Heh, heh, Wal-Mart. I'll bet their still pissed because Fred Meyer opened its new store in Fairbanks, AK in the same parking lot as a Wal-Mart, and the Fred Meyer store is kicking Wal-Mart's fuzzy butt.

One thing about an improving economy (if slowly): when customers see a dirty store filled with underpaid, disgruntled 'associates' selling cheap plastic crap from China, they do realize they can now afford to go elsewhere.

Walmart's groundbreaking innovations in public relations save the company millions each year. Walmart's decision to start hiring public relations staff straight out of fiction writers workshops drastically cuts down on the need for expensive marketing graduates from business schools and research departments. Creating one's own reality is so much more cost-efficient than analyzing the real world.

Isn't Wood Village moving toward adopting a sales tax? And isn't there a Wal-Mart in Wood Village?

Maybe Wal-Mart has figured out Oregon voters and Oregon trends before Oregonians have? Wow - their tentacles run deep...

Either that or they have veterans of Stuart Anderson doing their bookkeeping and they're pulling an Enron. Prices are reduced on the books and the diiference is allocated to a sales tax that never makes it to any government entity. Wonder how the Feds would feel about that?

PS - Maybe Mr. Walton believes he's the real Uncle Sam?

Since each of the Walton heirs have an annual fortune of $18 billion dollars (that's right they are 5 of the 10 richest people in the World - check out forbes.com) maybe the could sink a little into their employee's health care and lighten the load on the Oregon Health Plan. Then they would not even have to talk about their sales tax idea.

Also, why are they trying to sound like a victim? As noted above, the Wal-Mart empire contains 5 out of the 10 richest people in the WORLD. I, for one, do not feel sorry for them at all. Maybe they should have not developed a business practice that relied on public subsidies - I'd rather they become a model employer.

OK, first, I am NOT defending Walmart but, before we get too carried away:

It looks like the error they made was the characterization of the $14 million as sales tax, not the amount. On their "facts" website, they list this as "state and local taxes," not sales tax. In comparison, for Washington, they list around $13 million in "state and local taxes" and about $166 million in "sales taxes."

I actually think the funnier figure in the letter is the one that says getting a job at Walmart only gets half of those on public assistance off.

The bottom line on WalMart is 50%.

That's their percentage of annual worker turnover.

Almost as high as the US military, circa 2005!

I actually think the funnier figure in the letter is the one that says getting a job at Walmart only gets half of those on public assistance off.

Wal-Mart employment as workfare. Think of it as a Public-Private Partnership.

The health insurance plan costs mentioned are meaningless without knowledge of what employees get for their money. We'd need to know the co-payments and deductibles for those particular bottom-of-the-line plans.

Maybe Walmart wants a sales tax. Perhaps we could help them out?

You guys..eh..just hate corporations.. yeah that's it..and capitalism and America too. Damn Walmart haters ;)

I never get tired of making fun of the right.

Helped collected? Sounds like their copy editors are falling asleep on the job, too.

The Wal-Mart slogan (as we all know) is "always low prices...always." Obviously, that comes at a price.

If being surrounded by pleasant, well-groomed employee's is a necessary part of your shopping experience, then go to Fred Meyer. If you like rock-bottom prices and don't mind being surrounded by mountain dew-sipping retards, head for wally world.

Bottom line...as a consumer, I DO NOT CARE if they offer their employees benefits, health insurance, or decent wages.

You raise some interesting arguments...but unfortunately, if I decide to go out and purchase a few DVD's, for example, I want the lowest price. Period. It is not my responsiblity to fund health care. Besides....wasn't Hillary Clinton going to fix that, what happend to that?

Johnny Redman has written:

"Bottom line...as a consumer, I DO NOT CARE if they offer their employees benefits, health insurance, or decent wages. ... (AND)

It is not my responsiblity to fund health care."

Johnny - what you don't seem to realize is that your position sponsors corporate welfare. Yes, you are a welfare supporter.

What is going on with government and business now is that business is "outsourcing" its expenses. Electrical utilities have a lower operating expense if they can put more mercury into the air - "outsourcing" it and we all pay the health costs of that. Since government pays via Medicare and Medicaid for half the health care in America - you pay for mercury pollution. When Walmart underpays their employees with a mixture of minimum wage jobs and hours just under the threshold of those that would mandate that they pay for health care benefits - they have "outsourced" to government and to you several expenses. They have "outsourced" the health care of the employees and their dependent children, they have "outsourced" daycare expenses to govenment programs, they have "outsourced" school lunches to government, and they probably have "outsourced" a whole lot of things we can't even think of to government (some would qualify for free Tri-met passes in the Portland area, for example).

Johnny - When our government pays for the "outsourced" costs of these necessary services, it takes money away from other parts of govenment. It takes money away from schools, senior services, transportaton (yep, Walmart is indirectly partly responsible for that pothole in front of your house), etc. We the citizens of Oregon and the United States are an interconnected web of participants in our society. When we allow one part to act irresponsibly, it affects all of us. When corporations are irresponsible with the help of people like you, ironically people like you (and me) don't pay more or less taxes, we just get less for what we pay.

Johnny, I don't know you, but I wonder if you aren't one of those people who also complain that government is an overall bad deal, that you don't get what you pay for, that government is just a big rip-off.

Johnny - it's actually your fault.

Steve, actually I am not one of "those people" who thinks the government is a "bad deal..." depending on the locale in which you live of course.

Walmart provides its employees with work hours, stock options (although they do sound paltry) and wages. I should point out that NO ONE is forcing anyone to work at WalMart...how about trying to better oneself, get an education, and move into a job that offers benefits and decent wages.

And finally, I'd be truly curious to know how WalMart's "corporate welfare" has any effect whatsoever on the pothole (or lack thereof) in front of my house? Please Steve, explain that to me...last time I checked the city (not the state or federal government) used property taxes to make road repairs.

Johnny -

Actually, it is gas tax money first, and when that runs out it is local revenue, partly coming from property tax that fills the pothole. Some of that local money is revenue sharing such as the beer and wine tax, and other programs. In my County, we get Federal road dollars as part of PILT payments.

But that's not the point, that I thought I explained so carefully. So here goes again.

If Walmart employees receive government payments because Walmart is an irresponsible employer that doesn't pay enough or adequate salary and benefits - and this does happen - then those government payments for health care, school lunches, etc. use up government resources (tax dollars) that could be used elsewhere to among other things - fill your pothole. Its called an offset. In my little County, cutbacks in State funding have meant that my County dollars now are going more and more into health, mental health, juvenile services, etc. that used to have more State dollars. In my little County we are threatened with a cutback or end to the PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) Federal program. This means a lot since about half of this County is Federally owned. The PILT payments would be cut or cutback because the Federal budget is out of balance for lots of reasons including escalating health care costs. The Federal Government between its various programs pays for half of the health care in this Country - including health care for Walmart employees.

As I said before, we all live in an interconnected web. An action in one part of government or society causes a reaction in others. Yep, Johnny, that pothole in front of your house is there partly because irresponsible corporations are not paying their fair share of costs. Corporations are paying the lowest taxes in the last 100 years right now. And to "outsource" expenses like health care just hurts at one more layer.

Next week I will explain to you how Walmart causes acid rain, but I have to work on the connections for awhile. :)

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