Does this mean Walmart is sorry about those secret anti-Obama meetings?
This is extraordinary enough that I didn’t believe it the first time I read it:
Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, on Tuesday endorsed the idea of requiring large companies to offer health insurance to their workers. The proposal is central to Obama’s hopes of covering the nation’s nearly 50 million uninsured and is disliked by some business groups.
The conservative chorus of hostility is already out there. Michelle Malkin correctly notes that the SEIU signed the same endorsement letter:
[T]his is not a sudden “about-face.” Wal-Mart and the SEIU, still bitter enemies on most other policy and employment matters, first joined hands on health care two years ago. The unholy alliance was forged out of mutual desperation and political expediency.
Why did Walmart it? This guy (who I think I remember arguing with somewhere back in the deep, dark history of this blog) is actually right:
Believe you me, Wal-Mart isn’t doing this out of concern for the proverbial poor, down-trodden masses. Wal-Mart is doing this because a government mandate for business-provided health care will kill their smaller, more-regional competition.
That’s why I’m afraid the company won’t have the courage of its convictions and actually lobby for President Obama’s plan. Most of Wal-Mart’s smaller, more-regional competition is already in a death spiral.
There are many theories about what Walmart is up to. I think getting an offer of help from the fox to mind the chickens is not what it seems.
My guesses:
1. Walmart wants to appear to be helping while actually doing nothing useful to further real health reform.
2. Co-opting the SEIU partially to take the wind out of unionization efforts by rivial unions. SEIU and UNITE/HERE are in the midst of a squabble and taking sides can only make things worse.
3. Pushing for a “mandated” plan that is so weak that it won’t do anything significant to their current costs, but will forestall any stronger efforts by groups pushing for single payer or other forms of government-administered coverage.
Then there is this:
Insured, but Bankrupted by Health Crises
Walmart’s insurance is already so meager that a good fraction of those covered really have nothing that will deal with serious illness. Mandating coverage similar to the minimum plan that Walmart now offers will give the illusion of having solved the problem and thus get public attention off the issue.
Just an idea – if all businesses have to provide the same level of health coverage, then all businesses would have the same percentage of costs associated with employees – something that would level the playing field.
If Walmart alone was to provide “BenefitX”, it would increase their costs while letting other businesses have an advantage.
Perhaps this is a way for Walmart to look good and provide benefits without having to give the competition an edge.