Ed on Wal-Mart Commercial

Hunger Strike wrote:

OK, what about Ed singing the song for the Walmart commercial, has anyone heard/seen it?

Jimmies wrote:

Nothing "needs" censoring. Ever. Period.

edwf2000 wrote:

Wal Mart got on top and provides low prices because they bully small manufacturers. They hold meetings with a rep from three or four companies at the same time and demand a certain price saying the one that can meet this unreal expectation is the only one who can sell to them, or they just refuse to carry their lines effectively driving them out of business because of their market share in rural/suburban areas makes competition impossible. I'm sure their charitable and do things well, but at the end of the day capitalism is a dirty game. Anyone on top of the money chain haven't gotten there totally ethically, unless of course they can hit a baseball 400 feet.

HoosierJam wrote:

this point doesn't work because you need to look at their overall profit for last year and you'll see that the amount they donate is a ridiculously small percentage of that.

tie-dye lady wrote:

This has been a test of the Subliminal Message Network. This week’s test words “Eddie Vedder and Wal-Mart” received a respectable grade of 7 on a 10 point scale for creative banter relating seeming unrelated subjects thus proving that every topic can be made into a political forum if you just try hard enough. Bonus points were awarded for inclusion of current economic figures, knowledge of recent legal proceedings and nice use of bullet points. Thank you for participating in this week’s test. .

Speakers wrote:

Ohhhhhhhhhh Jimmy, there you go again talking about things that aren't true.
Wal-Mart and Health Care


Wal-Mart's Health Care Plan Fails to Cover Over 775,000 Employees

* Wal-Mart reported in January 2006 that its health insurance only covers 43% of their employees. Wal-Mart has approximately 1.39 million US employees. [http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf]

Wal-Mart's Health Insurance Falls Far Short of Other Large Companies

* On average for 2005, large companies (200 or more workers) cover approximately 66% of their employees. If Wal-Mart was to reach the average coverage rate, Wal-Mart should be covering an additional 318,000 employees [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005 and http://www.walmartfacts.com/docs/1625_jan2006healthcarebackgrounders_576890240.pdf].

Wal-Mart's Health Care Eligibility is Restrictive

* Part-timers—anybody below 34 hours a week — must wait 1 year before they can enroll. Moreover, spouses of part-time employees are ineligible for family health care coverage for 2006. [Wal-Mart Stores, "My Benefits, New Peak Time Benefits Making a Difference For You," 2006]
* Full-time hourly employees must wait 180 days (approximately 6 months) before being able to enroll in Wal-Mart's health insurance plan. Managers have no waiting period. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide]
* Nationally, the average wait time for new employees to become eligible is 1.7 months. For the retail industry it is 3.0 months. [Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2005]

All of Wal-Mart's Health Plans Are Too Costly for Its Workers to Use

* Since the average full-time Wal-Mart employee earned $17,114 in 2005, he or she would have to spend between 7 and 25 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles, if electing for single coverage. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW analysis]
* The average full-time employee electing for family coverage would have to spend between 22 and 40 percent of his or her income just to cover the premiums and medical deductibles. These costs do not include other health-related expenses such as medical co-pays, prescription coverage, emergency room deductibles, and ambulance deductibles. [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide and UFCW Analysis].
* Wal-Mart trumps the affordability of its new health care plan. According to Wal-Mart, "In January [2006], ...Coverage will be available for as little as $22 per month for individuals" [www.walmartfacts.com]
* What Wal-Mart's website leaves out: Coverage is affordable, but using it will bankrupt many employees. Wal-Mart's most affordable plan for 2006 includes a $1,000 deductible for single coverage and a $3,000 deductible for family coverage ($1,000 deductible per person covered up to $3,000). [Wal-Mart 2006 Associate Guide]

Wal-Mart Admits Public Health Care is a "Better Value"

* President and CEO Lee Scott said in 2005, "In some of our states, the public program may actually be a better value - with relatively high income limits to qualify, and low premiums." [Transcript Lee Scott Speech 4/5/05]

Wal-Mart's Health Care is Getting Costlier

* Between 2000-2005, the cost of premiums rose 169 percent for single coverage and 117 percent for family coverage. [UFCW analysis of annual Wal-Mart Associate Guides].
* In comparison, premiums for family coverage in the U.S. have increased only by 59%, from 2000-2005. [Employer Health Benefits: 2004 Annual Survey, Kaiser Family Foundation & Health Research and Educational Trust, 2004] Wal-Mart Employees Pay More for Health Care Costs
* In 2004, Wal-Mart employees, in total, paid approximately 41% of the plan costs [Wal-Mart IRS 5500 Filings, 2005].
* Nationally for 2004 on average employees paid for only 16% of single coverage costs and 28% of family coverage costs [Kaiser Family Foundation, 2005].

Wal-Mart Covers Less of the Health Care Costs Compared to Its Competitors

* In a state analysis, the Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services found that in 2003, Wal-Mart covered only 52% of total health care premium costs compared to K-Mart which covered 66%, Target which covered 68%, and Sears which covered 80% ["Employers Who Have 50 or More Employees Using Public Health Assistance," Division of Health Care Finance and Policy, 2/2005]