Hit and run only today, because of Chat Week, but I always have time for Walmart bashing. From Chiara over at Thoughts of an Average Woman:
Walmart has such a dismal record on health care that it made the national news a number of times, as their employees are draining state medicaid monies (444,000 Google hits). The largest employer in our nation pays such low wages that, simply put, their workers can't afford to have larger deductions from their paycheck to cover health insurance. The running joke, that isn't a joke at all, goes something like this. When you hand in your employment application you receive an application for medicaid.
I'm not a Walmart fan. Our local "Superstore" panders to every religious group in the area, meaning when you walk in the front doors you're greeted by displays of Mormon books and the entire "Left Behind" series. It just creeps me out. We ended up going there a couple of months ago though because our elderly neighbours gave us a Walmart gift certificate for Christmas. I wanted a bird feeder, and figured they'd have a decent selection. I have to admit that the prices were just stunning. Stunning. That jumbo box of Honeycomb cereal that sells for $5.99 in the grocery store was just $2.50, and that wasn't on sale. All those Lean Cuisine meals that I covet at $4 and $5 each at the grocery store were about 2 bucks a piece. If we shopped there on a regular basis, especially for groceries, I can see how we'd save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. We've made a conscious choice not to shop there but I definitely know why so many others do. Especially if you're a Walmart employee, you can't afford to buy groceries at a regular grocery store!
Posted by: Leigh-Ann | 01 March 2006 at 02:18 AM