Bending the Third Rail
Because We Should, We Can, We Do
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Watching WalMart
I'm on some interesting email lists, including Walmart Watch. This came in yesterday:

One of the major arguments against the Bank of Wal-Mart is the corporate giant's troubled history of saying one thing and doing another. Last week, we were treated to another chapter in that ongoing story:

Remember Susan Chambers? At the same time Wal-Mart was trying to convince us that it offered suitable healthcare to its employees, she authored last year's infamous "secret" memo. In it, she recommended that the company increase physical activity in associates' jobs as a way to discourage unhealthy employees and lower Wal-Mart's healthcare expenditures.

Well, last week, Wal-Mart promoted Ms. Chambers to Executive Vice President of Human Resources.

They say one thing and do another. It's called 'hypocrisy' (the act of pretending to have morals or virtues that one does not truly possess or practice.)

Walmart makes a big deal of practicing 'family values' but Chambers wrote of children (emphasis mine):

"We also have a significant number of Associates and their children who receive health insurance through public-assistance programs. Five percent of our Associates are on Medicaid compared to an average for national employers of 4 percent. Twenty-seven percent of Associates’ children are on such programs, compared to a national average of 22 percent. In total, 46 percent of Associates’ children are either on Medicaid or are uninsured."

People, those "low costs" are coming out of your pocket one way or another. Those kids on Medicaid or sans insurance are having what little health care they get subsidized by you. That's part of the high price of low costs.

Visit Walmart Watch to keep up on the hypocrical doings of the corporate giant.

Written at 4:52 AM by Lynne.
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