Wal-Mart targeted

Maryland Forces Wal-Mart to Pay More for Employees' Health Care

Wal-Mart's answer to this act by the MD legislature should be simple. It should leave Maryland unless they rescind the law. I don't know how many stores they have in Maryland, but the company should lay off its workers there and close up shop rather than be extorted. Sure, that will hurt a lot of people, but it will also send a message to states that they can't just target one company and force them to pay the health care costs of their workers, as if they have an obligation to do so.

Now even if they don't take my suggestion (which they probably won't), Wal-Mart isn't going to pay one cent for these health care costs. What they will do is raise the prices of the goods that they sell, which means Maryland consumers will end up paying the bill. In essence, this bill is a sales tax that applies only to Wal-Mart items.