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There are two important economic discussions going on right now in America, and too rarely are they tied together as they should be.

Not a day goes by without talk in the media of the ‘Wal-Mart Economy’ and Wal-Mart’s role in a recession. Similarly, with the proposed auto bailout being debated on Capitol Hill, we’ve heard endlessly about the supposed failures of GM, Ford and Chrysler to adjust and adapt.

Everyone tends to agree that more Americans are now forced to shop at Wal-Mart - whether they love or whether they hate it. Likewise, the talking heads know that the Big Three are suffering - whether or not they need to be bailed out, or are getting what they deserve.

But the two aren’t separate stories.

A couple of columns by the Washington Post Writers Group over the past two days have done a great job of laying out the differences between Bentonville and Detroit – and what that has meant for the American economy.

Warren A. Brown writes mostly about cars. A lot of his column defends Detroit’s efforts to make greener cars, but more importantly (for this blog post at least) - he draws a more realistic picture of what’s been happening in America:

“Here is where newspaper columnists—Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times comes to mind—routinely dismiss the idea of federal aid to an ailing Detroit, suggesting that the city and its automobile industry be consigned to the scrap heap of history, having failed dismally in their core mission to design and develop the kinds of cars and trucks Americans really want.

It is sophist nonsense, of course, the kind of tale spun by people who haven’t bothered to check the numbers, and who have paid even less regard to the history of their supposed knowledge.

The truth, all things considered, is that Detroit has done reasonably well. The American Three—General Motors, Ford and Chrysler—still hold an estimated 47 percent of a home market that is wide open to competition from car companies all over the world. Until July of 2007, domestic automobile manufacturers historically held more than a 50-percent U.S.-market share. But in a country where consumers have made Wal-Mart the retail king—that’s Wal-Mart, one of America’s biggest importers of foreign goods—that was bound to change.

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“Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Waldemart” premiers on Halloween, 2008, and the trailer is already online. Sign up at http://waldemartwatch.com for an invitation-only sneak preview of the film on October 30th, or click here to download the webready poster (381 K) to send to friends.

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Go to www.waldemartwatch.com to sign up for an invitation-only sneak preview of “Harry Potter and the Prisoners of Waldemart” on October 30th. Look for the full release on October 31st, 2008, or watch the original.

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An article today in the West Virginia Record tells the story of Arlene Jett, who was fired from Wal-Mart in 2007. Arlene’s family has a number of medical problems - her husband has high blood pressure, her son has a bowel disorder and Arlene herself has Crohn’s Disease. To take care of her family, Arlene took several months of unpaid leave from her job at Wal-Mart. She claims, in a recently-filed lawsuit, that Wal-Mart fired her for taking too much time off, even though such rights are guaranteed under the Family and Medical Leave Act.

This isn’t the first time Wal-Mart has been accused of firing workers who needed special accommodations. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed against the company by employees claiming they were discriminated against because of a disability, a scheduling need or for taking maternity leave. Read more about it on our discrimination page or in our research center.

Wirt woman says Wal-Mart wrongfully fired her [West Virginia Record]

A Wirt County woman has filed suit against Wal-Mart, alleging she was wrongfully fired after she used her Family and Medical Leave Act multiple times.

Arlene Jett took medical leave from the store to care for her son, who was born in October 2003, according to the original complaint filed in Wood Circuit Court.

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Wal-Mart’s health care plan is sprawling, and past attempts (PDF) to asses the plan have proved difficult. So we’re not immediately sure what to make of this announcement from Wal-Mart earlier today.

The retailer’s claims that it will expand health coverage for its associates appear fairly superficial, focusing on maternity care and smoking cessation (as opposed to, oh I don’t know, subrogation clauses). They don’t address many of the fundamental problems with the company’s plan: premiums that are too high, waiting periods that are too long and coverage that’s too sparse. To our Wal-Mart-employee readers, what do you think of Wal-Mart’s proposed changes?

Wal-Mart expands worker health benefits [Reuters]

etail leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc said on Tuesday that it was expanding health benefits for workers, including offering a 2009 program that provides pre-pregnancy and child development services.

The company said a “Life With Baby” program in next year’s benefits package would provide workers counseling with registered nurses through all phases of maternity.

It said that plan also includes expanded benefits such as periodontal cleanings to help prevent gum disease in mother and child, and a new program designed to stop smoking.

In a statement, the retailer said about 15,000 of its workers have babies each year.

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We’ll take this news from the Financial Times as proof that Wal-Mart Moms agree with our post last week: they’re worried about the kinds of economic problems caused by Wal-Mart.

The FT article makes it seem a bit like working class white women have been responsible for the outcome of every election in the last ten years. We might not go that far, but it’s certainly true that millions of people shop at Wal-Mart’s stores each week, and they all have a vote come November. So what are Wal-Mart Moms thinking now?

Ms Palin’s fading star is only part of the reason why Democrats see a fresh opportunity to go after working class, white women. At least as important is the return of “kitchen table” economic issues to the heart of the campaign, eclipsing the debate over values and culture that Ms Palin helped ignite.

Wal-Mart moms have been hit harder than most by America’s economic storm as their household budgets come under pressure from the rising cost of food, energy and healthcare, while wages stagnate.

A big part of this is Wal-Mart’s role in our economy. Though the retailer claims its low prices help working class families, Wal-Mart reps are less eager to discuss the company’s depressing effect on wages, its tendency to ship well-paying jobs overseas and putting its private health care needs on the public tab. Wal-Mart moms are concerned with the forces that drove them to shop at Wal-Mart in the first place, and the forces which keep them there, too.

Wal-Mart moms beginning to buy Democrat’s message [Financial Times]

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For those of you who’ve seen Wal-Mart’s training videos, this new short from American Rights at Work will ring particularly true.

I don’t know about you, but that bottle of soda does look pretty enticing.

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In the most recent report from Policy Matters Ohio, Wal-Mart tops the list of Ohio employers with the most employees receiving government health care assistance. According to Wal-Mart, these rankings are “notoriously unreliable” and hard to verify. However, when you consider that Wal-Mart tops the list in every state where the information is available, they start to look reliable. Why do taxpayers have to pick up Wal-Mart’s health care tab?

With high deductibles and coverage limitations, Wal-Mart’s health care is inadequate.
The Wal-Mart average for full-time workers to qualify for benefits is six months, compared to the retail average of three months. Part time employees must wait a full year before receiving benefits. Since the majority of workers do not stay a year, the majority never get health care.

Wal-Mart workers often earn too little to afford health care.
To get a plan with a $700 deductible and $4000 out-of-pocket medical expenses still costs $7000 a year and the average Wal-Mart employee makes approximately 20,000 a year.

Ohio is not unique; Wal-Mart workers in other states must use public assistance programs to meet their health care needs.
In states that have released data on companies with employees receiving state-funded health care, Wal-Mart tops the list. Twenty-four states have tracked and reported the number of employees and dependants that the largest employers within their borders have enrolled in state-funded health care programs, and in those states, Wal-Mart is at the head of the line for public assistance. In all states that have released such data - Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin - Wal-Mart tops the list.

Click here to download “Wal-Mart’s New Health Plan: Medicaid”

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As the weakening economy takes its toll on state budgets across the country, a new study from Policy Matters Ohio shows that Wal-Mart employees top the state’s list of Medicaid recipients.

Researchers found that an average of 13,141 Wal-Mart employees and their children were on the state-sponsored medical plan, more than any other private employer in Ohio.

Wal-Mart’s company health plan remains out of reach for many of its employees, and Medicaid is often the only affordable option for low-earning workers. The company’s failure to provide adequate health insurance for its 1.4 million U.S. employees isn’t just an unfortunate company policy - it’s something that affects taxpayers across the country.

Public pays health care for private workers [Beacon Journal (Ohio)]

Thousands of workers across Ohio labor for a paycheck, but still lack health benefits from their employer for themselves or their children.

Instead, they rely on Medicaid — a program funded with state and federal tax dollars — to pay for their medical care.

Researchers with the nonpartisan think tank Policy Matters Ohio estimate in a new report that the state spent $111.5 million last year to cover Medicaid costs for more than 111,000 workers and their dependents from the 50 companies with the highest Medicaid enrollment.

The federal government’s estimated share of the cost totaled $182 million.

‘’Right now, we’re in a very tight budget,’’ said Piet van Lier, the study’s author and a senior researcher at Policy Matters Ohio. ‘’Medicaid is a very big expense — not only for Ohio, but for other states — and here’s a substantial benefit going to employers.’’

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A tumultuous lawsuit between Fisk University and the State of Tennessee has revealed just how much money Alice Walton has donated to her pet project, the Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Benton County, Arkansas. The figure is an astounding $317 million, small change for a woman worth $19 billion, but a bonafide fortune for any working American. The Walton family has long been a prominent patron of art and entertainment in northwest Arkansas - the Bud Walton Arena at the University of Arkansas is just a stone’s throw away from the Walton Arts Center in downtown Fayetteville. So Alice’s contributions to a still-unconstructed art museum in the area are part of a long family tradition.

That family tradition exists for a reason: in the span of six months - from November 2007 to June 2008 - the Walton family made $29 billion off the increase in Wal-Mart’s stock price. With income like that, it’s not surprising that family members can afford to build art museums almost single-handedly. Meanwhile, Wal-Mart employees across the country continue to make poverty-level wages and go without decent, affordable health care.

The article quotes museum director Bob Workman saying, “Crystal Bridges is a gift to the community from Alice Walton and the Walton family. The focus is on what we are creating, not what it is costing.” Perhaps an even better gift to the community - and communities across the country - would be to pay the Wal-Mart’s 1.4 million U.S. workers a fair wage, and build wealth from the ground up.

Crystal Bridges case sheds light on contributions [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette]

Alice Walton, her family and one of their foundations have donated $317 million to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which has nearly half a billion dollars in assets, according to documents filed in a Tennessee court.

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