Posted on 01/13/2006 5:28:37 AM PST by sickoflibs
The Maryland General Assembly overrode Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s veto of a bill requiring Wal-Mart to pay more for employee health care yesterday, a measure that has sparked a nationwide debate over the level of benefits an employer should provide workers.
The so-called Fair Share Health Care Fund Act, the first of its kind to succeed in the nation, became a fight between organized labor and business, raising questions about to what extent government should intervene in private enterprise.
It now becomes law and a model for more than 30 other states, which are expected to take up similar legislation in the coming months. But it might have more immediate consequences in Maryland, where some leaders fear Wal-Mart will withdraw its plans to open a proposed distribution center that would, if built, bring nearly 1,000 new jobs to the Eastern Shore.
"Fair Share health care is going to sweep the nation," said Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, part of a coalition of labor unions, Wal-Mart competitors and others that pushed the bill through the legislature.
"This pro-business, pro-working families law makes sense, and the Maryland state legislature is taking the lead."
"This vote was never about health care," she said. "This was about partisan politics."
Clark said the company has not decided about the distribution center but will be re-examining the project "through a different set of lenses."
Before either chamber voted, he told a group of Prince George's County businessmen that the bill will hurt his efforts to bring business to the state.
(Excerpt) Read more at baltimoresun.com ...
BTW: MD (same assembly) also recently passed a law that charges a tax on HMOs to pay for lawsuits on doctors. It would be nice to see this backfire.
Another example of MD's socialist legislature.
The location for this distribution center is right square at the half way point between Sussex County, DE and Accomac County, VA..........bad news for Somerset County, it has the highest rate of unemployment in the stte of MD.
If I ran Walmart, I would look at the maximum number of employees you could have without triggering the law and shut down the number of stores necesscary to get them under the ceiling. Maybe moving them just across the borders where practical. If Walmart caves into the Maryland Manifesto, they would give a powerful incentive to other Neo Comm states jump on the wealth redistribution bandwagon, even more than they already have.
I guess the peoples democratic republik of maichigan will be next.....
We left Brighton for just that reason, you should move down here to Indiana and have a blast poking fun at all our neighbor states.
I hope WalMart shuts em down...
As a Wal-Mart associate and Freeper, I hope they find ways around the libs. The area of Pennsylvania where I live (near the border) could benefit, maybe we'll get a distribution center or even more stores.
I'm hoping the proposed Eastern Shore distribution center this effectively kills moves 30 miles south to the VA county I live in :)
If I was running Wal Mart i would close every Wal Mart in Maryland and sell the property.
If I were H. Lee Scott, I would immediately announce that since Maryland does not want business there, ALL Wal-Mart stores in Maryland would be closed and all employees fired. Over 10,000 newly unemployed voters should be enough to get the attention of the a**holes in Annapolis.
I can only hope that Wal-Mart withdraws from the Peoples Republic of Maryland. I am just guessing, but I suspect many other large companies are already looking to get out. Its a small communist state. Maybe they can have a union commune there. Maybe the UN would like to move there.
Have them stop by BALTIMORE on their way to Annapolis ;)
I would like to see WalMart move 8000 jobs to Delaware.
They are the only force able to make a point to socialcrats like the Maryland assembly.
Hit ENTER instead of period.
Have them stop by Baltimore to see where all their tax dollars are being dumped. That place is a welfare cesspool that's driving most of the state's bad policies.
I'll split the difference with you........Delaware can have 4,000 and give the Eastern Shore of Virginia the other 4,000. That way all the folks who live in this county can stop working in the Maryland WalMart, have a job closer to home, and VA will get all the tax revenue Maryland is now enjoying from VA residents.
Well, duh, they should if they're smart.
Walmart needs to use Maryland as an example.
Here's the deal ~ Wal-Mart does offer health care insurance. All you have to do if you work there is sign up for it.
For a variety of reasons not all their employees sign up, and the result is claimed to be a "lower than average" level of health care insurance coverage, presumably made up for with public assistance.
Some of the reasons folks don't sign up for the company's offering of health care insurance are:
1. They are covered under the policy of a spouse or parent elsewhere,
2. They, themselves, are previously retired and already have such a policy,
3. They just don't want the bother since they are happy with their doctor who does not accept payment from any of the plans at Wal-Mart.
The consequence of this action will be that Wal-Mart will simply shut down its operations in Maryland. They will be replaced with higher cost retail operators who will not provide any health care insurance at all.
Conclusion ~ the state legislature in Maryland is made up of some of the stupidest, ineducable people in America.
Of course, that is not news.
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