Mart alone) are going to be required by law to spend 8% of their annual cash revenues on employee health & welfare benefits. Wal-Mart employs 17,000 in Maryland.

Seems the lawmakers in Maryland can't stand to see capitalism at work and the unions can't stand to see money being made without them. They are calling it somewthing like the "Fair Share" initiative. So, now, I guess, it's up to the government to tell us what our "fair share" is.

30 other states have already said they will use this as the precedent-setting case to screw big business in the same manner. Already, West Virginia has drafted an, almost, identical bill.

IMHO....... Wal-Mart should either,

A: Lay off 7001 employees in Maryland to avoid (until the legislators lower the employee ceiling) the payout, or,

B: Inform the governor of Maryland that as of Friday, all its stores will close and he can explain to 17,000 unemployed folks where they can go get a new job.

This is crap with a capital "C"!! If this goes through and Wal-Mart lets it.......the effect will be so far-reaching it'll be unreal.

[okbowman]

We're becoming more and more Socialist all the time!! If they hate Walmart that much, just don't shop there, lets face it they got there in the last 30 years or so by hard work and low prices, why punish them for it?

[johnf]

If they would just break down and socilize medicine, they wouldn't have to worry about Wal-mart and their insurrance policies.

[Strut10]

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......lets face it they got there in the last 30 years or so by hard work and low prices, why punish them for it?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because that's the #1 strategy right out of the liberals' playbook...... penalize people/companies for being succesful. Look at the tax code. The more you make, the more they take. Some incentive to do better in life, ain't it??

[Strut10]

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If they would just break down and socilize medicine, they wouldn't have to worry about Wal-mart and their insurrance policies.

[/ QUOTE ]

No. Then we'd have to wonder how many weeks or months the wait was going to be for an apendectomy or an MRI.

[johnf]

[ QUOTE ]
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If they would just break down and socilize medicine, they wouldn't have to worry about Wal-mart and their insurrance policies.

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No. Then we'd have to wonder how many weeks or months the wait was going to be for an apendectomy or an MRI.

[/ QUOTE ]

I was talking about Maryland, not the states with working brains.

[huntn4bucks]

[ QUOTE ]
Because that's the #1 strategy right out of the liberals' playbook...... penalize people/companies for being succesful. Look at the tax code. The more you make, the more they take. Some incentive to do better in life, ain't it??

[/ QUOTE ]
Ain't that the truth. Work harder so others can work less...or better yet...not at all!

[hutchies]

I bet wal mart is furious over this. I really don't have a problem with it. My wife worked at wal mart for years when she was younger and they pushed her to work harder and harder everyday and the pay was horrible with no benefits. Wal Mart takes advantage of their workers. My mother in law still works at Wal Mart. They have here as head over sporting goods and automotive. She is supposed to be making around $12. Her manager has her at nine and she called corporate and they said they can't approve it without the managers paperwork and authorization.

I buy from Wal Mart but I am not a fan of their policies. I try to buy as little as possible there but living in a small town you don't have alot of choice.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

I agree that WalMart has some problems, but getting the government involved isn't the way to address them. This is an issue that needs to be worked out between the company and it's employees. If enough employees don't like the way the company's run, they can try to force the company to change or they can find employment elsewhere. And I have a hard time believing that the state of Maryland is really that concerned about the welfare of some particular group of people. Sounds more like a money/power grab to me.

[hutchies]

I don't understand how people can standup for Wal-Mart and say that they we shouldn't put a tax on bigger buisnesses that have over 10,000 employees when the sons and daughters of Sam Walton are worth what......oh around 15-16 billion each.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

From the 60's protest song I'd Love To Change The World by Ten Years After...

Tax the rich
Feed the poor
Till there are no
Rich no more

I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you

[Master_Chief]

Just because the kids are wealthy, the government has the right to dictate their policy? Are we in Moscow here? If the workers don't like the workplace/policy this is a free country. Feel free to find another job.

[hutchies]

Ok, Say 17,000 people quit Wal Mart in Maryland. What would the unemployment look like then?

Many people are trapped in the job they are in because they have to have a weekly check.

[Master_Chief]

If 17000 people quit they have exercised their freedom to do that. This is all over medical expenses. Wal Mart has 18 different plans to choose from. I think the Gov't needs to stay out of it.

If they are that worried about healthcare then the military offers a great plan, good retirement too. The added bonus then that they will protect peoples rights to continue to work where they please.

[slugshooter]

So, is the problem here that Wal-Mart should be praised for not offering decent health care to their workers. I am trying to figure out what the main beef here is. I wouldn't praise all the great things Wal-Mart has done unless you have worked there, which for close to 2 years I worked at a distribution center, which is much different from a store. The pay was good, I never had a problem getting paid my overtime wages, I was never told to work off the clock, and I never had a problem with the health plan I used. The downside is you get treated like crap and worked to the bone and it is implied that if you don't agree with the "Wal-Mart Way" you can go elsewhere. The upper management in the DC thought they controlled the universe, and Wal-Mart feeds that thought.