Actually, the headline reads: “Wal-Mart, Unions Unite on Health Care.” For years Wal-Mart has been falsely accused of shifting the cost of health care for its employees to taxpayers because the company’s high premiums and deductibles keep many Wal-Mart employees from participating in the company health plan—as if Wal-Mart is to blame for the welfare state instead of Congress. Wal-Mart has thrown in the towel:
Executives from Wal-Mart and three other major U.S. employers on Wednesday joined hands with union leaders in setting a goal of providing “quality, affordable” health care for every American by 2012.
The partnership of business and union leaders laid out four main goals, including universal health-care coverage for all Americans and boosting the value of every dollar spent on health care.
And how much is Wal-Mart committed to pay for affordable health care for every American? Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said in response to a reporter’s question: “Wal-Mart is not committed to spending more on health care or making any immediate promises to provide health coverage to more workers.” So who will pay the bill? The government, of course, after it takes the money from the taxpayers.
