Slay the Beast of Bentonville

Wal-Mart really is a beast. There's a growing movement to "change" Wal-Mart: Wake-up Wal-Mart. How about some disturbing facts regarding the high costs of Wal-Mart?

Specifically, the Committee estimates that the low wages result in the following additional public costs being passed along to taxpayers for an average 200-employee store:"

$36,000 a year for free and reduced lunches for just 50 qualifying Wal-Mart families.
$42,000 a year for low income housing assistance, assuming 3 percent of the store employees qualify for such assistance, at $6,700 per family.

$125,000 a year for federal tax credits and deductions for low-income families, assuming 50 employees are heads of household with a child and 50 are married with two children.

$100,000 a year for the additional Title I expenses, assuming 50 Wal-Mart families qualify with an average of 2 children.

$108,000 a year for the additional federal health care costs of moving into state children’s health insurance programs (S-CHIP), assuming 30 employees with an average of two children qualify.

$9,750 a year for the additional costs for low income energy assistance.

You can read the full report here. Personally, I don't think change can go far enough. By merely pushing for change we silently acknowledge the legitimacy of the corporate structure in our lives. The current political system that has rendered fictional entities real people with all the rights we enjoy is ludicrous. Nevertheless, in today's political climate pushing for change is a step in the right direction.

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