Wal-Mart Tells A Foreclosure Whopper

We were just reading through a little more of this proposal from Wal-Mart (WMT) and liberal thinktank Center for American Progress for some kind of law that would require all employers to provide health insurance. We already said why we think it's a ridiculous idea and that the CAP and its star blogger Matthew Yglesias are being used big-time by a company that wants to raise costs for its rivals. In looking though their supporting letter (.pdf) this line jumped out at us big time:

In 2008, half of all people filing for home foreclosure cited medical problems as a cause.

Uh, sorry guys, but we remember 2008 pretty well. It was only six months ago. There was a big foreclosure crisis, and it wasn't due to healthcare costs. It was due to... well let's see... oh right, the pricking of the massive housing bubble and all that entailed.

This self-cited dreck is the same garbage Elizabeth Warren uses for her studies on bankruptcy (for all we know, that stat is plucked straight from her work), and it's ludicrous. If, by chance, 50% of foreclosure victims say that their medical payments diverted cash away from their mortgage payments, then you could say the same thing about their food costs, or their clothing costs. But obviously, that's not what caused the foreclosure.

There are plenty of problems with the current healthcare system. Logic like this doesn't do their argument any wonders.

If walmart said it, somebody at walmart woke up. Good companies have a hard time competing against sharks who pass employees costs along to public. Maybe walmart is reaching the age where it is finally realizing this.

parsy, who is full of hope.

“In 2008, half of all people filing for home foreclosure cited medical problems as a cause.”
I have no stats to give but I think this stat is BS. I can pretty much guarantee if you walked into a house being foreclosed on, you would probably see a big screen or flat screen television in their living room. Go only knows what they have in their bedrooms for televisions.
Continuing on this conversation, how many cars, NICE CARS, are parked in front of those same houses?? I can only imagine what percentage of these people over extended themselves with luxury items. I personally know a family that are going through foreclosure and they have the following items in their possession: one 1 year old Tahoe, one brand new Escalade, a flat screen television in their living room, a flat screen television in each of the kid's bedrooms, two fairly new jet skis, a really nice ski boat, and a few other items. Why did they go buy all these items when they couldn't afford their mortgage?? One of the vehicles and all the flat screens were purchased after starting their foreclosure.
People like this, I despise. I am not longer friends with them because of their “it doesn't matter” attitude. This is just one of the many foreclosures going on in the United States that did exactly the same thing. I am NOT broad brushing everyone in this statement. There are many people who just had difficult times and fell behind. Those are the people that need help.

They rope a lot of dopes with hope remember walmart is hillary’s baby.

They learned from the biggest frauds around the clintons here is what they are really up too!

http://www.businessinsider.com/wal-mart-supports-health-plan-that-will-destroy-small-businesses-2009-6

Whoever wrote that line about the 2008 foreclosures mangled just about every fact. First of all, the statistic concerns bankruptcies not foreclosures. Here's the link to the original study (pdf file). Here is the press report about the study (emphasis added):

The number of bankruptcies tied to medical costs in the United State is on the rise.

A Harvard University study out today shows a 50 percent increase in such bankruptcies between 2001 and 2007. The vast majority of the 2,300 bankruptcy filers surveyed had health insurance when their medical problems began.

Thank goodness WalMart uses better proofreaders for their sales circulars!

You’re right, some are exactly as you say. of those who fell behind, they are about split between those who lost their good paying jobs, failed to find another and had to take 2 or even 4 part time jobs at lower pay. Then they, and the next group, were hit with double and triple gasoline prices, putting the equivalent of a large car payment into their gas tanks, and double at least into their heating for the winter, and it just broke the budget. NO ONE who is not in a position of having thousands and thousands in the bank could bear all those things and not fall behind.

There are extremely few who lose their houses because of medical expenses.

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