Vision Circle

More On WalMart

So, in response to "Business Econ 101", Spence kinda sorta spanked me for not providing enough meat.

Here is my response to him, and at his request, at it's own entry.

Don't ask politicians to do what shouldn't take you more than a fifteen minute google search to find.

The problem is, you have LAWMAKERS making LAWS that they have no clue about nor the potential impact nor the numbers behind what they support. And, when they are put on the spot, they spout, what I can term nothing else but nonsense and show no degree of understanding business and how it operates.

I asked my district representative's office about the bill and was not impressed with the lack of business knowledge and health care costs knowlege.

Above, I gave the cost of what I pay for health insurance.

From the link:
http://www.ufcw.org/issues_and_actions/walmart_workers_campaign_info/facts_and_figures/walmartonbenefits.cfm

Employees must pay $218 per month for family health care coverage from Wal-Mart.

That's less than what I pay. I also have looked into paying my own health costs, directly, for a number of reasons, one being I tend to job hop and I want to have medical care consistancy. Paying for health care for my family, the cost would be slightly higher than what I pay now. Either way, both are more than what WalMart workers pay, if that link is correct. (When paying for my own coverage, it is still group insurance).

More than 60 percent of Wal-Mart employees--600,000 people--are forced to get health insurance coverage from the government or through spouses’ plans—or live without any health insurance.

1. They don't break down the percentage of how many are "forced" to get it from government, spouse or live without.

2. Of those who live without, they don't give a breakdown of how many do so by choice.

3. "Forced" to get health care from their spouse? Uhhh.... My wife and I made a decision who had the best health coverage and that was the one we went with. If they are still covered, so what?

Wal-Mart has increased the premium cost for workers by over 200% since 1993

That's a lot, but I think that's better than the averge.

That link was from a union backed web site.

Here is another link:

http://reclaimdemocracy.org/walmart/health_insurance_program.php

Detractors point out that Wal-Mart covers only 48 percent of its employees. But according to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, in the retail sector overall only 45 percent of workers receive health coverage from their own employer. Still, why do more than half of Wal-Mart's employees opt out of the company's health insurance?

For one thing, part-time workers who make up 25 percent of Wal-Mart's workforce are not eligible until after two years. Then there is the cost. Wal-Mart pays 67 percent of the cost of health insurance for employees, about equal to the retail industry average of 68 percent for family coverage—but, for individual health insurance, far below the 77 percent that retailers contribute on average.

Many employees opt out because they are otherwise covered. The company says that two-thirds of its employees are second-income providers, college students, and senior citizens. Many of these have health insurance through their spouse's employer, parent's plan, or retirement and Medicare programs. Thus about 40 percent of the company's workers are covered apart from Wal-Mart's plan.