Wal-Martyr

I think it's great the way Wal-Mart positions itself as Wal-Martyr by hiring no less than four lobbying firms, per the NYT, to rail against Maryland's holding it to the law. Apparently, companies in Maryland with 10,000 or more employees have to spend 8 percent of their payrolls on health insurance, or else pay the difference into a state Medicaid fund. Statewide, there are only four companies that fall into this category. Johns Hopkins does it, so does Giant Foods. So does military contractor Northrop Grumman. That leaves W-M.

Fellow Trogs may recall that this is actually the second time the MD Legislature voted on this bill. The first time, Governor Erlich vetoed it, with a senior Wal-Mart executive sitting right next to him as he did so. I wonder if said executive got to keep that pen.

What percentage of its payroll does W-M spend on its employees' healthcare? We don't know b/c they don't divulge that. Hmm. Isn't W-M a public company? Why, yes it is--WMT on the New York Stock Exchange. Shouldn't that information be listed in its annual report to its shareholders? Could the difference between what W-M currently pays and what it will have to pay be that substantial?

Other states around the country have been anxiously awaiting the outcome of this. It's not certain whether Wal-Mart will mount some sort of legal campaign. But it's also not likely to set a precedent unless the other states also have a similar payroll percentage minimum for large employers.

It does make one wonder, if W-M is such a stand-up corporate citizen, why doesn't it pay the 8% in the first place? Just come out with a press release that says, "Gosh darnit, we're making money hand over fist and we keep telling you what a good neighbor we are and we're going to take care of our employees to at least the standards of these other big companies."

Why is it important to always keep an eye on what Wal-Mart is doing? Because it's the largest retailer in the entire world, with $285.2 billion in sales in the fiscal year ending last January. And with apologies to Pat Metheny, as falls Wichita, so falls Wichita Falls.

Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/13/business/13walmart.html

http://custom.marketwatch.com/custom/nyt-com/html-story.asp?guid={3F22E53C-68EC-40E1-93A4-BEFCAF1C7343}&symb=WMT&sid=5318&siteid=NYT&dist=NYT&osymb=WMT

http://www.walmart.com