another straw, another camel

To US News & World Report, which I happened to glance at while procrastinating pharmacology at my parents' house:

"Dear Editor,

When I first read Michael Barone’s rosy opinion piece of the "Wal-Mart Model for American Economic Success” (January 9 issue), I thought he was being sarcastic. Suggesting that Walmart’s employees happily decline the chance to work full time and receive health insurance is one of the most absurd things I’ve ever heard an economist say. Walmart has been sued repeatedly for forcing its employees to work off the clock, and Walmart employees are the largest group of workers who qualify for state and federal assistance benefits. In fact, Walmart is so dependent on the American taxpayer to subsidize its profits that, according to the March 2005 “Harper’s Index”, Walmart’s employees were eligible for $2.5 billion in federal assistance. I am not convinced that this is an economic model our country could afford to have other companies follow."


BTW: to hear more about Walmart's oustanding economic practices, check out this site or see the movie. (The movie is a bit overboard, but I'm also not a single mom without health insurance trying to feed my kids -maybe I'd be a little more overboard myself.)